Frasier Reviews Praise Kelsey Grammer’s Dr. Crane Comeback

Dr. Crane is back in the building. Nearly 20 years after Frasier ended its 11-season, 264-episode run, Kelsey Grammer returns as the former radio psychiatrist turned daytime TV talk show host whose next chapter could be teaching at his alma mater, Harvard. In the Frasier revival (October 12th on Paramount+, October 17th on CBS), Frasier returns to Boston and reconnects with his estranged son, Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott), after the death of his father Martin (played by John Mahoney in the original series). With no Martin, no Niles (David Hyde Pierce), and no Daphne (Jane Leeves), critics who have screened the first five of 10 episodes say Frasier 2.0 is more a sequel than a revival. But how does it fare against the original, itself a spin-off of Cheers?

“With Kelsey Grammer safely back in the role he was born to play, Frasier scores as comfort viewing even if it can’t quite compare to the classic original series,” reads the critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, where the new Frasier currently sits with a fresh 64%.

Frasier follows the lovable snob “in the next chapter of his life as he returns to Boston with newchallenges to face, new relationships to forge and an old dream or twoto finally fulfill,” per the official logline. Starring alongside Grammer and Cutmore-Scott are Nicholas Lyndhurst (Only Fools and Horses) as Frasier’s old college buddy turned university professor Alan; Toks Olagundoye (Castle) as Olivia, Alan’s colleague and head of the university’s psychology department; Jess Salgueiro (The Boys) as Freddy’s roommate Eve; and newcomer Anders Keith as Frasier’s adult nephew, David.

ComicBook: “The show’s strongest suit is its nostalgia, but that’s alsopotentially its downfall. The series feels every bit like a sitcom fromthe ’90s, in both good and bad ways. Yeah, it’s nice to see a moretraditional sitcom, filmed in front of a live audience, but at times, italso yields a lot of déjà vu. You might be surprised how many times youcan see the setup and payoff for jokes coming a mile away, because theshow is dealing in old tropes. They’re executed well, so it’s hard toargue that it’s inherently a bad thing, but some audience members willlikely feel like the show is a little bit too frozen in time for theirtaste.”

Variety: “Paramount+’s Frasier works because it remains loyal to the originalprogram. Despite the cast changes, Frasier, now in his 60s, has the samequalities of the man viewers first met in his 30s and last saw in his50s. Overly concerned with money and appearances, Frasier’s differenceswith Freddy parallel those he had with Mahoney’s Martin. From the themesong to the black and white title cards, and even the live audience, theelements that made Frasier a quintessential work remain unchangedhere. This version of Frasier also retains its ability to remainsocially and politically neutral, which is a nice reprieve forhyper-aware fans.”

Deadline: “In an industry awash with alternative timelines as plot points almostas much as it is with creatively barren reboots and reunions, perhaps itwould be better to peg the Frasier revival not as somethingnew at all, but neither something old. Perhaps a more crystalline perspective would be to view this Frasier as simply the charminglychugging along 30th season of the beloved and acclaimed Cheers spinoff.While clearly a subscriber lunge for Paramount+ in this age of streamercontractions, this 10-episode revival is indeed so blatantly athrowback to a very different era of television that to try to taint itas mere nostalgia is to miss the point. A little thinner on top, alittle meatier around the middle, and sometimes a bit slower in itssitcom delivery, Frasier 3.0 emerges eternally itself in an ever changing world and media landscape.” 

EW: “With no Niles or Daphne, no Martin and only the vague promise of a ‘guest appearance’ from Roz (Peri Gilpin) and Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth), the weight of this sitcom’s new world rests on Frasier’s shoulders. It’s quite a handicap, but Grammer knows the good doctor well, and he slips back into the role as easily as Frasier might don a bespoke Armani suit. The actor’s exceptional charisma keeps this new Frasier afloat for now, but the five episodes made available for review reveal underlying issues that indicate it will not be an exception to the revival rule.” 

Vulture: “If only Frasier had learned more lessons from [the Will & Grace and Murphy Brown revivals],which like this reboot, tended to broaden the tone of their originaliterations, even as they labored to recreate the circumstances that madethe originals click. Revivals tend to be cursed propositions on thatfront. You can’t make them exact replicas of what came before, becausetime has passed and circumstances have changed, but if you change toomuch (and say, put Frasier in jeans)you alienate the diehards. It’s odd to see how much effort Grammer hasput in to make this revival happen, only for it to come across as acautious, defensive maneuver. All that effort just to bring back this?”

The Independent: “The fact that there is something to enjoy in this return to the Craniverse is testament to the joys of Cheers and Frasier,not to mention Grammer’s effective turn in the lead role. Little mayremain other than a title and an endearing snobbery, but, just likeTheseus’s ride before it, the spirit of Frasier remains intact. Not quite seaworthy, perhaps, but just about afloat.” 

TheWrap: “Frasier Crane is a character Grammer can clearly play in his sleep.It’s quite striking just how much into the cadence and rhythm of thecharacter Grammer is from moment one — which makes the fact that therest of the series isn’t in the same rhythm so disappointing. It’sdifficult to see this show even existing in its current form if not forthe fact that Frasier Crane is part of it.”

Time: “It’s nice that thenew episodes were filmed in front of a live audience, but theirlaughter, which reads as artificial in 2023, makes the revival feel toomuch like a kitschy throwback. Frasier’s quest to prove, after a coupleof decades as an overeducated talk-show host, that he’s got moresubstance than, say, Dr. Phil makes for a decent premise. Buthis guilt over passing his daddy issues onto the next generation is moreof a bummer than a light comedy can support. The show needs more jokesand less earnest emoting, at the very least.” 

Slate Magazine: “With Grammer’s return to his beloved role, it’s a pleasure to find that while much has been taken from Frasier,including its iconic Seattle setting and most of its supporting cast,the series can still deliver a distinct brand of wry humor. That’s largely thanks to Frasier himself, a role that still fitsGrammer like a glove. All of the old mannerisms are still there: the slysmirk with which he tosses droll one-liners, the petted lip whensomeone sends one back, the furious glare when confronted with a crimeagainst fashion or furnishing. And when the series becomes morereflective—like when Frasier talks about the passing of his father in amoment that also plays as tribute to the late actor John Mahoney—he canstill cap 20-odd minutes of zany sitcom antics with a moment that ringstrue and sincere.”

Frasier premieres with two episodes October 12th on Paramount; both episodes will be broadcast on CBS on October 17th. Frasier: Inside the Series, a new behind-the-series special, is available to watch now on Paramount+, the Paramount+ YouTube channel and Facebook pages, and free streaming services Pluto TV and Mixible.