Kelsey Grammer Breaks His Silence on the Most Hated Cheers Co Star

Cheers was one of the

most

popular sitcoms of the 1980s and remains one of the

most

beloved shows in television history. With a stellar cast and incredible writing, the show followed the lives of the patrons and workers of a fictional Boston pub. Since it aired, there have been revelations about what goes on behind the scenes of her show. But even as cast members and producers have revealed their versions of events, there are still disputes over what really happened. This is especially true when it comes to claims made by Kelsey Grammer. The actor, who later brought the famous Frasier character to his own hit spin-off, made claims about Shelley Long in a memoir published years after he ended the show.

Join Facts Verse as we present: Kelsey Grammer

breaks

her

silence

on Cheers' most

hated

co-

star

Frasier's introduction to Cheers. The original Cheers couple was Sam and Diane. The two were prepared to have an "opposites attract" type situation, one that would

star

t with them hating each other and then eventually coming to love each other. The show took the "will they, won't they" trope and ran with it, to the point where if you made a cultural reference to a couple like an actual "Sam and Diane" scenario, most people would know. what were you? talking about. However, the show ultimately decided to put a twist on that story by bringing in another character to serve as Diane's romantic interest.

Thus, Frazier Crane entered the world of Cheers. Frasier was created as a much more direct complement to Diane's character traits. They were both polite, somewhat pompous and quite stubborn. So, in a way, they were a great combination. Frasier was originally supposed to be on the show for a quick 3 episode arc. But it became clear to both producers and audiences that Kelsey's character brought a lot to the show. And as such, he deserved more screen time. The producers decided to keep Frasier at least until the end of the season. Frasier's presence had two purposes: he would play a romantic role for Diane and he would use his experience as a psychiatrist to help Sam, played by Ted Danson, deal with a recurrence of alcoholism after a breakup with Diane.

But regardless of intentions, you never know if audiences will like a newly introduced character. Fortunately for Kelsey, Frasier was a hit. At the end of the season, he and Diane are supposed to get married. But when season 4 began, it was revealed that Diane had left Frasier at the altar. He then became a more regular inhabitant of the pub. Shelly vs. Kelsey There are conflicting reports about the real-life relationship between Shelley Long and Kelsey Grammer. Grammer published a memoir called "Until Now..." in 1995, and it included a rather strange accusation as to why she was asked to stay longer than her original three-episode arc.

According to the book, the producers of Cheers didn't really like Shelly Long. She said that Long was becoming increasingly irritated that Frasier was on the show and that she was essentially stealing lines from him, since they were so similar. As such, Kelsey said that she constantly complained about Frasier. He also said that she didn't like him in real life either. Then, according to the book, the producers got so tired of her complaining that they decided to extend Kelsey's stay on the show. Basically, they knew that Shelley Long would be very upset about Kelsey and her character being there all season, and they wanted to punish her for constantly complaining about him.

The Producer's Rebuttal Grammer may have made that accusation, but that doesn't make it true. One of Cheers' producers, Ken Levine, flatly said that was not the case. He said the decision to keep Kelsey on the show for more than three episodes was due to her talent and performance. Levine wrote on his blog that everyone could see that Kelsey was a fantastic and engaging actor and that as soon as he started interacting with the rest of the characters, it was clear to the production team that they needed to include him in more parts of the show. . . He even commented that Kelsey was selling herself short by claiming that he had something to do with Shelley Long.

Levine said, "She earned that promotion!" Levine discussed what it was like working with Shelley Long. He said that overall Shelly was a lovely person and that she definitely didn't try to get Kelsey fired at any point. He admitted that working with Shelley could be a challenge and that made the producers and cast frustrated. But she wasn't mean. He wrote that she admired how well Grammer and Long worked together and that they were not only kind, but also professional. He admitted, somewhat, that they were both those things despite not necessarily getting along. So at least that serves as confirmation that all was not well between the two actors.

The Departures of Shelley and Kelsey Shelley long surprised Cheers fans when she left after season 5. The show, at the time, was a huge hit and Shelly was experiencing fame and fortune for her role as Diane her. But for Shelley, five seasons were enough. To begin with, she had grown tired of her character. It can be exhausting to play essentially the same role, week after week for years. And in sitcoms, characters don't usually change much. So she knew that things would basically be the same for her and her character as long as she remained on the show.

She also talked about how people on the show and in the outside world often treated her poorly due to some of the negative aspects of her character. He admitted that the character of Diane was really "annoying", but that people often confused her with Shelley in real life, assuming that she was also difficult to deal with. Of course, depending on who you ask on the show, that may have been at least partially true. Kelsey Grammer, on the other hand, stayed until the end of Cheers. And because of the spin-off show, Frasier, her stint as Cheers character outlived everyone else on the show.

Which also proves that producer Ken Levine was probably right when he attributed Kelsey's original promotion on Cheers to her talent, and not her feud with Shelley. Surely if it had simply been a move out of spite, we wouldn't have seen years and years of continuation of the Frasier Crane character. Kelsey and another co-star At the end of 2022, actress Kirstie Alley passed away. Kirstie replaced Shelley Long on Cheers starting in season six. These were big shoes to fill, as Shelley had done a stellar job on the show. But Alley was a powerhouse and audiences quickly fell in love with her.

When she passed away, Kelsey had a lot to say about her. Only, instead of perhaps less positive things like she said about Shelley, she just had amazing things to say. She referred to Kirstie as radiant and said he had something about her that made her shine. She also said Alley was honest and shared love with everyone around her. She even talked about a time when she had legal problems. She said that when she was going through that ordeal, Alley was one of the people who really showed up for her. She even helped him by making him laugh during her most difficult moments.

She recalled that she was scheduled to see her at a friend of hers' book signing about a week before she passed away. But she didn't show up. He wasn't sure what was going on, but soon discovered that she had had to miss the event due to her illness. And a week later, she died. Kelsey said it was a blessing of hers just to know her. Even more from Frasier Crane Cheers and Frasier fans were excited when it was announced that there would soon be a Frasier reboot. However, it will be a very different program from its previous version.

For one thing, it won't be set in Seattle. Instead, Frasier will have moved cities (it's not yet clear where) and will presumably start teaching at a university. The cast will no doubt look very different as well. The biggest change may be the absence of John Mahoney, who played Frasier's father, Martin. His absence will be due to Mahoney passing away in 2018. But other members of the show's cast will also be missing. David Hyde Pierce, Jane Leeves and Peri Gilpin, who played Niles, Daphne and Roz, will also not return. All of those actors decided to decline the offer, feeling like they didn't want to revisit those characters.

But everyone wishes the show and Kelsey the best. It is scheduled to air in 2023 on Paramount Plus, although a release date has not yet been announced. Whether or not it will appeal to long-time fans of the show remains to be seen, but it seems likely that fans will at least watch the reboot, for a chance to be reintroduced to one of their favorite television characters. Now is the time to hear from you. Did you know Kelsey Grammer wrote that he was kept on Cheers simply to annoy Shelley Long? And that the producers refuted that statement? Who was your favorite Cheers character?

Let us know in the comments section!