Kelsey Grammer Discusses Trials and Triumphs of FRASIER Reboot
By Movieguide® Contributor
Earlier this month, Kelsey Grammer discussed the FRASIER reboot, explaining how he approached bringing back a show that has been loved for 30 years.
“[Fraiser is] a great life lesson. He wants to be honest and open and filled with love,” Grammer told The Guardian. “So it became a personal mission to give Frasier a third act. He’s still struggling, striving and trying to be a good man.”
“We can celebrate the human condition together: aren’t we funny? Move on with a bit of joy and not just constant repression and self-cannibalism,” he added, commenting on the wonder of comedy.
This humorous look at the human condition made the original FRASIER so popular and allowed it to maintain its relatability for over 30 years. This long-lasting legacy, however, also placed immense pressure on the reboot, giving it large shoes to fill.
Perhaps nobody felt this more than Joe Cristalli, a superfan of the original FRASIER who was intimately involved in creating the reboot.
“It’s pretty panic-inducing to possibly kill the thing you love most,” Cristalli said. “I cared what the critics said, but it was people like me I was really nervous about. The FRASIER fan forums can be rabid.”
Grammer felt that the 20 years between the final episode of the original series and the reboot helped take an edge off the production. He used lessons from the original to create a healthier environment for the show’s cast.
“Looking back on our [old] show, as silly as it was at times, we sometimes took ourselves too seriously,” Grammer said. “Just a bit like: ‘We’re the greatest show that’s ever been, blah, blah, blah.’ I thought: maybe that’s not such a great tone. So I invited new writers I thought would reflect more silliness. The character is a little less of a prig.”
“He just speaks well,” he added, emphasizing that his character isn’t “pompous.” “Good command of the language; an eloquent way of expressing oneself will often be looked upon as being pompous by those who don’t share in that skill.
The 20-year hiatus, however, is also to blame for Grammer’s greatest regret about the production – that his father figure, John Mahoney, who passed away in 2018, never got to see it reach fruition.
“John was always a part of it,” Grammer said. “He was very loved, and it couldn’t go forward without his blessing. So we needed to invite him in. And I did…I think we hit the sweet spot in terms of honoring John and Martin (Mahoney’s character).”
The reboot includes a baby named John, a bar called Mahoney’s and Frasier’s son leaving college to follow in Martin’s footsteps as a firefighter.
While navigating Mahoney’s death has been difficult for Grammer, he has found the strength to continue and work on new projects, like the reboot, thanks to his faith.
“God is probably the best therapist, without wanting to get on too big of a preachy soap box. I just think if you have faith, you’re probably on step ahead of the sturm of everyday life today,” he said. “There is insanity everywhere. It’s a global phenomenon. It seems to be cooked into our governments. It’s a difficult road to navigate on your own.”
“Our traditional players – Christianity, organized religion, a basic sense of goodness – are being ridiculed. We have challenged our traditional roles, called into question our different obligations as men or women,” he continued. “And as long as you’ve got people confused about it, you can probably control ’em. I just render unto Caeser and then render unto God. I know which team I’m working for.”
FRAISER is currently available on Paramount+. Grammer has teased that it will “have a home at Paramount+ for several years to come, and we certainly have several ideas for it.”
Movieguide® previously reported:
Kelsey Grammer views the upcoming Paramount+ FRASIER reboot as a ministry opportunity because it allows him to promote virtue and morality.
“The ethics of FRASIER – the study of good, let’s say – was important to us,” Grammer told The Independent. “It seemed important to all the people that were involved in the original one, and it has remained important in the show today.”
“FRASIER has been my ministry, you could say. He’s trying to spread the good word, to put some love in the world – and tolerance, true tolerance. Those are powerful words, but most people use them to manipulate. I think tolerance is a beautiful, beautiful concept. Not particularly realized in behavior in our country, but still a good goal,” he continued.
Grammer believes that Frasier’s commitment to goodness is what made him a compelling character in the first place. While the original shows did not regularly address religion, they were concerned with ethics and morality. Given Grammer’s excitement for the upcoming show, it is likely that the emphasis on good continued.
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