November 24th 2023.
Kelsey Grammer has admitted to wanting his Frasier co-star David Hyde Pierce to join the reboot of the beloved series. Grammer, who is reprising his iconic role of Frasier Crane, spoke to Variety about his attempts to convince Pierce to come back and join the show.
The show, which is currently airing on Paramount+, has already seen a delightful cameo from Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith Sternin and a return from Peri Gilpin as Roz Doyle. However, the show's lead has been joined by a fresh cast, including Nicholas Lyndhurst and Jack Cutmore-Scott, as Pierce and Daphne Moon actress Jane Leeves have both decided to steer clear.
Grammer admitted that he had done his best to try and change Pierce's mind before filming began. “I really wanted David Hyde Pierce to join us. And I did my best to have him come along for the ride," he said. "And at one point, he finally just said, “I don’t really want to play the character anymore.” And that was fine.”
When asked if the new reboot would serve as a ‘continuation’ had Pierce jumped on board, Grammer insisted that it would have still been a ‘maturation’. He said, “No, never a continuation. A couple of other shows have basically picked up where they left off. And I didn’t want to do that, because the guy had been away for 20 years. It had to be a maturation, he had to be a wiser guy, he had to take a few things less seriously, and take some of the serious things more seriously. And that should be his family.”
The original show aired 30 years ago and saw Frasier surrounded by his family, including the late John Mahoney as his dad, Martin Crane. The reboot has introduced viewers to a new gang, with Frasier butting heads with his son Freddy, serving as a mentor to his nephew David, catching up with an old friend turned colleague, and forming a bond with Freddy’s pal, Eve.
Grammer added fuel to the fire when he said, “It would be nice to have that happen. We won’t force it; we’ll see what happens. We can certainly write to it. There’s arguably a lot of people in the world that have seen Frasier, and would really sort of celebrate seeing him again.”
Viewers were devastated by Niles' absence when the reboot of Frasier first aired, but David Hyde Pierce addressed the series in a chat with the Guardian last April, saying he was “interested” to see what the program ends up like. With that in mind, it's fair to say that anything could happen, as long as Grammer keeps trying to convince Pierce to come back.
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