Summary

  • Kelsey Grammer suggests that Diane Chambers should make a guest appearance in the Frasier reboot, highlighting Frasier's struggle with failed love.
  • Grammer hopes to showcase Diane's evolution as a person and the potential for a meaningful reunion between the two characters.
  • Diane's past relationship with Frasier in Cheers and their subsequent reconciliation in the Frasier spinoff makes her a significant character to explore in the revival.

Kelsey Grammer reveals his Cheers character. Debuting on Paramount+ in October, the revival show follows Grammer's titular character shortly after the death of his father and the end of a long-term relationship. He returns to Boston to reconnect with his son Frederick (Jack Cutmore-Scott). Although the comedy mostly focuses on new characters, Grammer does have an idea for someone from Frasier's past.

In an interview with Cheers alum he would want to see in Frasier. In response, the five-time Emmy winner mentions Diane Chambers (Shelley Long). As part of the quote below, Grammer mentions how “Frasier has to come to with the fact that he failed at love” and he also elaborates on how her hypothetical guest spot in the revival would be different from her previous appearance in the original Frasier spinoff:

Frasier has to come to with the fact that he failed at love – I think that’s one of his big arcs for this. I think some of that would be sort of a foundational rapprochement with Shelley Long, with Diane, so I think that’d be a really cool thing.

She came back for Frasier, and it was very funny, but she was sort of lost in sort of a delusional haze there. It’d be neat to see her having evolved into a new kind of person who’s more comfortable in their own skin. To see the two of them face to face [to acknowledge that] we did mean something to each other, and god bless you – that’d be kind of a neat thing to see.

Frasier Has Quite The History With Diane

Kelsey Grammer and Shelley Long as Frasier and Diane in the Cheers bar

Diane's time in Cheers is best ed for her dynamic with Sam Malone (Ted Danson), but she also has a one-year relationship with Fraiser that has a significant impact on all three characters. The love triangle, of sorts, takes shape after Sam and Diane end their relationship towards the conclusion of Cheers season 2. From there, in the seminal sitcom's third installment, Diane goes to a psychiatric hospital. It's there that she meets psychiatrist Frasier Crane, with the pair going off to marry in Europe. But, by Cheers season 4, it's revealed that Diane left Frasier at the altar.

Daphne and Niles kissing and Frasier and Alan standing in the reboot
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Diane also factors into the Frasier spinoff. She appears twice as a figment of Frasier's imagination, in season 2 and season 9. Diane appears most significantly in the episode that's named after her, "The Show Where Diane Comes Back", in season 3. She asks Frasier for help and the two ultimately reconcile, though it's not without some bumps along the way.

Grammer has sounded optimistic about the future of the Frasier revival on Paramount+. With the character's rich history, there is the potential to bring back familiar faces and see how they're doing at different points in their life. In past interviews, Grammer has been against reviving the Cheers set — but that shouldn't stop the ensemble from visiting.

All episodes of the Frasier reboot season 1 are now streaming on Paramount+.

Source: ET