Why Frasier Has Yet to Drink at Cheers in New Revival Series

The TV show Frasier has returned, and in it, the character Frasier returns to his old stomping grounds in Boston… except, as viewers of the Cheers spinoff have noticed, Kelsey Grammar’s beloved therapist-turned-talk-show-host has yet to revisit his most-memorable old haunt: the Cheers bar itself.

Speaking in a new interview, executive producers from the Frasier reboot confirmed that the absence of the Cheers bar is a purposeful choice, one that they hope to delve into even further as the show progresses. “I think it’s super telling, and by design, that he doesn’t go to Cheers in that first season,” producer Joe Cristalli told TVLine. “He’s got some unresolved issues somewhere that hopefully we’ll get to explore.”

Another executive producer, Chris Harris, offered some insight into Frasier’s hesitations to revisit his past. “There might be a reason why Frasier the character is holding back a little bit from going back there… [He] does not necessarily see it as the best time of his life,” Harris explained. “He had a lot of failures in romance, he had a lot of professional setbacks, he spent a lot of time at a bar. So, he might have some hesitation at revisiting.”

While the two had some humorous quips to make as well — like how, in 2023, it could be possible that “Cheers is a Fuddruckers now” — their main emphasis was on their hope to dig in deeper into this chapter of Frasier’s past. “We would absolutely love to explore that,” Harris said. “What is the bar now? Are [the Cheers characters] still there? Does everyone know his name still? Hopefully, he will [return]… and we can’t wait for him to do that. As a fan, I can’t wait to see the next part of that story.”

The Frasier reboot premiered on October 12th via Paramount+, and follows the character as he returns to Boston in an effort to reconnect with his semi-estranged son, Freddy. In the pilot episode, Frasier remarks that the last time he lived in Boston, he “may have spent a little too much time at a certain bar.” Be sure to read our review of the reboot.

Meanwhile, a Cheers replica bar was indeed opened in Boston, but closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.