Frasier


Frasier is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee, in association with Grammnet Productions and Paramount Television.
The show was created as the third spin-off of the sitcom Cheers. It continues the story of psychiatrist Frasier Crane, who returns to his hometown, Seattle, as a radio show host. He reconnects with his father, Martin, a retired police officer, and his younger brother, Niles, a fellow psychiatrist. The rest of the main cast consisted of Peri Gilpin as Frasier's producer Roz Doyle, and Jane Leeves as Daphne Moon, Martin's live-in caregiver. Dan Butler's role as Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe, a sports talk show host on Frasier's station, was later upgraded from a recurring to main character in some seasons. The role of Frasier's ex-wife, Lilith Sternin, was played by Bebe Neuwirth, reprising her role from Cheers.
Like its predecessor, Cheers, Frasier received critical acclaim, and is highly regarded in both the US and the UK. The series and the cast won 37 Primetime Emmy Awards, a record at the time for a scripted series. It also won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for five consecutive years. A revival series, also titled Frasier, premiered on the Paramount+ service on October 12, 2023.

Overview

Psychiatrist Frasier Crane returns to his hometown of Seattle, Washington from Boston, following the end of his marriage to Lilith. His plans for a new life as a single man are challenged when he is obliged to take in his father, Martin, a retired police detective who has mobility problems after being shot in the line of duty during a robbery.
After reluctantly taking his father in, Frasier and Martin conduct a series of interviews to hire a physical therapist and caregiver for his father. Martin, much to Frasier's dismay, is particularly keen on hiring a British caregiver as a live-in, and after a short squabble, the two agree to hire Daphne Moon for the position. Much of the series focuses on Frasier adjusting to living with his father, with whom he has little in common, and his constant annoyances with Martin's dog, Eddie. Frasier frequently spends time with his younger brother, Niles, a fellow psychiatrist, who becomes attracted to Daphne and eventually marries her.
Frasier hosts The Dr. Frasier Crane Show, a call-in psychiatry show on talk radio station, KACL. Though they share few commonalities, Frasier's producer, Roz Doyle, becomes his friend in the series. She is depicted as both direct and sarcastic. Her somewhat superficial relationships with men are a frequent topic of conversation until she becomes pregnant with her daughter, Alice. Roz and Frasier share a professional respect and a wry sense of humor, and over time, the two become close friends. Frasier, along with the other characters in the series, often visits the local coffee shop, Café Nervosa, making it a frequent setting.
The Crane brothers, who have expensive tastes, intellectual interests, and high opinions of themselves, frequently clash with their father, Martin. The close relationship between the brothers is often tense, and their sibling rivalry intermittently results in chaos. For two psychiatrists who make a living solving other people's problems, however, they are often inept at dealing with each other's hangups. Other recurring themes in the series include Niles's relationship with his unseen first wife, Maris ; Frasier's relationship with his ex-wife, Lilith, who resides in Boston with their son, Frederick; Frasier's search for love; Martin's new life after retirement; and the various attempts by the two brothers to gain acceptance into Seattle high society.

Characters

Main

  • Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane, a radio psychiatrist. He is fussy, uptight, cultured, and sometimes arrogant. Having grown up with an educated mother and an "average Joe" father, Frasier epitomizes an upper-class sophistication, yet is still sympathetic to working-class culture. After returning to Seattle, he begins embracing his more privileged background and develops a more selfish and aloof manner, possibly due to rekindling his relationship with his younger brother, Niles Crane. Despite his haughty demeanor, however, Frasier has a strong sense of ethics.
  • Jane Leeves as Daphne Moon, an English immigrant from Manchester; a physiotherapist and live-in aid hired by Frasier to help his father. Daphne's eccentric, working-class background and self-professed psychic abilities frequently lead to Daphne's comical non-sequiturs about her unusual family, which is a sharp contrast to the Cranes' incredulity. In spite of their different upbringings, Niles falls for her instantly. Niles's obsession with Daphne and her obliviousness to this is developed throughout the earlier seasons of the series.
  • David Hyde Pierce as Niles Crane, Frasier's younger brother. He is a psychiatrist in private practice. Educated, coldhearted, and more arrogant than Frasier, Niles's snobby, anxious qualities provide a foil for Frasier's own issues. Despite his aforementioned qualities, he is brave, caring, and well-meaning, which, to his loved ones, more than makes up for his eccentricities and quirks. Niles is very close to his older brother, though their fiercely competitive natures often provide the audience with much humor throughout the series. Like Frasier, Niles has a deep appreciation and respect for the arts, music, and pursuits that are seen as intellectual and prefers these activities over most sports, though he excels in squash and croquet. Niles is severely mysophobic, often given to wiping his hands after human contact, and is even depicted wiping down chairs in public places before sitting on them.
  • Peri Gilpin as Roz Doyle, the producer of Frasier's radio show. A native of Bloomer, Wisconsin, Roz, one of two single women in the series, is depicted as a sharp contrast to Daphne. Throughout the show, Roz's search for love and liberal approach to dating is the subject of many witty remarks, particularly from Niles. In the middle of series' run, Roz becomes pregnant with her first child, Alice, and the show addresses some of the challenges of being a single mother, including Roz having to borrow money from her boss, and the personal and professional strain that places on their relationship.
  • John Mahoney as Martin Crane, Frasier and Niles's father, is an outspoken and laid-back Seattle police detective who was forced to retire after sustaining a gunshot wound to his hip. Because this injury renders him incapable of living alone, upon Frasier's return to Seattle, Martin is forced to accept Frasier's invitation to live with him. Though he and his sons share few commonalities, the relationship between the three men strengthens throughout the series. Martin's relationship with his Jack Russell terrier, Eddie, and his pea-green tartan- and twill-upholstered duck tape stricken recliner are a perpetual source of distress for Frasier. He is also known for his fondness for beer.
  • Dan Butler as Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe, a shock jock hosting a sports show which follows Frasier's time slot at KACL.

    Recurring

  • Harriet Sansom Harris as Bebe Glazer, Frasier's flirtatious and duplicitous agent. Described by Niles as "Lady Macbeth without the sincerity", she will use any method to get her or her clients the best deal.
  • Patrick Kerr as Noel Shempsky, KACL technical assistant and avid Star Trek aficionado who speaks fluent Klingon and Spanish In season one, Roz goes on one date with Noel and he is smitten with her ever since.
  • Edward Hibbert as Gil Chesterton, KACL's posh, camp restaurant critic, his arguably "effeminate" nature is the source of many gay innuendos on the show, despite him revealing early in the series that he is married to a woman who is a car mechanic by trade.
  • Marsha Mason as Sherry Dempsey, Martin's flamboyant girlfriend, whose tastes and opinions are often a cause of antagonism and arguments with the rest of the family.
  • Tom McGowan as Kenny Daly, KACL's station manager
  • Millicent Martin as Gertrude Moon, Daphne's mother
  • Brian Klugman as Kirby Gardner, a part-timer at KACL and the son of Frasier's former classmate
  • Ashley Thomas as Alice Doyle, Roz's daughter
  • Felicity Huffman as Julia Wilcox, host of a financial news segment, whose personality leads to frequent clashes with others at KACL
  • Wendie Malick as Ronee Lawrence, Frasier and Niles's childhood babysitter who, after a chance meeting, becomes Martin's girlfriend
  • Luke Tarsitano and Trevor Einhorn as Frederick Gaylord Crane, Frasier's son with ex-wife Lilith

    Guest stars

Throughout the series, numerous guest stars appeared such as:
Cheers co-stars who returned