Does The Frasier Revival's New Will-They-Won't-They Relationship Have Niles-Daphne Potential?
This article contains spoilers for the "Frasier" revival.
Paramount+'s "Frasier" revival is off to a start. Not a great one, not a particularly rocky one either, just ... a start. Here at /Film we've explored the good (the beautiful tribute to the series paid to the late John Mahoney), the bad (that painful "Dr. Crane" sequence from episode 3), and everything in between (who do YOU want to reprise their role in the revival?). In his review of the series, /Film's Josh Spiegel called it "neither disappointing nor remarkable," and presciently identified exactly where the revival has the opportunity to ultimately either bomb or soar: "The new characters," Spiegel wrote, "only serve as distant echoes of the ensemble from the original series."
Finely drawn characters and electric character dynamics are arguably the key to all successful sitcoms. But these elements were especially vital to the success of "Frasier" as, unlike most other smash hit sitcoms, "Frasier" was a spinoff, and needed primarily through character to distinguish itself from its origin point, "Cheers." The witty, cerebral, fast-talking "Frasier" crew cut a clear departure away from the good old boys and gals throwing down brews with Sam and Diane. But it wasn't just that the characters on "Frasier" that were different — the show succeeded because the dynamics between the egomaniacal Frasier, fussy Niles (David Hyde Pierce), kooky Daphne (Jane Leeves), refreshingly real Roz (Peri Gilpin), and blunt Martin (John Mahoney) were so perfectly balanced.
I've written before about how the fact that viewers tolerated Niles and Daphne's will-they-won't-they relationship for over seven seasons is a testament to how beloved those characters were. Will-they-won't-theys are extremely common devices to ensnare viewers and shore up loyalty. It seems the "Frasier" revival is beginning to test one out, but can it ever live up to Niles and Daphne?
What made Niles and Daphne so special?
Niles and Daphne meet in the series' very first few episodes. When Frasier's policeman father proves too unsteady to live on his own after being caught in the line of fire at work, he moves in with Frasier, and with him comes Daphne, a live-in physical therapist. The chemistry between the three of them is already wonderful — Frasier's head is so inflated he can't even see straight, Martin always cuts him down to size, and Daphne splits the difference by finding them both adorable. Then enters Niles.
From the moment they first see each other, sparks fly. Niles stammers and sputters, overwhelmed by his own feelings and woefully ill-equipped to process let alone communicate them. Daphne meanwhile demurs, wary of stepping over the ethical line of associating with her bosses' son/brother, and also respectful of Niles' marriage to the never-seen Maris.
Impressively, the writers behind "Frasier" found natural means of stalling the inevitable culmination of their relationship for over seven seasons. What came up? Wives, boyfriends, nerves, family. Even more impressively, after the pair finally get together in the climactic, two-part season seven finale, the writers stuck the landing in the episodes from there on out. The worst thing that can happen to a show besides failing to establish a will-they-won't-they relationship that fans tune in for is establishing one — then you have to give them what they want and watch them be inevitably disappointed that it could never live up to their breathless expectations. This didn't happen with Niles and Daphne. Their characters deepened and their relationship became a character of its own, with strengths, weaknesses, fears, desires, and many, many satisfying arcs. How could any on-screen relationship follow that up?
Rekindling an old dynamic
On the "Frasier" revival, the will-they-won't-they in question comprises Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott), Frasier's son, and Eve (Jess Salgueiro), Freddy's former roommate and kind of co-parent. In the first episode we learned that, despite living and raising a child together, Freddy and Eve aren't a couple. That isn't even their child. It's Eve's child with Freddy's former co-worker and best friend, who tragically died while working with Freddy and the rest of their firefighters' battalion to extinguish a fire. Out of loyalty and compassion, Freddy is helping this newly single mother raise her child.
Given they're the only characters their age and they're both single, it was clear from the beginning that at the very least these two have couple potential. I think out of a smartly-obeyed sense of decorum, the writers held off on thrusting Freddy and Eve into a romantic dynamic given the tragic circumstances that brought them together. But now that we're comfortable with the pair, the question is being raised: why not?
In the latest episode, entitled "The Founders' Society," the B-plot focuses on Freddy and Jess helping David (Anders Keith), Niles and Daphne's son, learn how to flirt. Before Freddy agrees to help him, David initiates this conversation:
"David: What's up in Freddy land? Is there a Mrs. Freddy on the horizon?
Freddy: Nope, no girlfriend at the moment.
David: That's a shame, sure there's nothing going on between you and Eve?
Freddy: What? No.
David: Why not? I mean you have all this history, you've lived together for a while, you've seen each other in your pajamas ...
Freddy: David, you know she was with my buddy before he ... trust me. Nothing can happen."
Note that Freddy says nothing "can" happen, not he doesn't want anything to happen.
Something old, something new
From my recollection, there has only been one scene before this that might suggest Freddy and Eve could be a thing. They don't have the palpable chemistry that David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves had, but maybe that's because Salgueiro and Cutmore-Scott have been told to tamp it down. After all, the characters might be too blinded by grief to even think about romance of any kind, let alone with each other. They don't really have a great personality contrast either, like the one Niles and Daphne had. They both have a happy-go-lucky, salt-of-the-earth kind of vibe that harkens back more to "Cheers" than "Frasier." How could they sustain multiple seasons of tension without that critical character difference?
Well, maybe they aren't trying to. No doubt it would be a fool's errand to try and recreate the Niles-Daphne dynamic. It was lightning in a bottle, something you can never fully recapture. The closer you get to it, you'll only draw viewers' eyes to the glaring differences between them — what lacks on the revival's part, most likely. Perhaps we "Frasier" fans have been blinded by our love for the original series and, seeing a romantic possibility brewing, instantly projected our favorite from that series onto the new one. Freddy and Eve are nothing like Niles and Daphne, and that's a good thing.
This episode finally acknowledged the possibility of a romance between them. Perhaps before this Freddy hadn't even thought of Eve in that way. Now he's been forced to, if only for a few moments. Let's try and leave Niles and Daphne in Seattle for the time being and watch what's actually happening before our eyes unfold. It could be the beginning of a very beautiful thing.
New episodes of "Frasier" premiere on Paramount+ every Thursday.