Cheers Almost Traded Its Boston Bar For A Desert Saloon
One of the keys to crafting a great sitcom is choosing a unique location. Most television writers live in Los Angeles or New York City, but to be a writer of consequence you've got to be curious about the world around you. This is why so many of the best series take place in cities that aren't major production centers. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" took place in the wintry metropolis of Minneapolis. "The Andy Griffith Show" acquainted us with the offbeat rural denizens of (the fictional) Mayberry, North Carolina. And "WKRP in Cincinnati" captured the charm of Ohio's Queen City via a struggling AM radio station.
When it comes to identifying a city with a sitcom, there is not a more iconic show than "Cheers." Boston is a very strange, very old city (founded in 1630). It has a rich, if troubling racial history. It's also got a chip on its shoulder. You will not meet a more tribalistic class of sports fan than a Bostonite. They live and die so very hard with the fortunes of the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, and Patriots. It is, therefore, a perfect sitcom city.
And yet, getting "Cheers" to Boston was not the initial plan. Amazingly, if the series' creators had followed their original inspiration, the bar where everyone knows your name would've had a Southwest flavor.
Why would anyone ever leave here?
According to a 2012 GQ oral history, "Cheers" was going to pay homage to the classic 1970s BBC sitcom "Fawlty Towers," which was set at a seaside British hotel. Per "Cheers" co-creator Glen Charles:
"'Fawlty Towers' was a favorite at that time, and so we started talking about hotel stories, and we found that a lot of the action was happening in the hotel bar. We actually thought of that while we were in a bar: 'Why would anyone ever leave here?'"
His brother Les Charles added that they played around with the location, but this discussion was short-lived.
"We talked about putting this bar out in the desert somewhere, or in a small town, but once we were looking at a city, we immediately went to Boston. It hadn't been used very much on television, and we wanted a city with some charm — a city that would have that English-style sort of pub in it. [Plus], it was a sports-crazy city. Everything seemed right about it."
The sports angle was vital. Building "Cheers" in large part around Ted Danson's Sam Malone, a retired Red Sox relief pitcher who, despite being a recovering alcoholic, is the establishment's owner and head bartender was a masterstroke. He was not a roaring success as a player, so his ego is easily bruised. But Boston loves their hometown athletes, and this imbues the series with its essential warmth. You might not love Boston, but just about everyone who crosses the bar's threshold Sam and each other.