Frasier is reentering the building for season 2 on Paramount+!
The streaming service announced in February 2024 that the revival series — which saw Kelsey Grammer reprise the title role of Dr. Frasier Crane as he embarked on the next chapter of his life — was renewed for a second season.
And, as the actor reunites with some of the stars from the NBC sitcom’s original run, he’s also reuniting with a former co-star from a different series.
Patricia Heaton is set to join the Frasier revival for season 2, Deadline reports. The Everybody Loves Raymond actress previously co-starred with Grammer in the short-lived sitcom Back to You, in which they played exes and rival news anchors. The show ran for just one season on Fox, from 2007-08.
On Frasier, Heaton will star as Holly, a down-to-earth Boston bartender, whose confident and unpretentious nature puts her at odds with Grammer’s character’s aspirational academic ideals.
Production on season 2 kicked off in May 2024, with the show sharing a video of Grammer arriving to set on a bicycle, ready to film some new episodes.
“Kelsey made a triumphant return as one of the most iconic and beloved characters on television,” said Jeff Grossman, Executive Vice President, Programming, Paramount+, in a statement. “The new series introduced Frasier to a whole new generation while reminding fans of Kelsey’s truly timeless portrayal of Dr. Crane. We’re so excited to see what the creative team and superb cast serve up for season 2.”
“Frasier is a love story, and I am very happy we will be allowed to continue it,” added Grammer, who also serves as an executive producer on the series. “I’m delighted that our partners at CBS Studios and Paramount+ are on board for another season, and I can’t wait for the fans to see what we have in store!”
In the first season of the revival, Frasier returned to his old Cheers stomping ground in Boston, with new challenges to face, new relationships to forge and an old dream or two to finally fulfill. New cast members included Jack Cutmore-Scott, who plays Frasier’s adult son, Freddy, and and Anders Keith as Frasier’s nephew, David, the son of Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce) and Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves).
“He is not the same guy anymore,” Grammer said in ET’s exclusive behind-the-scenes look ahead of the show’s premiere in October 2023. “He is a little wiser, he may actually even be a little funnier, willing to laugh at himself. A little more self-aware, and he has a new mission in life.”
As news about season 2 continues to be released, ET is sharing a look at the cast — from franchise newcomers to OGs from the original series — as well as details on the premiere date, photos and more.
THE CAST
The OGs
Kelsey Grammer
Grammer returned to lead the update, which follows Frasier as he begins a new chapter in his life. The actor was the lone star from the original series to return as a series regular for the new series.
Though the revival was light on OG presence in the first season, Grammer noted that the first episode, titled “The Good Father,” is a direct callback to Frasier‘s series premiere, which was called “The Good Son.” There were also plenty of nods and references to characters who have come through Frasier, notably the late John Mahoney, who played Frasier’s father, Martin Crane. “There’s a nod to certainly my father in the show, John Mahoney, there,” Grammer told ET. “You’ll see things about John all through the show. I think people will be very happy to see that he’s honored in the way he is in the show.”
Bebe Neuwirth
Neuwirth was the first original cast member, outside of Grammer, officially announced to reprise her role in the upcoming reboot. She guested in the seventh episode of the first season, as Lilith and Frasier had one of their classic showdowns at Freddy’s birthday party. After the love-hate energy between the two threatened their relationship with their son, however, the former couple agreed to amicably separate family schedules for Freddy’s sake.
Peri Gilpin
Gilpin returned for the season 1 finale of the Frasier reboot, reprising her role as Roz, Frasier’s longtime friend and former radio co-host. As Frasier struggled with mourning his father during the holiday season, Freddy came through with the ultimate Christmas gift, surprising him with Roz in an attempt to cheer him up. It was announced in May 2024 that Gilpin will return for season 2 in a recurring guest role.
The Newcomers
Jack Cutmore-Scott
Cutmore-Scott was introduced to viewers in season 1 as Freddy, Frasier’s grown-up son. (A younger version of the character was played by Luke Tarsitano and Trevor Einhorn on the original series.)
While Freddy was the reason Frasier returned to Boston, the father-son reunion is a complicated one. Freddy eschews his father’s elitist, academic personality and, despite having been accepted to Harvard himself, works as a fireman, a profession that both frustrates and worries his father. When the pair move into together, it makes for an interesting mirror of the original series, with the clashing personalities providing plenty of fodder for the show’s antics.
Nicholas Lyndhurst
The stage actor plays Alan, an old college friend of Frasier’s who is now a professor — though he seems to have more affection for a good, stiff drink than any of his students. Lyndhurst has a connection to Grammer as the two starred in a London production of Man of La Mancha in 2019.
Toks Olagundoye
Olagundoye joined the series as Olivia, Alan’s colleague and the head of the university’s psychology department. She idolizes Frasier, having been a devout fan of his TV talk show, and worked tirelessly to persuade him to join the Harvard faculty, ultimately becoming part of his inner circle of friends.
Jess Salgueiro
Salgueiro portrays Eve, Freddy’s roommate, in the revival series. While Frasier initially suspects the two are romantically involved, it’s later revealed that Eve is the widow of one of Freddy’s former co-workers, and she and her infant son, John, moved in with Freddy after the accident. A bartender and struggling actress, Eve often finds herself embroiled in the antics of the Crane men.
Anders Keith
The Frasier reboot marks Keith’s professional acting debut as he plays Frasier’s nephew, David, who is the son of Niles Crane and Daphne Moon. Unfortunately, David seems to share both his father’s posh aloofness and his mother’s penchant for zany shenanigans, often leaving him the butt of the joke. He is a student of Alan’s at Harvard, ultimately becoming his teaching assistant, much to both of their chagrins.
Greer Grammer
The Frasier star’s 32-year-old real-life child has joined the project as Roz’s on-screen daughter, Alice. “Now in her late twenties, friendly, outgoing Alice has inherited more than some of her mother Roz’s free-spirited ways,” reads a character description published by Variety in June 2024. “Having just moved to Providence to study architecture, Alice is eager to catch up with Frasier’s son Freddy—and complicate whatever romantic plans he may have.”
Patricia Heaton
The Everybody Loves Raymond actress is joining Frasier’s second season as Holly, a down-to-earth Boston bartender, whose confident and unpretentious nature puts her at odds with Grammer’s character’s aspirational academic ideals.
Heaton previously co-starred with Grammer in the short-lived sitcom Back to You, in which they played exes and rival news anchors. The show ran for just one season on Fox, from 2007-08.
WHERE WE LEFT OFF
Season 1 showed Frasier readjusting to life in Boston and reattempting to be a supportive father to his now-grown son. He also had to acclimate himself to academic life after years in the spotlight on radio and television, dealing with the complicated behind-the-scenes politicking that goes on at an institution like Harvard.
Meanwhile, Freddy faced challenges of his own, from trying to reconnect with a father he couldn’t be more different from, to supporting Eve and her infant son, to his own survivor’s guilt. The emotions culminated in the season 1 finale, in which Freddy felt pulled in all directions as he tried to support all the people in his life. Roz’s surprise arrival, however, put everyone at ease, as they celebrated and paid tribute to Martin and his favorite time of the year.
PRODUCTION & PREMIERE DATE
Frasier’s 10-episode first season — as well as the entire original series — is currently streaming on Paramount+. Production on season 2 kicked off in May 2024, though there’s no word yet on when the new episodes will premiere.
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