Kelsey Grammer would like to bring back Shelley Long for the Frasier revival

Last Updated on January 12, 2024

Fraiser Crane is back in Boston, and while he’s already had a run-in with his ex-wife, Lilith, played by the great Emmy Award-winning Bebe Neuwirth, he’s likely to reunite with some of his old cohorts from Cheers. While the Frasier revival has a split reaction among critics and fans, Kelsey Grammer feels the new show will last for several seasons. Grammer stated, “I believe we have a home at Paramount+ for several years to come, and we certainly have several ideas for it. It’s just what’s fleshing out, and we’re not sure yet because the writers went on strike, then the actors stayed on strike, and everything just sort of stalled. At least we got the episodes in under the wire before we had to just lock down.”

The first season of Frasier concluded last year and Grammer is already giving his wishlist for what he’d like to see for the next season. According to Deadline, Grammer appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show, where he proposed a return of Diane Chambers, who was played by Shelley Long in Cheers and would also make appearances in the original Frasier. Grammer remarked, “I would like to see Diane come back. For one of those reasons of Frasier to be able to put something to bed. To end up with a nice thing between them.”

Diane had a long, complicated history with Frasier. In fact, Frasier made his debut on Cheers as a love interest of Diane’s. Frasier was to marry her, but she would leave him hanging at the altar, which Frasier would carry on his shoulders into his spin-off show. Grammer explained further, “When I first got the role, the key to Frasier for me was that he loved her with his whole heart, that he loved with all of his being. And that actually defined who he is and he’s been that way ever since. He just goes in wholeheartedly with everything — and that’s what makes him funny.”

Grammer has said that despite Cheers being closed now, he wanted to bring the gang back together, “I wanted to bring the whole legacy cast back but in a different world where we’ve all moved on to something else but we would still be connected — that didn’t happen.” He continued, “I thought he has stuff he’s gotta do in Boston still. When he went there as a young man to first go to Harvard, it didn’t work out the way he wanted it to, so he has some stuff to deal with.”