Kelsey Grammer Is Right: The Frasier Reboot Must Give 1 Original Series Character More Closure

Kelsey Grammer is right when he thinks one Cheers character needs more closure with Frasier. The character of Dr Frasier Crane was introduced during season 3 of Cheers, with the part going to Kelsey Grammer after John Lithgow passed. Despite only being intended as a guest character, Grammer’s performance proved so winning that he became a permanent member of the ensemble. Of course, Frasier would go on to front his own spinoff and its subsequent 2023 revival on Paramount+.

Reviving a beloved sitcom like Frasier was always going to be a tough job, so the reboot’s mixed response isn’t a shock. Still, to the 2023 series credit, it didn’t lean too hard on nostalgia for Cheers and Frasier and instead focused on forging a new chapter for the titular character. Still, Frasier 2023’s decision not to return to Cheers was an odd one, so assuming Frasier season 2 happens, having Frasier reconnect with the likes of Sam (Ted Danson) feels like fertile terrority.

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Frasier Needs To Give Closure To The Frasier/Diane Romance

Frasier was introduced on Cheers as the new love interest of Diane (Shelley Long), with the latter leaving the good doctor jilted at the altar in season 4. While the two seemed like a good fit – what with their shared love of the arts and tendency to get very pretentious – the romance was always doomed. The focus of Cheers’ early seasons was the spiky love story between Sam and Diane, so Frasier never stood a chance. Still, Diane would go on to make several guest appearances on Frasier, including the fittingly titled “The Show Where Diane Comes Back.”

This gave a little closure to Diane and Frasier’s complicated romance, but as Grammer recently stated on The Kelly Clarkson Show (via TVLine), it would be great to bring Diane back for the revival. Long’s appearance on the original Frasier felt very much like a guest star role, but the Paramount+ show could give her a more substantial role and make the Frasier/Diane dynamic a major part of season 2.

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Not only would this bring Frasier full circle – after all, it was the Diane romance that brought him onto Cheers – but it feels like there’s more story to mine from the duo reuniting. The new series is exploring the next chapter in Frasier’s life, so season 2 could find him and Diane at a crossroads and potentially rekindling their romance – to no doubt disastrous results. This would also give the second series a different dynamic since season 1 largely avoided romantic entanglements for luckless Dr Crane.

Will Frasier Season 2 Actually Happen?

There’s a lot of potential in bringing Diane back to Frasier, but there’s still the question of a second season happening. The ten-episode first season was broadly well-received, though most would agree it never reached the same heights as the original show. Grammer himself sounds confident about Frasier running for a few more years, and mixed response or not, the sitcom appears to have been a hit for Paramount+. For fans of the character, a Frasier/Diane reunion would certainly be a solid hook for another season to explore.