'Frasier' Might Be Coming Back and People Can't Handle It
Updated July 27 2018, 1:18 p.m. ET
We will never escape the deluge of reboots for old TV shows, old movies, and old actors who maybe don't need a comeback. People have become a bit deadened to all the zombie shows lurching around primetime, so it's rare that anything gets people excited. But what if we said....Frasier?
Yes, Deadline is reporting that a potential reboot is being discussed by Kelsey Grammar and CBS, with Grammar appearing once more as the titular character. However, there are some pretty big changes that would have to happen for the show to work, since for one, John Mahoney has died since the series ended. Mahoney played Frasier's father in the show, a contrasting voice to his two sons' snootier worldview.
It's possible the show would be more like a spin off, rather than centering on Frasier himself. That means lots of potential pitches going around the writer's room. And if big Hollywood writers can pitch, so can the Internet!
Ideas for Frasier reboots have been circulating on Twitter and some are better than others.
Some are far more adventurous than others, recasting Frasier as a sort of counterpoint to The Rock.
Others are trying to figure out a way to get around the loss of Mahoney — and inject the show with even more Niles, an idea of which I heartily approve:
There's more superhero-Frasier concepts out there:
And at least one person went so far as to offer a spec script, which suggested a reboot in which we watch Frasier struggle in a post-apocalyptic world:
What if we focused on a smaller character? Like, a literally smaller character, as in an animal:
Or maybe it's finally time for Maris to get her point of view across:
There are some issues with the possibility of Frasier coming back that are a bit more controversial. For example, the fact that Kelsey Grammar IS Frasier. Grammar has a very conservative ideology, which was not as well-known during the series' heyday.
As it was with the Roseanne reboot, nostalgia is a powerful ratings draw, but a star who is says provocative things that look bad on social media could be a big issue, as some were ready to point out:
While there are some things about the original that will always be a gosh-darn delight, for many, the idea of seeing the show resurrected is horrible. Especially if they're fans.
It seems like there's nothing TV executives won't do, but in this case, maybe they should consider just creating a vehicle for David Hyde Pierce. He's the best part of everything.
