Kelsey Grammer became emotional while talking about his love for Frasier in front of a live studio audience, ahead of the forthcoming revival of the popular sitcom.
The 68-year-old actor, who reprises his role in Frasier as the successful and witty therapist, Doctor Frasier Crane, filmed a number of segments addressing the show’s return, in which he expressed his gratitude to loyal fans.
“I’m delighted you’re here. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you’re here and how grateful we are that we have a chance to do this for you again,” Grammer can be heard saying in a video compilation uploaded to Paramount Plus’s YouTube channel.
“I am very excited about what we’re doing, this new group of people that you can fall in love with and get to know. We’ve been working so hard at this thing and it’s been quite a while, and I think we’ve done something quite lovely,” he says.
Getting choked up, he adds: “Our love for this character is very sweet.” He then raises a hand to his heart and says: “I always do this.”
In a separate clip, Grammer reflects on the “incredible journey” of the original show and the reboot.
“What’s shocking is he’s just as fresh and alive as any regular human being would be,” he says. “They’d say, ‘How can you play the same character for so long?’ Well, it’s as interesting as life itself.”
“Give us your blessing and wait for us. Give us love, and we’re going to give you love back,” he concludes. “Frasier lives on so, so does Kelsey. Thank you. We’ll see you in a bit. Thank you very much. Enjoy the show.”
The Frasier revival comes nearly 20 years after the original 11-season sitcom, which ran from 1993 to 2004. The new show will follow Frasier into the next chapter of his life, as he returns to Boston, where his son Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott) has just entered college.
Nicholas Lyndhurst stars as Frasier’s old college friend turned university professor, Alan, while Toks Olagundoye plays Alan’s colleague and head of the university’s psychology department Olivia. Jess Salgueiro plays Freddy’s roommate Eve, with Enders Keith in the role of Frasier’s nephew, David.
Bebe Neuwirth will return as Lilith – Frasier’s ex-wife and mother of Freddy – whom she originated in NBC’s hit sitcom Cheers. Peri Gilpin will also return as Roz, whom she played on the original show.
Speaking about the reboot in a June interview with The Independent, Grammer opined that “it may be funnier than the original”.
Frasier premieres its first two episodes on Paramount+ on 12 October in the US, with international releases following the day after.
