Frasier Reboot Trailer — First Takes

Meh. Without some the other original cast, it’s just Kelsey Grammer and what sounds like some jokes that were tired before they even aired.

It makes me excited to watch the program!

God, I miss mid-Atlantic accents on TV.

Looks alright. I think I'm going to find everyman Freddie having to put up with Frasier a lot less fun than everyman Martin though. I'm guessing its Frasier teaching at Harvard with Niles kid as one of his students then. Didn't really get a feel for the new friends other than standard depressed sarcastic English guy though.

Boston is Cheers city. Seems impossible he's at any other bar. Freddy's cute.

Why couldn't they reboot Boss instead? I'm watching that on Amazon Prime, and what an amazing show! Ten times better and less soapy than House of Cards.

i hate that scrambled eggs bullshit.

Oh yeah r7.

Tried to watch the original on Hulu and couldn't get through the first season

It looks tired and boring. The jokes give off a moldy smell.

Outside of Kelsey, it felt like any number of annual new CBS sitcom entries.

Now, maybe once we see an episode or two, the characters will feel more specific. (I recognize that it can be hard to fully represent a show in a trailer.)

Is Bebe coming back?

The featured cast of the original set an incredibly high bar--surpassing the ensemble of CHEERS, I think.

These folks look incredibly... generic. (Freddy, in particular: he's not THAT cute, and not very special, from first look.)

Grammar looks like he's had some work done (and lost weight) but he doesn't look bad, at least.

There was industry talk that the powers that be behind this reboot (including Grammar) were insistent on doing this on the cheap. Really cheap.

So I wouldn't hold my breath for Bebe (or many of the original ensemble) showing up. Those actors would be correct in asking for a lot of money, but they're not gonna get it this go-round.

Just sayin'.

I said this in the last thread but how is Freddie like this? Last time we saw him he was a stereotypical teenage Jewish nerd being raised by Lilith attending one of the most prestigious prep schools they could get him into. Now he's a fireman.

Bebe is supposed to show up at some point as a guest and I believe so is Peri Gilpin

I watched Frasier in spite of pinguid Kelsey Grammer. Everything that was good about the original seems to be long gone.

A Christian Lacroix cushion? So Frasier's taste is still stuck in the 90s?

“Pinguid.” I’ve learned a new word. Good for you.

Bebe has already shot her episode. She was in LA doing it shortly after Ann Reinking’s memorial.

r17 Well his taste in women has probably moved on to the 2000s since he's got college aged bar staff setting him up on blind dates. Frasier would be 68 btw

Kind of sad looking.

Boss was a great show, r6. I loved the original Frasier too, and will watch this. I just hope it’s not as disappointing as And Just Like That.

I'm a Paramount+ subscriber, so I'll certainly give this show a try.

The trailer looks average. Clearly the Frasier sensibilities and snobbishness are on display.

The Freddie character will be the missing link.

R14 Maybe the son is supposed to give off the everyman aura that Frasier’s dad did.

If the son works, so will the show.

[quote]If the son works, so will the show.

With the Murphy Brown reboot back in 2017, the son was the only thing that worked. Nothing else really did. That show should have made the son, Avery Brown, the center of the show and the mom, Murphy Brown, a supporting player.

r24 He definitely is but that's my main issue with this reboot. Rather than doing something actually new like the change from Frasier to Cheers they've just decided to make a funhouse mirror of the original show even if that doesn't make much sense like with Freddy. DHP said he'd only do the show if he felt there was something special or a new story to tell and so far I can see why he said no. All we' seem to be getting so far is the same dated concept that was getting tired by 2004 of Frasier having a working class relative, zany work friends, and a revolving love life only now without any of the characters people actually liked.

Meh.

Hasn't this reboot been in the headlines and production get-go for, like, about 10 years now?!

Yeah it might have worked better if it had been more like be careful what you wish for in that Freddy ended up just as pretentious as Frasier but maybe even more so that he looked down on his dad's taste.

Perhaps they can bring Maris back.

The actor playing Freddy seems wooden and not cute.

And wasn't the character established in Cheers and Frasier as a child prodigy? So shouldn't the setup be that Freddy is essentially a stand-in for Niles, as prissy and pretentious as his father?

If the show is in Boston and he never goes to Cheers, does that mean the bar closed? Depressing. And not likely, since it was founded in 1895. A historical location like that would have just changed hands.

They should have departed more from the previous series. It feels like they're wringing out the washcloth that is the previous one for it's last bits of moisture.

Eh they shouldn’t have made it a sitcom and made it more contemporary. And by contemporary I mean like “The Office”, “It’s Always Sunny” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” where there’s no live audience or laugh tracks.

Well, I laughed. Something few recent sitcoms have made me do.

Grammer seems to be in fine form. Will have to wait and see on the supporting cast, as they weren’t featured enough in the trailer to form an opinion.

Looks embarrassing.

Is there a dog? I loved Eddie.

Frasier looks like Freddie's grandfather. Do we think this Freddie is supposed to be 35 or so, as he would be if we took his Cheers birthdate for granted?

R38 Jack Cutmore-Scott is 36.

[quote]I'm a Paramount+ subscriber

Does NOT give you bragging rights.

Based on this short clip, I don't think it will be as big a hit as Frasier. The funnier punchlines were all Frasier. The rest of the cast are really quite blah.

I've noticed when one character (the better actor of the ensemble) gets all the funny lines, it becomes exhausting to watch.

The original cast was truly an ensemble cast. Each of the characters brought something impactful to the show, even cute little Eddie.

Is it set in Frasier's nursing home?

There’s a reason they’re finally releasing this during the strikes.

The trailer didn't look terrible, until they got to the end. So Frasier is single again and still a horndog. It won't be creepy at all watching a 70-year-old pretentious twat trying to get laid and probably dating women half his age or even younger.

I watched it again and I somehow missed that "Freddie's girlfriend: He smells really good. Freddie : Yeah, he always smells really good" joke. Who wrote that?t it sounds weird as fuck in Frasier more like something from the Big Bang Theory.

Also there's baby stuff all round that apartment so I'd expect grandpa Frasier to be introduced at some point as well

This'll probably be a big hit just like the 'Night Court' reboot was. And the 'Mad About You' reboot.

Wasn't the MAD ABOUT YOU reboot a complete bust?

The Mad About You reboot got lost. No one even knew it was released but Helen Hunt's face is too scary now to be on tv.

Remember when she and Hank Azaria got married? So weird.

Is Jack Cutmore uncut?

I saw the trailer and came straight here to comment lol. It makes me sad. I expected it to. Martin is dead, Niles is....well I guess we'll find out but DHP doesn't appear to be coming back, even in a guest role. In any case, it doesn't feel the same without him.

Moreover it makes me sad to see Frasier so old. It makes me feel old.

I wonder if they'll bring Lilith and the now silver fox Sam Malone back.

I don't know, it just feels like it shouldn't have happened at all.

R32 - the old gay guy seems to be a stand-in for both Niles and the dad. Two-for-one.

Or, I guess, one-for-two?

I think this will be another Joey. Remember Joey? Neither do I.

R53 - tell me about it.

[quote]A Christian Lacroix cushion?

ITA. This struck me as an incredibly false note, too. The original show maintained a brilliant, insidery, crypto-gay sensibility (for a show about "straight" characters). They got the details right most of the time.

This felt lazy, sloppy, overreaching.

[quote]The original show maintained a brilliant, insidery, crypto-gay sensibility (for a show about "straight" characters). They got the details right most of the time.

A lot of that was due to writer Joe Keenan, who doesn't seem to be involved in this production. He also pulled off genuine farce, which seems to be near-impossible in American TV comedies.

The lack of any of the original writers does concern me to an extent. They brought a rare quality to the show that I’ve never seen matched.

I agree - original writers make or break a reboot!

Nicholas Lyndhurst will save it. The rest looks dull and shockingly cliched.

This looks like it was done on the cheap. The sets look cheap. Even the film stock looks cheap.

One of the things that always stood out to me about Frasier was it looked like they invested some money in everything about the show, from the sets to the film stock to the crew to the writers to the cast.

It will not soar to the heights of the original in its best years, but it also doesn't seem quite as dire as originally anticipated.

But yes, the divine Joe Keenan will be much missed.

[quote] It won't be creepy at all watching a 70-year-old pretentious twat trying to get laid and probably dating women half his age or even younger.

So it's a sitcom based on Joe Biden?

Crazy (arrogant?) to bring the character back without at least a couple of the key writers.

I need them to explain how his son became Blue Collar Every Guy fireman. What flipped the switch?

Joe Keenan. What a loss. Read his hilarious book My Blue Heaven.

Nope. No thanks

Freddie's sole purpose is to invert the Martin role by making him Frasier's son instead of father. It seems false that he'd turn out that way. He was clearly getting bullied his entire childhood for being a dork. No way he'd turn out like that.

I'll give it a try just to see how it is.

The thing I find most confusing is Niles kids in this as well. And yeah he's Niles son but he was also raised by Martin and Daphne and has Moon family criminal blood running in his veins. He's pretty much tailor made to be the normal one in the family for this reboot

I hope they bring Millicent Martin back.

... and the whore who rode in on you, r62.

[quote]The thing I find most confusing is Niles kids in this as well. And yeah he's Niles son but he was also raised by Martin and Daphne and has Moon family criminal blood running in his veins. He's pretty much tailor made to be the normal one in the family for this reboot

Based on the early pix, the kid seems like he's 100% a Moon with no Crane, Niles or Martin.

r71 Yeah theres something concerningly manic pixie dreamboyish about the way he dresses and how his only trailer appearance is him grinning while sliding down a fire pole. I can easily see him getting annoying pretty fast

Kelsey’s talked about wanting to pay tribute to Kirstie as well. I wonder if there’ll be a “Rebecca’s Funeral” episode.

I wonder what accent Niles and Daphne's kid will have.

[Quote]So it's a sitcom based on Joe Biden?

Bless your heart, R62.

No, wait, that's not right. Go fuck yourself, R62, with that 14-inch black dildo you don't think your fat-ass deplorable wife knows about.

Found the Rebecca’s funeral episode, R73.

R62, in what way does that sound Joe Biden? Not at all.

R76 I’m a cunt, I laughed.

I'm a cunt too and I not only laughed, I cackled so loudly the cat jumped.

Thanks for the chuckle R76. Please have all my WWs.

R75 - My heavens, your thin-skinned histrionics surely do belie your mental illness by worshipping false idols. Are you too lazy to upvote yourself just twice?

[quote]Kelsey’s talked about wanting to pay tribute to Kirstie as well. I wonder if there’ll be a “Rebecca’s Funeral” episode.

A funeral episode would be an epic reunion show for Cheers, especially since he's back in Boston for this show.

I'd tune in to watch that.

I'd forgotten she was dead.

If they did a Rebecca's funeral her cause of death has to be hilarious and klutzy.

They should start with Martin's death out of respect for John Mahoney.

you'd need DHP and Jane Leeves to do Martin's funeral though. The first episode will probably at least be dedicated to Mahoney.

OP Here is the essence of my rejected pitch:

Story takes place in approximately 1960 when Niles and Frasier Crane were boys (tbd ages: between 8 and 13). Location tbd.

Hester Crane is alive and a vibrant force. The story is about Hester and Marty and their sons Frasier and Niles.

Original Frasier, through its rich writing over 11 seasons (not to mention the origin of Frasier on Cheers) offered numerous glimpses and anecdotes into the Frasier's and Niles's childhoods. So the viewer already has a familiarity with many iconic family stories.

There are occasional appearances from Hester's father (Kelsey Grammar) who can either be played as an Albert Einstein-type or against the expectation and played as a blue collar Marty Crane-type (hence Hester married a man like Daddy).

There are numerous opportunities for updated sitcoms tropes such as the difference between Marty and Hester and the fish out of water: how Frasier and Niles don't quite fit in at school.

As well, Marty's job on the police force and Hester's work as a psychiatrist provide ample fodder for secondary characters.

1960 is a key year. 1960 was both literally and figuratively leaving the 1950s behind. During the first few years of the 1960s we had Nixon, JFK, the new First Lady, the space race, the Cold War, James Bond, the death of Marilyn Monroe, the birth control pill, The Beatles, and more. The same audience that watched Frasier will have a familiarity with these events either directly from their own early childhood or through proximity to the 1960s. (Note: Mad Men did a very good job of weaving these events into the fabric of the writing).

Not surprisingly this pitch was rejected for numerous reasons: 1) Kelsey needs to star 2) Kelsey needs attention 3)Kelsey needs the show to be about him

If I had not mentioned Kelsey already, apologies.

Other reasons cited were "the writing would be too complex" and "sounds more like a drama" and "it's too expensive to do a 1960 period piece" and "our target audience would rather reminisce about the 1980s than the 1960s." There was more.

I will tell you that this is just a cash and ego grab trading on a value of a title (not unlike "And Just Like That."

Looks awful. I wouldn't watch it, anyway, since Grammer is a fucking MAGA dolt.

DOA

This trailer makes the 12 season look terrible. Deciding to do a 12th season based on the Frasier pilot (Frasier as Marty; and Freddy as Frasier) is silly and was just a hook for writers to hang on and publicists to reference. The entire first season of Frasier with all of that Marty/Frasier tension was far too real awkward, yet understandable since the origin Frasier had not yet hit its groove. Marty Crane was a bit nasty in season 1. Just like the Golden Girls were dreary in the very beginning and Kevin Malone was just quiet and dull on Season 1 of The Office. He became childlike later. All of these characters on all shows are usually ironed out by season 2. But the 12th season should not be awkward and should not need to be ironed out. We have a rich history of the character.

Frasier looks like a corpse. He seems tragic without his brother and Roz and Daphne. He and Freddy have no chemistry. The actor playing Freddy is the right look. He is not hot at first blush but looks like someone you can fall in love with and find hot later. All good because Freddy was not a cute little boy. Does his girlfriend speak?

Having the secondary characters come from a bar (like Cheers) is fine, but I did not laugh once. Is this show written by AI?

R85 don’t quit your day job—if you have one. If not, don’t bother using your SSI for a writing class.

[quote] During the first few years of the 1960s we had Nixon, JFK, the new First Lady, the space race, the Cold War, James Bond, the death of Marilyn Monroe, the birth control pill, The Beatles, and more.

My God, what a laugh riot!

R89 Sounds like The Wonder Years but I think The Wonder Years was set a few years later. They had all that silly stuff about Civil Rights and ERA and the MLK and RFK assignations and it just GOT IN THE WAY and we didn't know when to laugh. Fortunately, Frasier will retain its laugh track and stick to topical jokes about podcasts and haute cuisine.

And Lacroix, baby! Really??

For anyone wondering, writer Joe Keenan is very much alive. He's only 65.

No idea if he's still writing TV, film, or fiction. But the poster was correct to credit a lot of the genius behind FRASIER to him.

They say it's the same but it isn't the same. They say it's the same but it isn't the same. They say it's the same but it isn't the same.

Joe has been working on a fourth novel for years, with characters different than the ones in MY BLUE HEAVEN, etc. I believe it's a period piece.

Ack. I thought the show had started. Can’t believe people are getting this excited about a trailer.

I believe the first two eps will premiere on CBS, so we can all sample should we choose.

[quote] The Wonder Years was set a few years later. They had all that silly stuff about Civil Rights and ERA and the MLK and RFK assignations and it just GOT IN THE WAY and we didn't know when to laugh.

Apparently someone agrees with you, as regards the revival.

Surprising ABC pulled the plug on Wonder Years 2 so quickly.

They let Black-ish run for eight seasons despite shitty ratings, pretending it was a hit.

Ugh Frasier moves in across the hall from his son and puts inkblot wallpaper up?

I love Frasier (didn't like Cheer as well as the original run of Frasier) and I'll tune in because it looks comforting albeit not as good as the 90s cast.

[quote]For anyone wondering, writer Joe Keenan is very much alive.

Yes, and evidently unwilling to associate himself with this new venture. He also left the original show after Niles and Daphne eloped, and only came back for the final episode. He wasn't one of the originators and only wrote 24 episodes, but he was absolutely the life and soul of the party while he was there.

His Twitter is very entertaining, if you miss his wit.

I do not smell an Emmy.

That’s not what I smell.

Boy was that painful to sit thru.

No thanks KG.

He'll be skewered for not having a single Cheers buddy in it.

I too feel comforted by seeing Kelsey Grammar reprising the role, R100. And as shitty as this reboot looks, I will probably watch it in the fetal position on the sofa in my bathrobe with a hot water bottle, a whiskey sour and a pint of Ben & Jerry's. Because sometimes, comfort trumps quality.

I'll watch old episodes of the real 'Frasier' instead, not whatever Paramount+ says this is.

Do we think his bathroom suite will still be in black?

Gil Chesterton Presents Hole

I seriously doubt Joe Keenan was approached about this (sadly).

Kelsey hooked up with a new set of EPs and no way would they cut in someone who would demand a share of the action.

And this trailer seems to show a very conventional middlebrow sitcom, not what Keenan is skilled at writing, or would enjoy.

This looks terrible. Not witty at all.

[quote] I do not smell an Emmy.

Try Harder

It had to be a Joe Keenan episode where Frasier was snobbily bitching about his father's coarse waitress girlfriend Sherry and her penchant for naughty limericks "fortuitously featuring a man named Horatio."

Indeed it was

Frasier was such a prestige series for Paramount.

I'm surprised Paramount would bring Frasier back without the same level of quality in mind. Going cheap is going to reflect badly on both the studio and the Paramount+ streaming service.

Another teaser. This one looks slightly better I guess (except the video quality).

Does anyone know why the original Feddie, Trevor Einhorn, is not in the show? Wiki has he is 34, which sounds like the perfect age.

R115 NO! That one looks worse!!!

r116 I Don't really remember him being a particularly good actor even as a teenager.

Trevor Einhorn was a regular in the Magicians series.

Paramount is really poorly run these days, so no surprise.

How many prestige projects have you seen or heard about on Paramount Plus?

Keenan says in one of his novels, "Moira, whose ethics could only be glimpsed with the aid of a particle accelerator,..."

I always think of that when the GOP pulls a new move.

Anyway, it's hardly surprising that the Bebe episodes in Frasier are virtually all his.

R116 Just a guess, but I’m guessing they wanted Freddie to be mancandy.

in which case they failed, R122.

New Freddie is not all that.

I'd rather eat tossed brambles and sandy eggs.