Kelsey Grammer's Low-Budget 'Frasier' Reboot Lacks 'Lavish Sets' & 'Beloved Faces Fans Held Dear'
Jan. 10 2023, Published 8:15 p.m. ET
TV's Dr. Frasier Crane may be a highbrow elitist, but the long-awaited reboot featuring the fussy '90s psychiatrist is decidedly low-budget with a bunch of novice actors getting paid peanuts, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Spies spilled the show's star Kelsey Grammer, 67, is the exception since he's the title character and the only returning original cast member.
"With the Paramount+ Frasier reboot, you're getting the actor you know and love in his most famous role, but you're not getting much else," revealed an insider. "There will be no lavish sets and none of the beloved faces fans held dear. Even the writers and producers are Z-list."
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, 63-year-old David Hyde Pierce, who stole scenes as Frasier's little brother Niles, scuttled plans to bring back the entire cast this spring by demanding a much larger role and paycheck, which producers nixed.
John Mahoney, who played Frasier's dad, Martin, died in 2018.
Despite the absences in the upcoming Frasier reboot, sources said Kelsey believes his star power is big enough to make the show a success.
"Kelsey's bet is he'll be enough to attract a big audience," said the insider. "The reboot will have all of those delicious one-liners that made him so famous to begin with.
"But there's not going to be a lot of bells and whistles beyond that."
According to insiders, Kelsey's TV brother isn't bothered that the series is going on without him.
“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.”
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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 it wouldn't be happening," spilled an insider. In the original series, which ran for 11 seasons from 1993 through 2004, Grammer's character Frasier was a radio psychologist who lived in Seattle near his equally persnickety brother and their blue-collar dad.
Gilpin worked at the radio station with Frasier, while Leeves played Niles' wife, Daphne.
The Frasier reboot will stream on Paramount+ and was announced by Paramount, who produced the original series, earlier this year. Grammer had been in talks to revive the series for years, revealing his excitement after finally making it official.
"Having spent over 20 years of my creative life on the Paramount lot, both producing shows and performing in several, I’d like to congratulate Paramount+ on its entry into the streaming world," Grammer said in a statement.
"I gleefully anticipate sharing the next chapter in the continuing journey of Dr. Frasier Crane."
He went on to explain his television brother's decision not to join him for the reboot, failing to reveal the REAL reason behind Pierce's choice.
According to Grammer, Pierce didn't want to repeat his performance as the beloved character. "But the new world for Frasier is one of new friendships," Grammer teased.
Unfortunately for the cast — and fans — his old friends and family won't be there.