Kelsey Grammer has revealed that he would like Cheers stars Ted Danson and Shelley Long to reprise their roles in the Frasier reboot.
The pair played bartender Sam Malone and waitress Diane Chambers in the sitcom, which ran from 1982 to 1993, and centered around a Boston bar named ‘Cheers’. Their characters shared an on-again, off-again romance, with Grammer’s character Frasier being introduced as another love interest for Diane.
A spin-off series which took Grammer’s character to Seattle ran from 1993 to 2004, receiving critical acclaim, including earning 37 Primetime Emmy Awards.
In 2023, it was rebooted, taking Frasier back to Boston, the home of the ‘Cheers’ bar and the setting for the beloved series.
A second season of the Frasier reboot has been renewed, which Grammer has said he hopes will feature appearances from the Cheers cast.
Speaking with Variety, the actor said about Danson and Long’s return: “It’s just a matter of willingness to be on the show.”
“And if there’s a good story. I’d still love to have Shelley come back and play Diane, for one more sense of closure for Frasier,” he continued.
“Because now that he’s back in Boston, there are things that will come up, and I think that she would be one of them. And Ted, we have a few ideas for that.”
It’s not the first time Grammer has spoken about Long’s possible return to the cast. Speaking with Kelly Clarkson back in January, Grammar shared how he “would like to see Diane come back”.
“Just for one of those reasons for Frasier to be able to put something to bed, to end up with a nice thing.”
Danson and Long have both made guest appearances on the original Frasier, in the second and third seasons respectively.