‘He Overplayed His Hand And Lost’: David Hyde Pierce Accused Of Being ‘Greedy’ During Frasier Reboot Negotiations Which Led To Producers Retooling Show
Dec. 8 2022, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
Dr. Frasier Crane’s long-awaited return to prime time won’t be the family reunion fans were expecting — thanks to his greedy TV brother, David Hyde Pierce, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Sources close to the situation said 63-year-old Piece, who played Frasier’s little brother Niles, scuttled plans to bring back the entire case of the top-rated '90s sitcom when he demanded a much larger part in the storylines for his character — and wanted more money, too!
“David has become a huge star on Broadway,” explained a source. “He doesn’t need the show, so he decided to leverage his appearance to the hilt. In the end, he overplayed his hand and lost.”
Pierce’s grandstand move wrecked plans for the rest of the surviving cast — including Peri Gilpin and Jane Leeves — to have a happy reunion on the rebooted classic! Without Niles, producers decided to scrap the reunion and place Frasier in a new city with a new cast.
“They were all excited about coming back and were devastated when they found out it wouldn’t be happening,” a source spilled. In the original series, which ran for 11 seasons from 1993 through 2004, Kelsey Grammer’s Frasier was a radio psychologist who lived in Seattle near his equally persnickety brother, Niles, and their blue-collar dad, Martin, played by John Mahoney.
Gilpin worked at the radio station with Frasier, while Leeves played Niles’ wife, Daphne. “But the new world for Frasier is one of new friendships,” Said Grammer, 67.
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Unfortunately for the cast and fans — his old friends and family won’t be there.
Earlier this year, Grammer teased the reboot during an appearance on The Talk.
He said, “[They’re] in the final stages of the final script for the first episode of the ‘Frasier’ reboot and it looks pretty good. I’ve had a couple of runs through it, and I cried, so you know, I’m happy.”.
The reboot was officially announced in October with plans to air on Paramount+. The details of the new show have been kept under wraps.