When rumours started to go around that Paramount Plus was working on a Frasier reboot, everyone had one question, ‘will they bring back the supporting cast?’ It makes sense, to be honest, because while we love the cantankerous radio psychiatrist Frasier Crane, it was his weird and wonderful friends that made the comedy series such a hit.
Unfortunately, it seems like a number of the original cast won’t be returning, most notably fan favourite David Hyde Pierce who played Niles Crane, Frasier’s even fussier younger brother. In a recent interview with People, Kelsey Grammer explained why Pierce wouldn’t appear in the revived TV series.
“For a while, we were going to try to bring back the whole cast, the whole legacy cast,” Grammer explained. “David basically decided he wasn’t really interested in repeating the performance of Niles.”
Still, Grammer said Pierce’s decision led to the new show making some bolder creative decisions. “In a very funny way, it just took us to a new place, which was what we originally wanted to do anyway, which was a Frasier third act,” he said. “It’s an entirely new life for him.”
“He’s our brave little soldier that continues on in life, finding new challenges and a new love and new people and a new city and stuff like that,” Grammer continued. “I’m really very excited about it, and we’ll certainly always honour the past. We have to honour the fact that John Mahoney died and that Martin is no longer with us. We’ll be dealing with that for sure.”
Rehearsals for the Frasier reboot begin in February, which means, in theory, we may see the good doctor sooner rather than later. If you love a laugh, check out our guides to the best comedy movies, or if you’re looking for something more serious, we have a list of the best drama series.