With the constant buzz of the details of the Frasier revival/reboot in 2022, fans are flocking back to re-watching the iconic NBC series. Even though the man behind Dr. Niles Crane, David Hyde Pierce, seemingly quit Hollywood after Frasier ended in 2004, there's no doubt that it made Dr. Frasier Crane's Kelsey Grammer an even bigger star. And in terms of sitcom actors, there's perhaps no bigger name than Kelsey Grammer. After all, his character was successfully carried over from Cheers into Frasier in a way that made the show incredibly financially successful while maintaining the spirit of the character and building on him in a way that fans adored.
In fact, there are countless people who prefer Frasier to the original series. That doesn't happen often. But given the show's success, it is odd that NBC canceled Frasier after its 11th season. Unlike other NBC series that were canceled, such as Third Rock From The Sun, Frasier has very consistent and high ratings as well as critical praise right up until its finale episode aired. So, what really went on behind the scenes on Frasier? Why would NBC cancel a show that was doing so well?
Kelsey Grammer's Enormous Frasier Salary Helped Get The Show Canceled
When a sitcom becomes so successful, it risks everything. In fact, it risks cancelation. This seems like a bit of an oxymoron. Why would anything that was beloved and profitable risk being taken off the air? Wouldn't a network do everything they could to keep things going if the quality was constant and the money was raking in? Well, yes. But not if the production costs were so high that the cost/benefit margins no longer worked in the network's favor. This is is ultimately what happened with Frasier by its 11th year.
Even though there were a number of reasons why production costs for Fraiser skyrocketed, Kelsey Grammer's is unquestionably the biggest reason why it became so expensive that NBC had to cancel the show. By the final few seasons of Frasier, each episode cost NBC a whopping $5.2 million. In fact, it has gone down as one of the most expensive series to make alongside the likes of Deadwood and Game of Thrones.
But unlike Game of Thrones, most of the budget per episode didn't go to sweeping sets, location shoots, or CGI dragons... it went to the lead actor. $1.6 million of the $5.2 million budget was Kelsey's salary. Yes, the future Simpsons star was closing in on $2 million per episode. That means the remaining few million went to the rest of the cast, the crew, and the general production costs. And with actors becoming more valuable as shows continue, Kelsey's team could have easily asked for more money if the show continued. Given that Frasier had already been on for 11 years and risked losing the audience, continuing the show was a massive financial risk for NBC.
Even though Kelsey was open to a pay cut in order to continue for at least one more season, NBC believed that it wasn't worth it for them. It would have had to have been a notable pay cut to move forward. As an NBC spokesperson said to People in 2004 when the show was about to end, "The finances would not have worked for another season."
Frasier Also Wanted To Go-Out On A High Note But Will Return For The Reboot
On top of this Frasier not being financially sustainable, NBC also claimed that they wanted to go out "on a high note" instead of potentially risking the series losing its grip. The writers of the show seemed to agree as they didn't think they could sustain the series under the weight of its success. Finding some ending for the character (at least for the time being) made sense. Additionally, audiences had been following the journey of Dr. Frasier Crane for 20 years. His arrival on the absurdly beloved Cheers marked his first act and his 11 season run on the spin-off Frasier was his second.
In a recent interview on The Today Show, Kesley Grammer described the potential Frasier Reboot on Paramount + as a "third act" for his character. A "second" for David Hyde Pierce's Niles, Jane Leeves' Daphne, and Peri Gilpin's Roz. However, at this point, none of the other cast members have confirmed they are returning for the reboot.
"We think we're going to get most of the actors back, I'm fairly hopeful, I'm certainly hopeful that we will," Kelsey said to Collider in the summer of 2021. "We have a story to tell that can actually be told with or without them, honestly, but I want them back because that's what I always dreamed of."
Of course, Kelsey has been saying the same thing for over a year now which seems to mean that the other actors have been in negotiations for a very, very, long time. It does seem to add to rumors that they didn't always get along with Kelsey, even though they loved making the show. Perhaps because they weren't being paid anywhere near what he was. But that's speculative as they have appeared with Kelsey at various functions and online fundraisers during Covid.
Aside from John Mahoney (who sadly passed in 2018), it's certainly possible that all of the main cast will return for the reboot especially if they're being paid enough and the story makes sense. After all, these are two massive hurdles to overcome if Paramount + wants to avoid the same issues that NBC had before they canceled the original show.