Was the Frasier Reboot Good? Looking Back on the First Season

December 8, 2023
JOSHUA ANDREW

Paramount+ aired the 10th and final episode of their Frasier reboot, and now that it's done, let's look at how the new Frasier stacks up against the beloved sitcom that made Emmy Award history.

The original Frasier ran on NBC for 11 seasons, from 1993-2004. The character of self-important psychiatrist Frasier Crane first appeared on the hit NBC sitcom Cheers as one of the bar regulars. The role has always been played by Kelsey Grammar — it's become a role that the actor is iconically known for in the way Lucille Ball will always Lucy Ricardo. He won four Emmy Awards for the character. He is the first actor to be nominated for Emmy Awards for playing the same character on three different TV shows (Cheers, Frasier, and Wings). He also holds the record for having one of the longest-played roles by an actor (not cartoon) in TV history, having played the role for 20+ years of television. The original series was known for its intelligence, wit, and heart. In the world of Frasier, Niles, Roz, Daphne, and Martin, you got smart jokes for the educated adults who didn't want to turn off their brains for a comedy. During its original run, the series won 37 Emmy Awards, a record for the time, and won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for 5 consecutive years.

So fans were excited and nervous when it was announced that Paramount+ was going to reboot the series with Kelsey Grammar returning in the titular role. Would it be good? Would it be better or worse than Will & Grace? Could we hate-watch like And Just Like That (though tbh, I have come around on that show...)?

Turns out the new Frasier just can't live up to its predecessor. But to be fair, those are big shoes to fill. Paramount+ just dropped the final episode of season 1, a Christmas episode where Frasier's beloved radio producer Roz returned. So now that we have a full first season, it's fair to say there are some things that worked and some that did not. The reboot saw Frasier famous from a long-running TV show (like Dr. Phil) and moving back to Boston to be closer to his son, Freddy. A Harvard dropout, Freddy chose to instead become a fireman and is much closer to the character of Frasier's late dad, Martin. We also have David Crane, Niles and Daphne's adult son attending Harvard, where Frasier now teaches alongside his old Oxford pal Professor Alan Cornwall. Freddy has a best friend Eve, and there's Harvard professor Olivia Finch to round out the ensemble.

The biggest issue with Frasier is that the comedy of the reboot isn't as smart as the original. It feels like it could be any CBS sitcom rather than a high-brow show that you could enjoy and relish in and also learn from. The new cast is fine enough, but the only moments that really shine are with his co-worker Alan (Nicholas Lyndhurst) because their banter feels like the Frasier of the past. It's a disservice to Frasier to surround him with all young people — he feels more like a relic in those scenarios rather than the snobbish, well-rounded charmer he's meant to be. If the show comes back for a second season, it would be good to see more characters from Frasier's past — people who are his peers who can flourish with.

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