Frasier

Frasier (/ˈfreɪʒər/) is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub Street Productions), in association with Grammnet (2004) and Paramount Network Television.
Frasier was critically acclaimed, with the series and the cast winning thirty-seven Primetime Emmy Awards, a record at the time for a scripted series. It also won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for five consecutive years. A revival is due to be released on Paramount+ in mid-2023.
==About==
Psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane (Grammer) returns to his hometown of Seattle, Washington, following the breakup of his marriage and his life in Boston (which was covered in the series Cheers). His plans for his new life as a bachelor are complicated when he is obliged to take in his father, ex-police officer Martin Crane (Mahoney), who had to retire and is unable to live by himself owing to an injury caused by being shot in the line of duty. Frasier and Martin are joined by Daphne Moon (Leeves), Martin's eccentric, British, live-in physical therapist and caretaker, and Martin's dog Eddie (Moose).
A frequent visitor to their apartment is Frasier's younger brother Niles (Pierce), a fellow psychiatrist who, like Frasier, is pompous, snobbish, and overly intellectual. Niles' infatuation with and eventual love for Daphne, feelings which he does not confess to her openly until the final episode of the seventh season, form a complex story arc that span the entire series. Frasier hosts a popular radio talk show on KACL 780AM (named to honor the show's creators, Angell, Casey, and Lee). His producer is Roz Doyle (Gilpin), a woman with an active romantic life who, while decidedly different from Frasier in taste and temperament, nevertheless becomes a very close friend over the course of the series.
== Episodes ==
Season	Season	Episodes	Originally aired (U.S. dates)	Originally aired (U.S. dates)
Season	Season	Episodes	Season premiere 	Season finale
 	1 	24 	September 16, 1993 	May 19, 1994
 	2 	24 	September 20, 1994 	May 23, 1995
 	3 	24 	September 19, 1995 	May 21, 1996
 	4 	24 	September 17, 1996 	May 20, 1997
 	5 	24 	September 23, 1997 	May 19, 1998
 	6 	24 	September 24, 1998 	May 20, 1999
 	7 	24 	September 23, 1999 	May 18, 2000
 	8 	24 	October 24, 2000 	May 22, 2001
 	9 	24 	September 21, 2001 	May 21, 2002
 	10 	24 	September 24, 2002 	May 20, 2003
 	11 	24 	September 23, 2003 	May 13, 2004
== Starring ==
:Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane
:Jane Leeves as Daphne Moon
:David Hyde Pierce as Niles Crane
:Peri Gilpin as Roz Doyle
:Dan Butler as Bulldog Brisco (4—6, recurring otherwise)
:and John Mahoney as Martin Crane
== Production ==
===Themes===
Numerous running jokes and themes develop throughout the series. Chief among them are the class and familial conflicts among Frasier, Niles and Martin. The two sons, who possess "fine" tastes, "intellectual" interests and rather high opinions of themselves, frequently clash with their more blue-collar, down-to-earth father. A running theme, particularly in the early seasons, is Frasier's and Martin's difficulty in reaching an accommodation with each other and in sharing an apartment. Despite being similar in personality, interests and sensibilities, the relationship between Frasier and Niles is no less turbulent. Despite their mutual love of sherry, opera, and ballet, they are constantly victims of intense sibling rivalry, their jealousy of each other and petty attempts at one-upmanship (which frequently result in chaos) drive many of the plots. This similar rivalry is seen with Cam Winston.
Other developing storylines include Niles' growing love for Daphne (of which she remains unaware in the early seasons, despite its increasingly obvious nature) and the breakdown of his marriage to the never-seen Maris (a take-off from its parent series, "Cheers," in which Norm's wife, Vera, was often talked about–and even heard–but never seen), Frasier's search for love in his own life, and the various attempts of the two brothers to gain acceptance into Seattle's cultural elite. Structurally, many episodes center around misunderstandings or elaborate lies which multiple characters are forced to "play along" with in order to conceal the truth. Frasier also featured many "once-a-year" plot devices, such as an appearance by Frederick, Lilith, or Bebe. Season finales sometimes took the form of a "two part" special that was concluded as the series premiere the following season.
===Cheers Universe===
The "Cheers" universe was spun-off into 4 other series.
*"The Tortellis"
*"Wings"
**The rivalry between the Crane brothers and/or Cam is similar to the rivalry between the Hackett brothers and/or Roy.
**The rivalry between the Crane brothers and/or Cam is similar to the rivalry between the Chapel sisters and/or Roy.
**Cliff Clavin and Norm Peterson visit Nantucket in the "Wings" season 2 episode "The Story of Joe".
**Frasier Crane and Lilith Sternin visit Nantucket in the "Wings" season 3 episode "Planes, Trains, & Visiting Cranes". In the "Cheers" episode "License to Hill", which aired the same night as that Wings episode, Frasier mentions that he and Lilith are going to Nantucket, foreshadowing their crossover appearance.
**In the season 9 episode, "Bla-Z-Boy", Niles Crane plays the "Wings" theme song (Schubert's Piano sonata No. 20 in A Major, D. 959, IV. Rondo. Allegretto.).
**Rebecca Howe appears in the "Wings" season 4 episode "I Love Brian", whose plot revolves around Brian's attempt to infiltrate a post-concert party in Clint Black's hotel room. As Rebecca is seen being asked to leave by Black's bouncer, she begs Black to come to the bar in Boston where she works so she can prove to the others there that she knows him. Black responds, "Maybe next year," causing Rebecca to exclaim right before she is kicked out of the party, "But none of you know where we're going to be next year!", a reference to the fact that Cheers was in its final and last season.
*"Frasier"
*"Frasier" (2023)
*"Cheers" (Spanish version)
*The actor who played Martin Crane and the actress who played Roz Doyle appeared in "Cheers" and/or "Wings" playing different characters. Tony Shalhoub ("Wings") had a guest appearance on "Cheers" or "Frasier".
*The characters of Rebecca Howe and Ernie Pantusso were the only "Cheers" main characters not to guest star on "Frasier". The other main characters of: Sam Malone, Diane Chambers, Carla Tortelli, Norm Peterson, Cliff Clavin, Frasier Crane, Woody Boyd, Lilith Sternin; appeared in at least 1 episode.
== Sequel series ==
On February 24, 2021, a revival series was greenlit for exclusive debut on Paramount+. Grammer said he "gleefully" anticipated "sharing the next chapter in the continuing journey of Dr. Frasier Crane" as he had "spent over 20 years" of his "creative life on the Paramount lot". In October 2022, Paramount+ officially gave the series a twelfth season order of 10 episodes. In January 2023, Jack Cutmore-Scott joined the cast as Freddy Crane. It was also reported that English actor Nicholas Lyndhurst would be joining the cast. Anders Keith and Jess Salgueiro were later cast as Niles and Daphne's son and Freddy's roommate, respectively. The series premiered on October 12, 2023.
== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
Frasier is one of the most critically acclaimed comedy series of all time and one of the most successful spin-off series in television history. Critics and commentators have broadly held the show in high regard.
Caroline Frost said that the series overall showed a high level of wit, but noted that many critics felt that the marriage of Daphne and Niles in season 10 had removed much of the show's comic tension. Ken Tucker felt that their marriage made the series seem desperate for storylines, while Robert Bianco felt that it was symptomatic of a show that had begun to dip in quality after so much time on the air. Kelsey Grammer acknowledged the creative lull, saying that over the course of two later seasons, the show "took itself too seriously". Commentators acknowledged that there was an improvement following the return of the writers Christopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan, although not necessarily to its earlier high standards.
Writing about the first season, John O'Connor described Frasier as being a relatively unoriginal concept, but said that it was generally a "splendid act," while Tucker thought that the second season benefited greatly from a mix of "high and low humor". Tucker's comment is referring to what Grammer described as a rule of the series that the show should not play down to its audience. Kevin Cherry believes that Frasier was able to stay fresh by not making any contemporary commentary, therefore allowing the show to be politically and socially neutral. Other commentators, such as Haydn Bush disagree, believing the success of Frasier can be attributed to the comedic timing and the rapport between the characters. Joseph J. Darowski and Kate Darowski praise the overall message of the series, which across eleven seasons sees several lonely, broken individuals develop warm, caring relationships. While individual episodes vary in quality, the series as a whole carry with it a definitive theme and evolution from pilot to finale. The Economist devoted an article to the 25th anniversary of the show's premiere stating, "it is clear that audiences still demand the sort of intelligent and heartfelt comedy that “Frasier” provided."
In spite of the criticisms of the later seasons, these critics were unanimous in praising at least the early seasons, with varied commentary on the series' demise ranging from believing, like Bianco, that the show had run its course to those like Dana Stevens, who bemoaned the end of Frasier as the "end of situation comedy for adults". Critics compared the farcical elements of the series, especially in later seasons, to the older sitcom Three's Company. NBC News contributor Wendell Wittler described the moments of misunderstanding as "inspired by the classic comedy of manners as were the frequent deflations of Frasier’s pomposity".
In 2017, 13 years after the show ended, Frasier was said to have experienced a "renaissance" on Netflix and "achieved a second life as one of the streaming service's most soothing offerings".
=== Cultural impact ===
Frasier began airing in off-network syndication on September 15, 1997. It is available on Cozi TV, Hallmark Channel, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock and Crave in select countries. Netflix stopped offering the show in 2020.
The show's popularity has resulted in several fan sites, podcasts, and publications. Podcasts that look primarily at the show include Talk Salad and Scrambled Eggs with Kevin Smith and Matt Mira and Frasierphiles.
A soundtrack to the series was released in 2001.
== Media ==
:Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs: An Oral History of Frasier (VANITY FAIR • SEPTEMBER 2018)
== Videos ==
Kelsey Grammer - Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs (Frasier Soundtrack)
Category:Frasier