Kelsey Grammer’s been having a busy year. Even if you leave off the pilot for that show where he and Alec Baldwin were going to be roommates—a concept so deafeningly loud that it’s still echoing around in our heads months after ABC backed away from the series like a startled animal—the veteran actor has numerous projects (The God Committee, The Space Between, the new Trollhunters movie) either on the way or currently out. But there’s only one that the true Gram-heads are dying to get the details on: Paramount+’s long-prayed-for Frasier reboot.
But while Paramount confirmed back in February that television’s reunion with everyone’s favorite Freudian was certainly on the way, the actual shape of the project demanded several important questions. Would the series feature appearances from former cast members David Hyde Pierce, Jane Leeves, or Peri Gilpin? Would it use any of our incredibly good ideas for a revival series (including the one where Frasier is a malevolent A.I. trying to take control of futuristic Seattle)? What ever happened to all those tossed salads and scrambled eggs? What is a boy to do?
Anyway: Grammer has now filled in a few light details, courtesy of the above interview with New York Life. Specifically, he revealed that the new show will see Frasier ditch Seattle for some new digs, describing him as the perpetually unsatisfied “George Bailey of television.” He also noted that he’s reached out to Hyde Pierce, Leeves, and Gilpin for a potential return, with the hope that the new series will serve as a “third act for everybody.” Grammer also stated that the show will also acknowledge the death of John Mahoney in its first episode. But then Grammer got kind of enigmatic, stating that Frasier’s new life circumstances will see the already-pretty-damn-rich character become “rich beyond his dreams.”
And while it might possibly mean that the reboot will finally see Dr. Crane achieve the ultimate status symbol of the mega-rich—i.e., having two pianos in your apartment, so that you can recreate the Donald Duck/Daffy Duck musical duel from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?—the very corny tone in Grammer’s voice when he said that line suggests to us that he’s probably talking about the “rich” “bounty” of alleged “wealth” that is family. (The obvious pitch would be for Frasier to end up living with his son Frederick, who’s the right age to have a couple of precocious kids running around, warming everybody’s hearts. There could even be a little Niles!) We’re still holding out hope, though, because seeing Grammer and Hyde Pierce pull off that double piano thing would actually be pretty sweet.