After nearly 20 years off the airwaves, Frasier is coming back into our lives, but it’ll look quite a bit different from last time. Rather than Frasier Crane being joined by Niles, Daphne and Roz again (Martin was never an option since John Mahoney passed away in 2018), Kelsey Grammer is starring with a lineup of new faces in the revival heading to Paramount+ subscribers. However, one of the newest Frasier castings is taking a page from Night Court’s playbook by having one of the show’s lead characters be the offspring of some folks from the original Frasier.
As those who are watching the new Night Court on NBC know, The Big Bang Theory’s Melissa Rauch stars as Judge Abby Stone, the daughter of Harry Anderson’s Harry Stone, the lead character from the original Night Court who, like the actor who played him, passed away. Well, while we don’t know how David Hyde Pierce’s Niles and Jane Reeves’ Daphne are doing these days, we’ll soon get to know their son/Frasier’s nephew quite well like Night Court viewers are doing with Abby. Variety has revealed that Anders Keith has been cast in Frasier as David Crane, who was born in the original Frasier’s two-part series finale.
Now a college freshman, Anders Keith’s David Crane is described as “an awkward college freshman with a penchant for off-kilter observations” who has Niles’ intelligence and Daphne’s smile, “and neither of their polish. While David’s “unearned confidence” might strike some as confusing, Frasier is a fan of his nephew’s “earnest enthusiasm.” Frasier will be Keith’s first onscreen project, having graduated from Julliard in May 2022.
Last November, Kelsey Grammer shared that David Hyde Pierce would not reprise Niles on the Frasier revival because he had no interest in returning to the role. There also hadn’t been any word about Jane Reeves reprising Daphne, and with Anders Keith now cast as David, if original Frasier fans are wondering what’s happened to Niles and Daphne since we last saw them in 2004, that information will need to be revealed through their son. Still, depending on how long the revival lasts, and assuming Niles and Daphne are both still alive, maybe Pierce will change his mind and be game to guest star in an episode with Reeves by his side.
Anders Keith isn’t the only new Frasier cast member who was announced today. Jess Salgueiro, known from shows like Y: The Last Man, Letterkenny, The Boys and The Expanse, has come aboard as Eve, the roommate of Frasier Crane’s son, Freddy, who’s being played by Jack Cutmore-Scott in this show. Eve is said to be a “breath of fresh air” who is “spontaneous, outgoing and bursting with creative energy whether it was asked for or not.” Eve will play a key role in reconnecting Frasier and Freddy, who haven’t been on great terms when the series begins. Salguiero, Keith, Cutmore and Kelsey Grammer will be joined by Nicholas Lyndhurst’s Alan Cornwall, Frasier’s old college buddy and a university professor who has a “mischievous streak.”
After entering development in 2019, the Frasier revival was greenlit by Paramount+ in early 2021, and by October 2022, it secured a 10-episode season, with Chris Harris and Joe Cristalli attached as the writers/executive producers. While we wait for more updates on what to expect from the new Frasier, take a look through our 2023 TV schedule to see what shows are currently airing or on the way soon.
