Kelsey Grammer is not giving up on the idea of a “Frasier” revival.
The “Cheers” alum appeared on ITV’s morning program “Lorraine” on Friday, where host Lorraine Kelly pointed out that fans had spotted him carrying around what looked like a script with the word “Frasier” on it.
“That little folder is filled with six different ideas that are all kind of in contention right now for what may be a new ‘Frasier,’” Grammer told Kelly. “It’s a fun idea, and they’re similar, but it’s a new life in a new city. That kind of thing is where we’re headed.”
The possibility of a “Frasier” reboot has been floating around since last summer, when TheWrap reported that a reboot was in the “early stages.”
The “Cheers” spinoff has been off the air for 15 years — it ran on NBC from 1993 to 2004, and continued the story of psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Grammer) during his return to his hometown of Seattle, where he built a new life as a radio advice-show host, reconnected with his father and brother, and made new friends. Last we saw of Frasier, he was boarding a plane leaving Seattle for Chicago, so the character already had one foot out the door of the Great Northwest.
“I don’t want to go back to Seattle,” Grammer told TheWrap, signaling that any potential reboot would be set in a new location.
Grammer also said that he’s told the original cast that “if there were to be such a thing, I would want them all to still be in there.”
But if this reboot is actually happening — Grammer said the chances were “40/60” during a “Today” appearance in August 2018 — it will have to go on without John Mahoney, who played Frasier’s father, Martin Crane.
“Of course, John Mahoney died a couple years ago. He was terrific,” Grammer said Friday. “So we need to replace that energy. So what they did on ‘Cheers’ with Coach — they found Woody, who has the same kind of sensibility.”
While we wait for the project to be officially greenlit, you can always watch reruns on Netflix or Hulu.