Summary
The upcoming second season of theFrasierreboot could start to integrate some characters fromCheersinto the cast – but how would icons like Sam Malone, Diane Chambers, and Norm Peterson reunite with Dr. Crane? Although it was met with mixed reviews when it debuted on Paramount+, theFrasierreboot has proven to be popular enough with audiences for a season 2 renewal. The writing isn’t quite as sharp this time around, but Kelsey Grammer has effortlessly slipped back into the role of Dr. Crane and he remains a joy to watch.
Since the revival ofFrasierhas brought the character back to Boston, it would make more sense for him to bump into characters fromCheersnow than when he was living in Seattle. But whilethe originalFrasierfeatured plenty ofCheerscharactersover the years, the reboot has yet to bring back any of the legendary cast members. From Cliff to Carla to Woody, there are a ton of opportunities for beloved characters fromCheersto make their way into the second season of the reboot.
7Frasier Could Return To Cheers & Find Sam Still Running It
The showrunners of theFrasierreboot avoided visiting Cheers in season 1. In spite of Frasier’s return to Boston, he never went back to his old watering hole, instead choosing to drink at a bar called Mahoney’s (named in honor of the late, great John Mahoney, who played Frasier’s dad Marty in the original series). But the reboot can’t stay away from the bar where “everybody knows your name” forever. Even if it’s just out of morbid curiosity to see what state the bar is in today, Frasier has to stop by Cheers at some point.
If he returns to Cheers inFrasierseason 2, it would be hilarious if he found Sam Malone still tending bar there all these years later. This would confirm the most prominent theory about Norm’s last line in theCheersfinale. In the final episode ofCheers, Norm cryptically told Sam that he would always return to Boston for his “true love.” It can be assumed that Norm was referring to either Diane or Rebecca, but neither of them is permanently stuck in Boston. It’s been speculated that the “true love” Norm was referring to was the bar.
6Diane Could Bring A New Play Or TV Project To Boston
Frasier’s relationship with Diane Chambers has been sour and complicated ever since she left him at the altar on their wedding day inCheers. ThroughoutCheers’ later years, and later throughoutFrasier’s original run, Frasier made great efforts to forgive Diane and recover from the humiliation and heartache of being dumped on his wedding day. Midway throughCheers’ run, Diane moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a writer. She retooled her rejected novel into a screenplay, she landed a gig as a staff writer on a TV series, and she found some success as a playwright.
If Diane was going to appear in theFrasierreboot, it would have to have something to do with her successful writing career. Maybe a new play or a TV project will bring her back to Boston.Frasierhad a great episode – season 3, episode 14, “The Show Where Diane Comes Back” – in which Diane invited Frasier to sit in on a rehearsal of her new play. Much to his dismay, it was a semi-autobiographical play casting Frasier as the villain for trying to tie her down and Diane as the hero for ditching him at the altar.
TheFrasierreboot can’t just rehash this storyline, but it can use Diane’s career as a storyteller for some similar meta humor. She could shoot a movie or a TV show on the campus of Harvard and bump into Frasier there. All the reboot has to do to get some comedy gold out of Frasier and Diane’s relationship is get them in a room together, because it always leads to hysterical complications.
5Norm Could Start Drinking At Mahoney’s
After decades of drinking at Cheers, Norm Peterson could decide he needs a change of scenery and seek out a new bar to drink in. This could lead him to Mahoney’s, where he’ll find his old pal Frasier drinking with his new friends from the world of academia. As Norm joins Frasier’s new drinking circle, the reboot could explore the complexities of old friends hanging out with new friends. Norm’s boorish, blue-collar personality might rub against the snobbishness of Frasier’s new gang. Putting Frasier in the middle of this would have plenty of comic potential.
To see that Norm is still, after all these years, spending every evening at a bar, would be a great payoff to the running gag of the character’s arc. For over a decade onCheers, Norm came to the same bar every night, sat on the same stool, and drank the same beer. The fact that his routine never changed in all that time was part of what made his character so funny.
It was hilarious to see he still had the same lifestyle when he appeared in the originalFrasier, and it would be hilarious to see that his lifestyle still hasn’t changed in the reboot. Frasier’s story has now been told in three distinctive acts – across four decades – while Norm’s story has been one long, continuous act that never changed. If he reappears in theFrasierreboot, he needs to still be the same guy for this joke to keep paying off.
4Frasier Could Help Get Carla’s Sons Out Of Prison
Carla Tortelli only ever appeared in one episode of the originalFrasierseries – season 9, episode 21, “Cheerful Goodbyes” – but her appearance in that episode made a lot of surprising revelations about her life sinceCheers. She mentions that her house is on the brink of foreclosure and two of her sons have been sent to prison. The episode wrung a lot of laughs out of Carla celebrating the fact that Cliff is retiring, then lamenting the fact that he changes his mind and decides to stay. But the prison reveal could provide an interesting storyline for theFrasierreboot.
If Carla’s sons are still in prison all these years later – or they’ve been released, but then sent back to jail for another offense – then she might call on Frasier to help her get them paroled. Letter-writing campaigns are often used to get convicts’ prison sentences reduced, and those campaigns get a big boost when a celebrity gets involved. There’s plenty of potential for comedy in Frasier attempting to get Carla’s sons released from prison.
3Cliff Could Invite Frasier To Another Retirement Party
In “Cheerful Goodbyes,” Frasier reunited with the cast ofCheersat Cliff Clavin’s retirement party in Boston. Cliff was planning to retire from the postal service and move to Florida, much to Carla’s delight. But then, after hearing so many loving tributes from all his friends in Boston, Cliff decides to stay, much to Carla’s dismay. The second season of theFrasierreboot could offer up a sequel to this episode. Maybe, after all these years, Cliff is actually going to retire and throws himself yet another retirement party.
It would be funny if Cliff threw himself another retirement party, all his friends came and gave him another heartwarming speech, and he decided, yet again, not to retire and to stay in Boston. This could come off as a rehash of the earlier episode. But it could also be a great opportunity to double down on that episode’s punchline.
2Rebecca Could Get Remarried
After a short-lived romance with Sam, Rebecca Howe fell in love with a plumber named Don Santry. In the final episode ofCheers, Rebecca married Don and quit her job at Cheers to spend more time with him and start a family. Although she initially regretted the marriage, she came around to it when Don got a job working in the Boston sewers. This seemed to be a happy ending for the Rebecca character, but inFrasierseason 2, episode 16, “The Show Where Sam Shows Up,” Sam revealed that Don left Rebecca after a plumbing invention made him rich.
In theFrasierreboot, Rebecca could get remarried and invite Frasier to the wedding.Kirstie Alley never returned for the originalFrasier, because the show’s focus on psychiatry conflicted with her Scientologist beliefs. But since the reboot is less focused on psychiatry and more on academia in general, she might change her mind about playing Rebecca again.
1Frasier Could Endorse Woody In A Run For Office
In the final episode ofCheers, Woody Boyd was elected to the city council and gave Norm a job with the city. Whenever Woody appeared in the original run ofFrasier, his political career was never mentioned. When Woody caught up with Frasier in season 6, episode 13, “The Show Where Woody Shows Up,” he told him that he was still tending bar at Cheers. This would seem to suggest that Woody’s career in politics was a failure, but it might just be that he enjoyed working at Cheers and wanted to go back to a simpler existence.
He might’ve lost an election and was just working at Cheers until the end of the next term, so that he could run again. If theFrasierreboot brings back Woody, then it should also bring back his political aspirations. Since Frasier is a respected public figure, Woody might call on Dr. Crane to endorse him in an upcoming run for office. There’s a lot of comedic potential in the premise of Frasier endorsing a political candidate – as seen in season 2, episode 7, “The Candidate” – and he has a great back-and-forth with Woody.
