To this day, I’m still not sure what exactly turned me on to the original sitcom Frasier back in my university years; perhaps it was because both the show and its titular character were directly spun off from Cheers, a sitcom I had long enjoyed in syndication as a young teenager but never quite fully understood at the time due to my lack of maturity. It wasn’t until Kelsey Grammer’s first appearance as Dr. Frasier Crane on that show that I finally found a character that was oddball enough for me to latch onto. As a psychiatrist, he exuded an empathetic moral centre, education and work ethic that the other Cheers barfly patrons lacked, which made him stand out.
Naturally, when the first episode of Frasier aired in ‘93, I was firmly planted in front of the family TV to witness it, and I fell in love with the show and cast immediately. While most popular sitcoms of the time (e.g. Friends) could only elicit a chuckle from me, Frasier was the only show apart from Seinfeld or The Simpsons that could make me belly laugh out loud until I was in tears. Despite being set in a completely different city (Frasier’s hometown of Seattle instead of Cheers’ Boston), the comedic formula was still relevant and genuinely funny, the wit razor sharp, and the ensemble cast engaging enough to keep me watching for nearly its entire 11-year run.
Now, 14 years later, in an era where streaming has nearly eradicated concepts like “Primetime,” “appointment viewing,” “reruns,” and “live studio audiences, Frasier is set to return as a weekly series on Paramount+, and after watching the first five episodes, I’m willing to admit that while no tears were shed, the laughs that I did have bode well for Frasier Crane’s “third act.”
Frasier (2023) picks up 14 years after the original series finale, which saw the renowned psychiatrist and radio talk-show host pack up his things and leave Seattle to follow his girlfriend to Chicago. Obviously, things failed to work out long term, as Episode One opens with Frasier arriving at Boston’s Logan Airport following his father’s funeral, freshly divorced from his longtime partner Charlotte, as well his immensely popular TV show that he hosted in the interim. Alongside him, in-tow is David Crane, both a Harvard freshman and the awkward son of Frasier’s brother Niles, who also attended the funeral.
Before potentially continuing on to France and the next chapter of his career, Frasier’s plan in Boston is to briefly check in on his adult son, Freddy, who bizarrely was a no-show at the funeral despite idolizing his grandfather, a retired Seattle cop, and working for Seattle Fire as a firefighter. Once, an awkward, impromptu reunion at Freddy’s front door reveals to Frasier that mending the strained relationship with his son will take far more time than he imagined. However, Frasier reluctantly chooses to extend his stay indefinitely and take on a guest lecturer position at his local alma mater at the behest of his old classmate, Harvard Professor Alan Cornwall.
What follows is a quintet of episodes that feel eerily similar to the original series’ first handful of stories in that they quickly establish the new Boston setting, the supporting cast and the fairly uncomplicated character dynamics that exist between them, the latter, which in turn lead to predictable but often hilarious outcomes. Fans of Frasier in any capacity will be familiar with the formula since almost every character in the show and action that they choose to take, Frasier included, is driven primarily by their Id, as opposed to their Ego.
Case in point, even after 11 years as Seattle KACL Radio psychiatrist and 14 subsequent years as an immensely popular TV personality in Chicago, Frasier incessantly continues to crave attention and recognition from his intellectual and academic peers, even though he enjoys significant wealth, popularity, and a level of mainstream influence that few of those very same rivals could ever hope for. He is still very much an egotistical stuffed shirt compelled by habit to make everything about himself. Still, paradoxically, he is also kindhearted, well-meaning and generous once his friends or loved ones remind him with a swift kick in the pants, that is.
Similarly, some instantly recognizable Frasier archetypes, character dynamics and themes make their return in new forms. From the instant he first appears on screen, David (played impeccably by Anders Keith) is Niles Crane reincarnated as an impressionable, young adult version of himself, but with much of Niles’ arrogance and disdain for the middle-class replaced with a desperate and relatable eagerness on the part of David to fit in, not only with his Harvard classmates but even more importantly with his uncle and his cousin, whom he idolizes for their intelligence and manliness, respectively.
The original show’s antagonistic yet highly entertaining and memorable back-and-forth squabbling between Niles and Roz (Frasier’s former KACL Radio producer) has been transferred in spirit to Alan and his boss, Olivia Finch, head of Harvard’s Psychology Department. Still young but driven by a fiercely competitive rivalry with her slightly more accomplished sister, Olivia has no qualms about manipulating others to achieve success and isn’t above making thinly veiled, dismissive comments regarding Alan’s advanced age to get a rise out of him.
Meanwhile, Alan fights back with smug indifference, well aware that his tenure protects him from any real consequences of doing his job poorly. His general laziness and disposition to drink at highly inappropriate times are enough of an anathema to Olivia that he need not waste energy coming up with insults when a simple shrug or changing the topic (usually to that alcohol) will do. The tactic also works quite well against his old friend Frasier when the pair are at odds, and the verbal jousting that results between the two senior fellows is often the source of the show’s best dialogue.
Perhaps most prominently, Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott) fills in the void left by his recently departed grandfather Martin, and much like it was with Martin, it often falls to Freddy to shatter Frasier’s delusions of grandeur and knock him down a working-class peg. It’s frequently these moments that generated the most laughs from me, particularly in Episode 3, First Class where in reaction to Frasier’s disillusioned suggestion that he might quit his new job at Harvard, Freddy mockingly re-enacts the lecture that Frasier supposedly gave him when he found out that Freddy had dropped out of Harvard…with deliciously ironic zeal.
So far, the only weak link in Frasier (2023) as far as characters go is that of Freddy’s roommate Eve (played by Jess Salgueiro), who unfortunately got stuck with the incredibly un-inspired “bartender/waitress-who’s-an-aspiring-actress” role (not her fault) and fails do anything with it (definitely her fault). Salgueiro’s acting and comedic chops simply aren’t of the same calibre as the rest of the cast, and none of the gags focused on Eve’s acting ambitions are even remotely interesting. Her importance is bound to expand should the show be picked up for a second season. I’m not quite convinced yet that she’ll be any more interesting to watch.
While a highly unlikely, 90’s style “nothing to see here” swap-out of Salgueiro for a better actor might improve the show’s overall comic delivery, it doesn’t address Frasier (2003)’s biggest potential issue; it unabashedly retreads old ground and runs the risk of becoming derivative of the original sitcom. For instance, Frasier has only recently come to terms with the passing of his father, who at many times in their relationship unintentionally made him feel like a disappointment (and vice-versa), only to now find himself revisiting the same issues with his adult son.
Yes, in psychiatry, daddy issues never get old, and if done right, said dynamic can be mined by Frasier (2003)’s writers for comedy gold once again, no question. But after 11 years of the original show, it’s probably safe to say that it’s all been done. If the first five episodes are anything to go by, there’s nothing to indicate so far that this revival will be going off in any radical new directions. In fact, without getting into spoilers, Episode 5, The Founder’s Society, is effectively a shameless re-telling of the original series’ second-season episode The Club, using the exact same premise but swapping out Niles for Olivia and Alan. It’s a throwaway episode at best.
Finally, some gags, particularly those featuring Eve and David, feel a bit forced or reaching; they just don’t come off as naturally as they did in the original series. This is especially noticeable in several of the gags that feature David as the butt of the joke, to which he’s often completely oblivious as he walks through a scene lost in his own thoughts. That being said, David as a character is great overall. I can easily see the potential for him to grow as a beloved character in the series, mirroring his father’s character development arc in hopefully fresh new ways.
So, to wrap up, my five-episode preview of Frasier (2023) has left me a tiny bit concerned, but I’m mostly optimistic that there will be more seasons to come. There’s nothing necessarily going on here that will shock longtime fans who have likely seen all that the titular character has to offer before (reportedly, actor David Hyde Pierce refused to reprise his role as Niles for similar reasons regarding his character). But after a long, 14-year absence, the opportunity to watch and laugh both at and with Frasier once more as he navigates the next chapter of his life feels more akin to eating my favourite comfort food rather than tasting stale leftovers.
On the off-chance you’re a newcomer to Frasier on the whole, however, oh boy, you are in for a feast, because the doctor is back in, and he’s listening.
