Cheers is one of those sitcoms that's just is better than most of the shows currently out there. This is to be expected as its legacy is undeniable. It even created a beloved spin-off series, Frasier, that is also counted among the best sitcoms of the past 30 years. While the geniuses behind the creation go Cheers, such as James "Jimmy" Burrows, Sam Simon, and Les and Glen Charles should take much of the credit for the show's success, it would be nothing without its cast. Much like the casting in Seinfeld catapulted already strong material into the stratosphere, the cast of Cheers made the series a place where every viewer wanted to hang out. Here's the truth about casting this truly brilliant and beloved classic sitcom...

Sam And Diane Were the Most Important Components

For the first half of Cheers' run on television, viewers were constantly fascinated with the 'will-they/won't-they' of the Sam/Diane relationship. According to a fascinating article by GQ, casting both of these two characters perfect was of utmost importance. While Sam was the center of the show, it was through Diane's eyes that viewers first experience what Cheers was.

After a 'grueling' audition process, the roles were eventually handed to Ted Danson and Shelley Long.

"I was doing the movie, Night Shift, when I read Cheers." Shelley Long, who played Diane Chambers, told GQ. "I was not looking for a sitcom, because the philosophy at that point was that you had to make a choice: Were you going to do movies or TV? You couldn't cross over. Then this script came along, and it was the best TV script I'd ever read."

Related: The Truth About Casting Martin Scorsese's 'Goodfellas'

As for Ted Danson, who played barman Sam Malone, well, the creators of Cheers were already fairly familiar with him. Cheers' creators, Jimmy Burrows, and Les, and Glen Charles worked on a show called Taxi where Ted had guest-starred. After Ted was called in to audition, he felt pretty confident and eventually landed the role... although, it wasn't without work...

"Shelley was everybody's choice right away, but there was controversy about Ted," Glen Charles said. "He was clearly not a football player, and not only physically. He didn't bring that attitude, that mentality. At the time, there was a [Red Sox] relief pitcher named Bill Lee, the "Spaceman." He was kind of nuts, as we found out a lot of relievers are. So [changing Sam's former profession] gave us a very offbeat athlete—one with a lot of intelligence. He wasn't the sloth that scratches his armpits, which had been our original impulse. It made his treatment of Diane early on kind of intentional: He was trying to bug the hell out of her."

Even then, Ted Danson had a really tough time finding the Sam Malone character.

"It took me at least two years to feel, 'Oh. I know how to play this now. I get it.' Because there was an ease and an arrogance to Sam, and I was not a womanizer; I didn't date a lot," Ted Danson admitted. "If I kissed somebody, I was basically married from that point on. [But] I maintain that I got Sam because I was teamed with Shelley. She was really unique. You can't imagine anyone else playing Diane. She was Diane."

Filling The Bar

Even when the supporting characters on Cheers didn't have much to do, they were always present. This was part of the conceit of the show. While actors like George Wendt (Norm Peterson), Rhea Perlman (Carla Tortelli), John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin), and Nicholas Colastanto (Coach) eventually were given a ton to do on the show, they initially went into it knowing they had small roles.

"My agent said, 'It's a small role, honey. It's one line. Actually, it's one word.' The word was 'beer.' I was having a hard time believing I was right for the role of 'the guy who looked like he wanted a beer.' So I went in, and they said, 'It's too small a role. Why don't you read this other one?' And it was a guy who never left the bar," George Wendy said.

Much like Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman had done Taxi, therefore the creators of Cheers were already well aware of her. So, landing a role on Cheers wasn't too difficult. John Ratzenberger had a more challenging time as he said he spent most of his audition chatting instead of actually auditioning, little did he know that it would actually set up getting cast as Cliff.

Then there was Nick Colasanto (Coach) who was one of the most experienced of them all. While he was cast on the show, he made an immediate impact. This made his tragic passing at the age of 61 all the more emotional.

The Arrival Of A Future A-Lister

While Nick Colasanto's tragic departure from Cheers threw the creators for a loop, it opened up the door for a new character, Woody Boyd. Of course, Woody was played by Woody Harrelson long before he became an A-lister.

"They wanted the replacement to play 21—just of drinking age," casting director Lori Openden said. "But more than anything, they wanted him to be sweet and doltish. I saw hundreds of actors. But I went back through my notes, and when I met Woody [Harrelson], before I brought him to the producers, I wrote, 'My work is done.'"

Related: Woody Harrelson Reveals That His Father Worked As A Texas Hitman

The Creation Of Dr. Frasier Crane And Dr. Lilith Sternin

Finally, Cheers wouldn't the show we know and love if it wasn't for the presence of Kelsey Grammer's Dr. Frasier Crane, the character who got his own spin-off series. Fraiser was created to be a competition for Sam in the 'Sam and Diane' department. By the time all of that played out, Frasier was a beloved character and he was given a wife, Dr. Lilith Sternin (played by Bebe Neuwirth).

"When I auditioned for the twenty people that were in the room, I didn't get a single laugh," Kelsey Grammer told GQ. "I put the script down, thanked everybody, and said, 'I'm going to go and see if I can get some laughs out on the street.' But then they sent me a bottle of champagne and said, 'Welcome to Cheers.'"

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