After almost 20 years, Dr. Frasier Crane is back in the building!
The Frasier reboot premieres on Thursday, Oct. 12, as Kelsey Grammer’s titular character returns to Boston to attempt to connect with his adult son, Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott) and embark on a new career opportunity.
The 10-episode season premieres its first two episodes on Paramount+ Oct. 12, with new episodes dropping weekly on Thursdays. The first two episodes will also broadcast on CBS on Tuesday, Oct. 17 starting at 9:15 p.m. PT/ET, following a super-sized new episode of Big Brother.
Sept. 16 marked 30 years since the original Frasier first premiered on NBC, following Grammer’s eight-season run as the character on Cheers. The original series still holds the record for most Emmy wins by a comedy series, with 37 wins and 107 nominations.
While the reboot’s premiere episode doesn’t feature any familiar faces besides Grammer’s, Bebe Neuwirth will return in a later episode as Freddy’s mother and Frasier’s icy ex-wife, Lilith, and Peri Gilpin is also set to reappear as Frasier’s former co-worker, Roz.
The new cast of characters in Frasier’s life also includes Nicholas Lyndhurst as Alan, an old college friend of Frasier’s who is now a professor; Toks Olagundoye as Olivia, Alan’s colleague and the head of the university’s psychology department; Jess Salgueiro as Eve, Freddy’s roommate; and Anders Keith as Frasier’s nephew David, the son of Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce) and Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves).
“The audience really loved the previous collection of characters, and I can’t wait for them to fall in love with this bunch,” Grammer raved in ET’s exclusive behind-the-scenes look ahead of the show’s premiere. “They’re going to see some wonderful things. Things they did not expect.”
“Now is the right time to bring Frasier back because he is not the same guy anymore,” the actor added. “He is a little wiser, he may actually even be a little funnier, willing to laugh at himself. A little more self-aware, and he has a new mission in life.”
Here’s a look at all the callbacks and tributes from the first episode of the Frasier reboot.
The Iconic Theme Song
We’re still no closer to understanding the meaning behind “Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs,” but Grammer recorded a new version of the memorable theme song for the reboot series. Of course, at the end of the track he now says goodnight to Boston, rather than Seattle.
Picking Up Where We Left Off
The reboot pilot centers on Frasier’s return to Boston, however, it does its best to tie up the loose ends from where we last saw the character. In the original Frasier finale, the lead character left Seattle, and his radio show, to move to Chicago. He was following love interest Charlotte (Laura Linney), with plans to make the move from radio to television.
In the reboot pilot, we learn that one of those dreams worked out better than the other. Frasier became a successful talk show host, having just recently left the job for his new chapter in Boston, however, the relationship with Charlotte also ended in less amicable fashion — she dumped him.
Tributes to John Mahoney
The Frasier cast lost one of their own when Mahoney — who played Frasier and Niles’ working-class father, Martin Crane — died in February 2018 after a battle with throat cancer. From the beginning, the reboot planned to pay tribute to the late actor in its new episodes.
“You’ll see things about John all through the show,” Grammer previouly told ET. “I think people will be very happy to see that he’s honored in the way he is in the show.”
The reboot pilot begins as Frasier and David return from attending Martin’s funeral in Seattle — and Freddy’s failure to show up is one of the main points of conflict between father and son as they begin to reconnect. However, they’re able to bond over their love and grief for Martin.
“He was a hell of a guy,” Frasier reminisces. “A tough act to follow.”
Martin’s legacy lives on in the show, however, even in subtle ways. The bar that the college professors frequent near Harvard is cleverly named Mahoney’s.
At the end of the reboot’s first episode, the credits pay tribute to late Frasier script supervisor Gabrielle James, Lyndhurst’s late son, Archie, and of course, Mahoney.
The Mahoney tribute is especially poignant, as it uses a clip of the actor from the original series, smiling at the camera and promising, “It all works out.”
Cheers to Cheers
While there are plenty of references made to the original Frasier series in the reboot, there’s also a quick callback to the series where the character originated: the iconic ’80s sitcom Cheers.
When pressed, Frasier admits that he has “mixed emotions” about returning to Boston.
“I’m not sure I was ever my best self here,” he confesses. “I may have spent too much time at a certain bar.”
Character Traits
At the moment, there aren’t any official plans for Pierce or Leeves to appear in the reboot series, however, Frasier credits David with calling both Niles and Daphne to mind with his various character quirks.
“You remind me of your mother, perpetually optimistic,” he tells his nephew, but the tender moment is ruined when David starts putting in eyedrops.
“You can’t tell me it’s not Sahara-dry in here,” David insists.
“Now you remind me of your father,” Frasier laments. David doesn’t do himself any favors in that department by later producing a laminated card listing his extensive food allergies.
Other Easter Eggs
A few more callbacks appear throughout the premiere episode, and will surely continue throughout the season. Frasier smiles as he notices a sign in the airport that reads “Boston’s calling, are you listening?,” a callback to his old radio sign-on: “Good afternoon, Seattle. I’m listening.”
Additionally, the first episode of the reboot is titled “The Good Father,” a direct callback to the original Frasier‘s series premiere, which was called “The Good Son.”
Frasier‘s 10-episode season premieres in the U.S and Canada on Thursday, Oct. 12 with two episodes, and internationally on Friday, Oct. 13. New episodes will drop weekly on Thursdays, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and Canada, and on Fridays internationally.
The first two episodes will also broadcast on CBS on Tuesday, Oct. 17 starting at 9:15 p.m. PT/ET, following a super-sized new episode of Big Brother.
RELATED CONTENT: