After stepping back into the role of Roz Doyle for the Season 1 finale of Paramount+’s “Frasier,” actress Peri Gilpin is open to reprising the role again – either through another guest appearance or even full-time.
In the episode “Reindeer Games,” Roz makes a surprise visit to cheer Frasier up after his Christmas party turns into a disaster.
“You look like crap,” she tells him before revealing that she was called in by Freddy.
“He said you were down and that you could really stand to see an old friend,” she adds.
The pair then leave the apartment and head for a drink at Mahoney’s, where they toast Martin Crane (John Mahoney), reminisce about him and discuss their kids. After their heart-to-heart conversation, Frasier and Roz return to the former’s apartment, where Freddy and others surprise them for a Christmas dinner.
“It was fun to revisit and felt really good. I wasn’t expecting it not to be, but I really was surprised at how great it felt to be there again,” Gilpin told TheWrap. “I genuinely love this character. So I would love to do it [again]. It just depends on what happens next.”
In the original NBC sitcom series finale, Roz is promoted to station manager of KACL. However, based on her father’s experience as a radio DJ, Gilpin speculates that Roz has probably bounced around a lot since her last appearance.
“I think Roz could have had her own show at one point because I know that was a big dream of hers. She may have gone back to producing I’m sure. I just feel like she probably wasn’t station manager for all these years,” she said. “But I have a feeling she’s been in administration, I’m sure she’s had a lot to do with the world of [Sirius XM] and all the great things that people are doing now with radio. I’m sure she’s very much a part of that.”
When asked about her thoughts on the revival, Gilpin praised co-executive producers Joe Cristalli and Chris Harris for the show’s direction.
“I was really thrilled with what they wrote and what they had us do,” she said. “It made sense. It was easy to get into and it sort of built in the idea that [Frasier and Roz] hadn’t seen each other for a while and that they were they were really getting reacquainted but definitely keep in touch.”
She emphasized that there’s a “real freshness” to the show.
“It’s very different from the last one, but then there’s things that feel really familiar. It’s like comfort food hearing Frasier’s voice and they have a lot of great references to John [Mahoney], who I miss a lot,” Gilpin said. “It just feels like a different chapter, but it still has a lot of the same resonance of the last one.”
She added that it’s a “cool perspective” to focus on the relationship between Frasier and Freddy and see Niles and Daphne’s son David, adding that she’d love to have Roz’s daughter Alice appear on the show if it continues.
Kelsey Grammer told TheWrap that the show has not “actively pursued” the idea of bringing any legacy or “Cheers” characters back in the event of a potential second season, but said future appearances from Dr. Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth) seem natural given her relationship as Freddy’s mother and Frasier’s ex-wife.
“A peace has been made between the two of them. They both realize they have to at least communicate sometimes,” he said of Frasier and Lilith. “Now, maybe we won’t see her for a while, but we’ll see her again, I’m sure.”
As for Daphne and Niles, Grammer said it would be “pretty neat” to see David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves interact with Anders Keith, who plays their son David. But he also said it’s been fun to explore the character without them being present.
“If they want to do it, that’d be cool. But we won’t go out of our way to make something happen that isn’t just natural if we don’t have a good idea for it,” Grammer added.
When asked about reuniting Frasier and Roz, co-showrunner and co-executive producer Joe Cristalli told TheWrap that Gilpin received a four-minute ovation from the live studio audience during the taping of the episode.
“It’s just a big, big hug when she walks in, you’re just happy to see her and can’t wait for her to talk,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what we can do with her even going forward because we underutilize her in Season 1 by design. There’s just so much there and as long as we earn storylines that necessitate your Liliths, your Roz, Daphne, Niles, whoever, I think we’re always going to enjoy having them and it’ll be totally worth it.”
In addition to David and Freddy, new characters include Alan (Nicholas Lyndhurst), Frasier’s old college buddy turned university professor; Olivia (Toks Olagundoye), Alan’s colleague and head of the university’s psychology department; and Freddy’s roommate Eve (Jess Salgueiro).
As for the current plans for a possible season 2, Grammer teased that the show’s next chapter would continue to explore Frasier’s new life in Boston.
“He’s still looking for love and he’s still trying to make a difference in his academic life and he’s still trying to be of use,” Grammer said. “That’s what’s great about him. When you quit trying to be of use in life, I guess that’s when you probably fold up the tent, and Frasier was not about to fold it up.”
Paramount+ has not made a decision on the fate of the “Frasier” revival. A spokesperson for the streamer did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
When asked about what she hopes fans take away from the “Frasier” reboot, Gilpin replied: “That life is full of rewarding experiences and moments with our families and friends at every stage and that wanting to be a great parent is harder than being a great son or daughter and involves a selflessness that sometimes you have to dig pretty deep to find, but is so worth it.”
She added that fans who are on the fence should give the revival a try, noting that there are “authentic aspects” of Frasier both from his “Cheers” days and the original sitcom and new characters and situations that are “wonderful, whimsical, make sense, and are very funny.”
All episodes of the “Frasier” revival are available to stream now on Paramount+
