Kelsey Grammer and James Burrows talk about the ‘Frasier’ reboot at Consider This

Few characters have played a more important role in television history than Dr. Frasier Crane, the Boston psychiatrist turned Seattle radio personality played by Kelsey Grammer on “Cheers” and two series of “Frasier” (more an episode of “Wings”, for those who follow). Grammer’s latest role as the character in the Paramount+ revival of “Frasier” was one of the biggest TV events of 2023, proving that Dr. Crane is just as relevant in the 2020s as he was in the 80s, 90s and 2000s.

To celebrate this acclaimed revival, Grammer, showrunners Joe Cristalli and Chris Harris, director James Burrows and production designer Glenda Rovello joined IndieWire’s Jim Hemphill for a panel discussion at IndieWire’s Consider This FYC event. The collaborators discussed their long journey with Frasier Crane and why the character continues to draw them back.

“Mr. Grammer was 29 when he first played Frasier Crane, and he looked 80,” Burrows said with a booming laugh. “Now he’s 80 and he looks 29 .”

Burrows’ joke was underscored by the fact that audiences had the chance to grow up alongside Frasier Crane over the 40 years he was on our television screens. This growth made Cristalli and Harris realize that their revival should show a natural evolution of the character at a new point in his life.

“I loved the idea of ​​exploring, what has happened to this character? How has he changed? » Harris said. “Sometimes a show does a repeat and everyone will be exactly where they were, on the exact same sets. And with that, we said, “Let’s treat him like a real human being.” It would be weird if he was in the exact same position as before.

But as the revival quickly evolved, introducing new characters and moving the action from Seattle to Boston, Grammer explained that it was important for the team not to lose sight of what made it special in the first place. place. .

“‘Frasier’ seemed like a natural thing to come back to because he was so alive and so interesting. As a character, he’s so willing to get back up,” Grammer said. “He was always getting knocked down, but always up back in the game. That’s what I loved about him, and that’s what I still love about him. He always does his best to love sincerely, to love deeply, and to live fully. has not changed.

The legacy of the original “Frasier” was also an important part of the design team. Rovello explained that the brilliance of Frasier’s original apartment motivated her to come up with a new vision of the wealthy psychiatrist’s residence that matched the attention to detail of her Elliot Bay Towers digs .

“It was very thoughtful, and right down to the sofa and the coffee table, they were incredible examples of what was happening with design at the time,” Rovello said. “Sitcoms before that weren’t like that. These were really obvious homes or workplaces. And this one supported a character who really cared about design, who was sophisticated. So even though 30 years have passed since the original creation, it’s still the same character.

The combination of old and new was made possible through a collaborative approach that Burrows developed over the last half-century of television making.

“I like to think of it a little bit like rowing a lifeboat,” he said of his approach to making sitcoms. “We all have oars, we’re all going to row this lifeboat. No one will row with their ego, you will use an oar. You will try to make the show as funny as possible. Nobody counts the lines. You must be part of a whole. Yes, we have a star, but we have a star who is also an ensemble musician, which is very important.

“I was just going to assume in that metaphor that you’re in a lifeboat because the writers had sunk the ship,” Cristalli added with a laugh.

Watch the entire “Frasier” panel from IndieWire’s Consider This event above.