Well, folks, Frasier has left the building… the Paramount+ building, that is. Halfway into January, and two months after the Kelsey Grammer-led revival finished its second season, it’s been reported that the streamer will not be bringing the sitcom back for Season 3. However, I’m hoping this doesn’t truly spell the end of the new Frasier, because if nothing else, I want the show to get at least one more season for a big reason: giving fans the long-discussed Cheers reunion.
Deadline shared the news of Frasier’s cancellation tonight, writing that the series “could not break through in a major way” on Paramount+, although the first two seasons will remain available for those with a Paramount+ subscription to stream. However, the outlet also mentioned that CBS Studios “remains committed to the series and plans to shop it to other outlets.” While CBS won’t be one of those places since there’s no space for Frasier on the channel and there’s already a “development slate set,” Prime Video and Hulu have been suggested as new homes, particularly because they both have the original Frasier.
While the Frasier revival doesn’t rank nearly as high for me as its predecessor, which ran on NBC from 1993 to 2004 and is considered one of the best sitcoms of all time, I have enjoyed it for what it was: telling the next chapter of Frasier Crane’s life back in his old Boston, Massachusetts stomping grounds. I also haven’t minded spending time with primarily new faces in the revival, though it has been nice to reunite with familiar ones along the way. This has ranged from Peri Gilpin’s Roz Doyle getting an expanded role in Season 2 following her guest appearance in the Season 1 finale, to when Frasier and his son Freddy returned to Seattle and spent time with KACL’s Bulldog and Gil.
But as I just mentioned, the new Frasier is set in Boston, the same city where Cheers, the TV show that introduced the world to Frasier Crane, took place. Now, it’d already been said numerous times that the revival would not revisit Cheers the bar, and I was ok with that. What wasn’t off the table was bringing back other Cheers alums. Kelsey Grammer expressed interest in having Ted Danson and Shelley Long respectively reprise Sam Malone and Diane Chambers, and Frasier showrunners Chris Harris and Joe Cristali told me they had “at least a few toeholds” into some Cheers-centric stories.
I never expected the Frasier revival to run anywhere near as long as the original Frasier, but it would be a mistake to end the show now without delivering the Cheers crossover that’s been teased. If you’re going to put Frasier Crane back in Boston, he should at least be able to spend time with some of the friends he made there in the ‘80s, especially if we’re talking about Sam and Diane. Even if the new Frasier only gets one more season, that’s fine so long as one episode delves back into the Cheers corner of this universe. It was clearly in the cards, so let’s deal them, so to speak.
If Frasier ends up on one of the other best streaming services, we’ll let you know. For now, use our 2025 TV schedule to see what small screen entertainment is arriving in the coming months.
