Summary

Cheers, while considered one of the best sitcoms, has aspects that don't hold up after decades, including toxic relationships and lack of diversity.
Sam, the primary character, exemplified toxic masculinity and often crossed boundaries with women, masked by charming flirtation.
The show lacked diversity in its cast and characters, with a predominantly Caucasian cast and no LGBTQ representation, despite being set in a bustling city.

Cheers is widely regarded as one of the best sitcoms of all time, but some of its aspects don't hold up after more than four decades. Created by Les and Glen Charles, and James Burrows, the premise of Cheers was fairly simple — a bar where "everybody knows your name." Although the show maintained its core throughout its run, it's an oversimplification of the show. The reason why Cheers became so popular was because of its layered storytelling, brought to life by a magnificent ensemble. Considering how successful it was, it's difficult to imagine that it almost got canceled after its first year following poor ratings.

Wrapping up in 1993, Cheers ended after 11 brilliant seasons. Its series finale, "One For The Road" was watched by almost 40% of the US population. Since then, however, it has been able to grow its fanbase steadily, thanks to being constantly on TV reruns and ease of accessibility to new viewers thanks to streaming platforms. This also allows those who watched it during its broadcast to revisit it under modern lens, making it easy to spot certain aspects of the beloved sitcom that didn't age quite well.

10 Sam and Diane's Romance Was Toxic

Ted Danson as Sam Malone and Shelley Long as Diane Chambers standing side-by-side in Cheers

In its first years, Cheers was anchored by the romance of Sam and Diane. The pair's will-they/won't-they dynamic inspired many fictional couple's stories including Moonlighting's Maddie and David, as well as Friends' Ross and Rachel. ittedly, Sam and Diane's bickering was exciting to watch, primarily because of Ted Danson and Shelley Long's chemistry and the show knew how to utilize the character to build up their story. Revisiting Cheers, however, it's clear that their relationship was toxic. They were clearly attracted to each other, but their differences made it impossible for them to work in the long run. In the end, it's better that they didn't end up together.

9 Sam Exemplified Toxic Masculinity

Although Cheers was an ensemble series, it was clear that Sam was its primary character. He used to share the spot with Diane, but after Shelley Long left Cheers after season 5, Sam became the sole protagonist of the series. He was well-liked in the bar and was generally kind and inviting. Unfortunately, he was usually problematic when dealing with potential romantic partners. Throughout Cheers, Sam had come on to countless women, and oftentimes, he could get quite pushy, masking manipulation with charming flirtation. This was most prominent when he essentially harassed Rebecca Howe to sleep with him. What made this worse was that the bar mostly ed him.

8 Cheers Lacked Diversity

The cast of Cheers sits at the bar looking at something off-screen.

It goes without saying that Cheers' cast was homogenous. The show lacked diversity on all fronts. Even the side characters, guest stars, and extras were all Caucasians. It also lacked LGBTQ representation. For a bar that is supposed to be at the center of one of the busiest metropolises in the US, it's odd that Cheers didn't have any prominent characters that are different from its core ensemble.

7 Norm's Had A Dysfunctional Marriage

One of the longest-running gags in Cheers came from the perpetually drunk Norm, who frequented the bar every night. Aside from his love of beer, another defining trait of the character was his relationship with his wife, Vera. The comedy never showed her, but she became an established character thanks to her husband's stories, which were usually unflattering. It was clear that Norm was stuck in a dysfunctional marriage, but instead of fixing or leaving it, he spent his days whining about it in the bar.

6 Carla Had Some Problematic Behavior

Before Diane became a waitress at Sam's bar, Carla was already an employee of the establishment. Known for her snipes and unbelievably tragic luck, she had a tumultuous personal arc in the show. However, that shouldn't justify her bad behavior, especially when it came to harassing Diane. Granted that Long's character can be overbearing, it didn't excuse Carla's quips against her.

5 Cheers Regularly Smart-Shamed Its Characters

Lilith and Frasier at the bar on Cheers with Frasier covering his face

Cheers was clearly a hangout place for working people. Despite Merville being supposedly a higher-end restaurant, the basement bar's patrons tended to be more grounded people. So characters such as Diane, Frasier, and even Lilith were usually the subjects of pranks and humiliations. Granted that they have their quirks, but it isn't a good look that they were constantly shamed whenever they talked about something even remotely intellectual.

4 Diane Being Victim-Blamed For Almost Getting Raped

As funny as Cheers was, it was still a product of its time, so some of its brand of humor that could work then no longer works now. One of the often overlooked problematic moments in the show came early on in Cheers season 1, episode 7, "Friends, Romans, ants," where Diane was sexually harassed and almost raped by Norm's boss. From the get-go, the premise of the outing already had issues when the bar started pimping Diane, so Norm can get ahead at work. Things got out of hand when she almost got raped.

Granted that Norm's boss turned out to be a dashing young man, eventually piquing the interest of Diane, but there's no excuse for the way she was treated. To make matters worse, after narrowly escaping, Diane was blamed for her experience instead of being sympathetic to what happened to her.

3 The Cheers Gang Treated Frasier Badly

When Frasier was introduced in Cheers, he was supposed to be a short-term foil to Diane and Sam's romance. However, Kelsey Grammer was so great in the role that he was eventually promoted to a series regular even after his character split with Diane. Like his former lover, it was clear that Frasier was out of place in Cheers, but he continued to hang out at the bar. He was routinely mocked and pranked, which suggests that he never really fit in despite spending so much time with his fellow barflies. The fact that Frasier doesn't return to Cheers in the reboot confirms this.

2 Cheers' Tag Line Didn't Make Sense

Sam, Coach, Carla, and others smiling at a bar in Cheers season 1

Cheers' iconic theme song inspired the pub's welcoming atmosphere. That being said, Sam's pub being a place "where everybody knows your name" doesn't really make sense. Norm is really the only one who benefitted from this, and he had already been a patron for quite some time. No one else was constantly greeted by their first name when they entered the bar — something that the show could have easily addressed by mixing things up by using other characters as the subject of the bar's greeting.

1 Carla Had Some Repulsive Advice About How To Handle Women

Sam looking at Carla serving beer in Cheers season 11

Aside from having babies, Carla's main schtick in Cheers was maintaining her image of being one of the boys. So despite being surrounded by men every night at the bar, she never felt uncomfortable or intimidated. Sometimes, however, Carla's views of her fellow women leaned on the wrong side. At one point, Sam was getting really frustrated that Diane was holding out on sleeping with him, Carla gave a dangerous piece of advice to her boss, claiming that "every woman wants to be controlled." This convinced Sam to barge into Diane's apartment and demand that she gives him what he wants. Luckily, Diane was able to pacify her then-boyfriend.