Summary
The Cheers bar being closed in theFrasierreboot allows Ted Danson’s comedy to preserve its legacy. Since seeing the success of theRoseannerevival in 2018, Kelsey Grammer started working on Frasier Crane’s return to the small screen. It took a while to shop the project and crack its story, especially afterDavid Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves, who played Niles and Daphne in the Seattle series, turned down the opportunity to return. This didn’t dissuade Grammer, leading to Paramount+ greenlighting the revival. Now, thefirst 10 episodes of theFrasierrebootare out, with more to come.
Despite thedivisiveFrasierreboot season 1 reviews, the show did a decent job establishing the reason for Grammer’s character returning to Boston. After stints in Seattle and Chicago, Frasier wanted to re-settle in his old haunt to re-establish his relationship with his son Freddy. The move was also likely motivated by therecent death of his father, John Mahoney’s Martin Crane. That said, coming back to Beantown raised questions about his original time in the city, particularly, all the nights he spent hanging out at Sam’s iconic bar. Apparently, this was never discussed because of the status of Cheers.
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The Cheers Bar Is Officially Closed In The Frasier Reboot
Cheers Co-creator Jim Burrows Decided The Fate Of The Bar
Once it was confirmed that theFrasierreboot would be set in Chicago, one of, if not the biggest expectations from it was to see Grammer’s character stepping back into the underground pub. Unfortunately, not only didFrasier not revisit his old-time drinking spot, he didn’t even mention its name throughout the series. Instead, theFrasierrevival replaced Cheerswith a hybrid coffee shop/bar called Mahoney’s, which was yet another tribute to John Mahoney. Since the Paramount+ show only had 10 episodes in its first year, there wasn’t much time to dwell on the mystery of Sam’s bar.
Ahead of the revival’s new season, however, an official update on Sam’s bar has been revealed. Grammer shared that officially, theCheers bar is closed in the newFrasier.Cheersco-creator James Burrow made this decision, and Grammer is committed to honoring that despite previous conflicting claims about what really happened to the pub, saying:
“There’s a sense of respect that we owe him and the idea (“Frasier”) exists in another world. It’s gone, the bar is gone.”
Unfortunately, theFrasier’s actor and producer didn’t get into specifics about when and why the establishment shut its doors. With that clarified, however, the new Paramount+ series can finally move past questions and criticisms about why it doesn’t acknowledge the existence of the pub. Even with Mahoney’s available, there was an assumption thatFrasier should still visit his old drinking hole as he got reacquainted with Boston. Now, he has a justified reason not to do it because Cheers is no longer operating.
Sam’s Bar Being Closed Is Better For Cheers' Legacy
Preserving Cheers' Legacy Is Easier If The New Frasier Isn’t Forced To Visit It
The Cheers bar being closed has some clear benefits to theFrasierreboot. However, it also has clear advantages to the iconic sitcom of the same name. For starters,Cheerswill be safe from any potentially damaging storytelling in the future. Somehow, both the original Frasier and its sequel have a penchant for mocking both the bar and the show. In the Seattle series,Frasier made fun of his time drinking every nighteven though he enjoyed himself rubbing elbows with Sam’s patrons. He repeated the sentiment in the new Paramount+ series.
Meanwhile, the door is closed onCheersbeing resurrected — something that both Ted Danson and Burrows have maintained for years.
It was easy to chalk both times to humor, but it would have been different if Frasier found himself back in the pub with the same kind of condescension. There was already division over whetherFrasierneeded to be revived. Doing so is risking ruining the original series, but at least, Grammer is spearheading this new endeavor. Meanwhile, the door is closed onCheersbeing resurrected — something that both Ted Danson and Burrows have maintained for years. This means that they have no interest in bringing back the show because they both want to preserve the show’s existing legacy.
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ThenewFrasiershow having access to the Cheers bar could be detrimental to the ’80s sitcom, as the Paramount+ endeavor will have to depict the iconic set with barely any guidance from the people who made the comedy four decades ago. Additionally, if Sam and his usual bar flies are still doing their nightly shenanigans, it speaks to the harsh truth about how their personal lives turned in the last four decades. All of them should have been at home with their families and not in a bar, still wasting their time away.
Why The Frasier Reboot Needs To Acknowledge Frasier’s History In Cheers
Some Of Frasier’s Biggest TV Moments Happened In Sam’s Bar
Before he became a radiotherapist at KACL in Seattle and a successful TV host in Chicago,Frasier had a clinic in Boston, where he presumably made his money. WhileCheersdidn’t reveal much about his life outside of his routine visits to the bar, Sam and the rest of the people in the popular basement establishment witness some of the biggest moments in the character’s personal narrative on the small screen. That included the whole trajectory of his relationship with Lilith Sternin, which resulted in the birth of his only son who is an integral player in the current comedy.
Suffice it to say,Cheers is a very important part of the Crane-Sternin family history. TheFrasierrevival not returning to Sam’s baralready hurts this part of Frasier’s overall arc. Despite the pub being closed, the Paramount+ project still needs to find a way to acknowledge the part that it played in the character’s initial time in Boston. Despite his difference with most of the people frequenting the drinking hole, it was still comforting for Frasier to have a regular hang-out place, especially when he was going through his painful divorce with Lilith.
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How The Frasier Reboot Can Still Honor Cheers
The Frasier Revival Has Ways To Honor Cheers Without Featuring Sam’s Establishment
However, even with the bar closed, there are still ways that the Frasier revival can honor Cheers. Perhaps the easiest way to do that is for Frasier to acknowledge the part that it played in his original arc in Boston. Instead of looking back at that time with distaste, the therapist-turned-Harvard educator must remember it with fondness. The Frasier show can even bring back some of his old buddies for a cameo. Secondly, as a way to tie Cheers to his current storyline in the new show, reminiscing on the place with Lilith and Freddy is also a good option.
Frasier
Cast
Follow Frasier Crane in the next chapter of his life as he returns to Boston, Mass., with new challenges to face, new relationships to forge and an old dream or two to finally fulfill.
Cheers
One of the most well-known American sitcoms of the 1980s and 90s, Cheers is primarily set in Boston at the Cheers bar, and features and ensemble cast that includes Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Pearlman, Kelsey Grammer, and George Wendt. Danson’s Sam Malone acts as the bar’s proprietor, and episodes depict the lives of Cheers' staff and patrons during the bar’s operating hours. The series ran for 11 seasons and gave rise to popular spin-off shows such as Frasier.
