The Frasier Revival Tapped Modern Sitcom Royalty For Its First Big Guest Star
What made the original "Frasier" series so good? It's a question we at /Film have been feverishly searching for answers to in light of Paramount+'s release of the "Frasier" revival, which is quite mixed, if it's the original series you're holding it to as a standard. There aren't as many jokes per minute, the understanding of its central character isn't always perfect, and they're only just figuring out which elements from the original series were okay to discard and which needed to be in the mix for the cake to come out tasty.
One of the shakier aspects of this calculus has been the revival's handling of its character dynamics. This is a fully defensible area of weakness — character dynamics are both the hardest aspect of sitcoms to iron out and the singular aspect that makes them soar or sink. Opinions vary, but if you ask for mine, the revival is getting there. And that's fine. Replacing Daphne, Roz, Niles, and Martin is impossible. It's not even nearly impossible — it can't and shouldn't be attempted. Chris Harris and Joe Cristalli, the revival showrunners, clearly understand that. Frasier's new squad, consisting of Jack Cutmore-Scott's Freddy, Jess Salgueiro's Eve, Nicholas Lyndhurst's Alan, and Toks Olagundoye's Olivia, bear virtually no resemblance to the former four. The dynamics between them haven't reached a critical state of flow yet, but I remain optimistic.
There's an integral aspect of old "Frasier" that's been largely missing from the revival, though, that would not only add a much-needed dynamic quickness to the pace of things, but also help deepen these new characters and build out their interrelationships with one another. That's bringing on flashy guest stars, and the newest episode represents a promising first go-round.
June's on first
The latest episode of "Frasier," fittingly titled "Why God Created June," features June Diane Raphael playing a woman named June who's set up on a blind date with Frasier. Or is it Freddy? That's the mystery that gives the episode its dramatic spark. In the opening scene, Eve sets Freddy up on a blind date. When Frasier hears the idea, he's tickled – "Gosh, I, I love that. The only thing you know for sure is this ... this could be your soulmate! Yes Eve, I'd like the same treatment. No information!" So Eve sets them both up, but only one woman arrives — June.
The moment Raphael walks into Frasier and Freddy's apartment, it feels like a huge piece falls into place on the puzzleboard. The original series was always packed full of guest stars. Not only did actors like Patrick Stewart, Jennifer Coolidge, and Michael Keaton appear throughout the series' eleven-season run, but every episode also featured guest caller voice cameos from equally iconic stars. We're talking Eddie Van Halen, Reba McEntire, Mel Brooks, and Patty Hearst-level cameos.
What kind of talent the original "Frasier" pulled in for guest appearances ranged, as you can tell, from worlds as disparate as Broadway, music, film, and ... how to describe Patty Hearst ... true crime? But the real MVPs who helped the sitcom find its footing independently from "Cheers" and amidst the packed late '90s/early 2000s TV landscape were its sitcom stars. Veterans of the sitcom world, like Wendie Malick, Marlo Thomas, and of course "Cheers" alumni like Ted Danson and John Ratzenberger, helped the series sink its roots into established sitcom soil so the writers could focus on finding an X factor to set it apart from the rest. Raphael is doing something similar here.
More of this
It isn't the Y2K era anymore. Not only have many of the stars of the golden era of the sitcom passed on since the original run of "Frasier," but the medium itself has changed. The nature of comic timing, the manner of joke delivery, the social types audiences find funny — everything is different in 2023. You'd be hard-pressed to find an actor more familiar with the current state of television comedy than June Diane Raphael. She played a decisive role in making it what it is.
Raphael got her start in guest roles (a very different kind from the ones she's taking now) on sitcoms and comedy series that would shape the landscape "Frasier" is currently navigating. Even in shows like "Flight of the Concords," "Party Down," and "Drunk History," replete as they were with the funniest minds of their generation, Raphael stood out. Comedic actors have a tendency sometimes to be too eager to deliver a line or nail a joke, especially if it's the only thing written for them to say. But Raphael's relaxed, even intimidating confidence always makes her delivery delicious. She cemented her status as a true generational sitcom star through her seven-season run on Netflix's "Grace and Frankie."
By tapping her for the flirtatious, bold, and bawdy June, the "Frasier" writers did two things: give Grammer an opportunity to play his older style off a younger style (thus imbuing his delivery with a modern freshness) and give the more untested Cutmore-Scott a model to work toward. "Why God Created June" is perhaps the best episode of the season thus far. Even its b-plot, in which Eve drags Alan and Olivia to her terrible murder mystery play, is far funnier than is normal for the series. Let this be a lesson learned for the new "Frasier" team — Raphael was a great start; keep going.