Kelsey Grammer has been given a gift as one of the few performers with the luck to play the same character for over 30 years. What’s more impressive is that it is still working. Frasier Crane was a side character added in the third season of one of the most popular shows of all time, Cheers. When it was decided to do a spin off based around the character, it made sense. But unexpectedly, the show ran for a baffling 11 seasons. That’s a run from 1984 to 2004. And it was good, too! Frasier garnered 107 Emmy nominations and 37 Emmy wins throughout its run, somehow beating its juggernaut predecessor. One might think that’d be enough for the Boston/Seattle psychiatrist, but 19 years and a deluge of streaming services later, the show was rebooted. The timing couldn’t have been better.

In the updated series, Frasier Crane returns home to Boston after retiring from his daytime television show of 13 years to reconnect with his son Frederick shortly after the death of his father. (John Mahoney, who played Frasier’s father in the original series, Martin Crane on the spinoff series, actually passed away in 2014.) This dynamic is the reason why bringing Frasier back now makes sense and why this reboot becomes more than just a nostalgic trip down memory lane. The Frasier reboot is a surprisingly thoughtful addendum to the original show.

What made the original Frasier show work so well was the dynamic between Frasier Crane and his father due to how different the two men were. Frasier was a high-class, well-educated, priggish socialite, while his dad was a blue-collar retired cop with a love for the simple things. This created a personality clash like no other and an abundance of comedic material the writers could always fall back on for uproarious laughter. They bring this element back with Frasier’s son Freddie, now an adult and a firefighter, who has little in common with his famous dad. This comedy trope is an endless supply of hilarious material that will satisfy fans of the original and this show alike. 

What also worked in the original series as well was the cast of characters around Frasier. Luckily, we will be seeing the legendary Bebe  Neuwirth reviving her role as Lillith as well as Peri Gilpin popping up once again as Roz. Sadly, aside from those two, none of Frasier’s supporting cast will be making significant appearances. It’s a shame to be without David Hyde Pierce as Frasier’s neurotic and high-strung psychiatrist brother Niles or his wife Daphne Moon, played by the great Jane Leeves. Though there will be cameos here and there, for the most part, the reboot has an entirely new cast of side characters.

Jack Cutmore-Scott plays the adult Freddie Crane, while Anders Keith plays David Crane, Niles and Daphne’s son. Additionally, there’s Nicholas Lyndhurst as Alan “Corny” Cornwall, a tenured teacher at Harvard who fills in Niles’s role as Frasier’s psychiatric equal and confidant. Toks Olagundoye stars in a scene-stealing role as Olivia Fitch, head of the Psychology department at Harvard, who convinces Frasier to stay and teach at the school. We also have Jess Salguiero as Eve, aspiring actress, single mother, and Freddie’s roommate. These new characters are far-flung archetypes from the originals, and that’s actually a good thing! They add a fresh, unique element to the series that explores psychiatry in a new light while adding a sincerity to the comedy that Frasier was known for.

To that end, this new show is nothing without the work of its titular star. Kelsey Grammer desperately wanted to reboot this show, and it clearly shows in his absolute command of this character. Grammer hasn’t missed a step in this role. He somehow matches the energy of the 1993 series and can go from an intensely high strung elitist to a humbled everyman in an instant. What remains to be seen is if the writers can make Frasier’s classroom lectures as integral to his identity as his radio show was. Though we never spent the full 3 hours every day with Dr. Frasier Crane on KACL 780, we knew it added value to every episode as the good doctor with the soothing voice listened and catered to the ailing voices of Seattle. One hopes he will be able to spruce up the halls of a Harvard classroom with the same enthusiasm. If so, we might be lucky enough to see another long run with the doctor.

7.5/10