A ‘Fraiser’ reboot is coming: Here’s why we’re anything but excited

Frasier, which was a spinoff of Cheers, is a show that always comes up when talking about “the best sitcoms of all time”. Frasier ran for 11 seasons from 1993 to 2004, following stuffy, pretentious Frasier (Kelsey Grammer), who works as a radio advice show host. He tries to connect with his equally cultured brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and his very blue collar father, Martin (John Mahoney). 

Along the way, adventures are had, shenanigans ensue, and everyone had to look up all the smart people references in Frasier. It had a solid ending. Not something universally loved, but not like Game of Thrones or Dexter levels of terrible. Now, however, there are talks of Frasier reboot. Which, oh boy, it’s not . . . we’re not loving it.

Here’s why. 

Why?

Paramount+, aka the streamer formerly known as CBS All Access, is currently circling the project, which has been in the works in various forms for years. The new series would see Frasier moving to a new city, and it was announced as in development in 2018. It’s been slow-going. After all, Frasier was an award show darling and won the Emmy for Best Comedy Series five years in a row amongst other awards.

But there has been no movement on the project until now. Even now, the Frasier reboot is still a very big question mark. Sources say that Paramount is only considering the project. Nothing has been ordered yet. No scripts have been made. It’s very much just a consideration. If they do go forward with it, however, shooting could begin as early as this summer.

But that’s only if they go forward with it. 

Just leave it be

Reboots and revivals can be a good thing, but not all the time. The original run of Frasier was amazing. It just doesn’t make sense to give it a reboot. There’s nothing fans are truly furious about. While David Hyde Pierce, Jane Leeves, and Peri Gilpin are all set to be involved with the series in some capacity, it doesn’t sound like it will be a series regular sort of gig. 

What made Frasier work so well is the chemistry between the cast members. That was an essential ingredient for the series to really sing, but without it? It just falls a bit flat to us. More importantly, Frasier was very of its time. Are there still psychiatric call in radio shows? Maybe on satellite radio. But, really, it’s all about podcasts today and that doesn’t have the same live call-in engagement, you know?

It would just need to work harder to translate into the 2020s and with a largely new cast on top of it. 

So will the Frasier reboot happen?

Currently, from what everyone is saying, this is all still very up in the air. Paramount+ and CBS studios both declined to comment. This is still very much an if rather than when sort of project so there’s a linguistic nuance that Frasier and Niles are sure to appreciate. Don’t take out the torches and pitchforks yet. 

Ultimately, a Frasier reboot would need to be absolutely perfect in order to win over fans. The original series, given how long it ran, was lightning in a bottle on its own. It’s hard to imagine it being recaptured twice. Reboots and revivals, largely, are made to fix series that are beloved but ended poorly, like Dexter. Even then, it doesn’t always work out.

So why try? Frasier is in the annals of TV history of being one of the greats. They won. Why try to ruin it all with a victory lap?