Frasier's Jess Salgueiro Didn't Really Respect Sitcoms Until After Her First Episode
When Frasier Crane returned to screens in 2023, he did so without any of the supporting cast from his original series. "Frasier" ran for 11 seasons from 1993 to 2004, propelled not only by its lovably pompous protagonist but by a cast who seemed as though they were born to play the various supporting characters. From David Hyde Pierce as Frasier's brother, Niles, to Jane Leeves as housekeeper Daphne, the series was boosted by one of the finest sitcom casts ever assembled.
In 2023, however, not a single cast member besides star Kelsey Grammer came back, prompting the actor and his new writers, Chris Harris and Joe Cristali, to dream up a whole new adventure for the titular doctor. In the "Frasier" revival, Dr. Crane returns to Boston, the city he inhabited when he first appeared as a character on "Cheers," and finds himself surrounded by a whole new group of friends and family. Jack Cutmore-Scott plays an adult version of Frasier's son, Freddy, while Anders Keith appears as David, the doctor's nephew and the son of Niles and Daphne. Then, there's British comedy legend Nicholas Lyndhurst as Frasier's former Oxford buddy and fellow Harvard professor Alan.
Throughout the 10-episode Paramount+ season, each of these characters were fleshed out in episodes that focused on everything from Freddy's hidden academic talents to Alan's surprising fondness for his old pal Frasier. But one character remained fairly underdeveloped throughout: Jess Salgueiro's Eve. If Paramount does greenlight a second season, hopefully, we'll see more of Eve, especially since Salgueiro only recently gained some respect for the sitcom format.
Jess Salgueiro was admittedly snobby about sitcoms
Eve is the girlfriend of Freddy's late firefighter pal, Adam, which I've just realized has got to be a biblical allusion and I have no idea why. Star Kelsey Grammer is a pretty vocal Christian, though, so maybe there's something in that? Anyway, back to the point. Eve lives with Frasier's son until the doctor comes to town and convinces Freddy to move in with him. Throughout the rest of the episodes, Eve lives across the hall from the father-son duo, occasionally popping in to deliver the odd joke. She's also seen at various points serving drinks at Frasier's local bar, Mahoney's — so-named for the late John Mahoney who played Martin Crane in the original series.
But aside from some hints that there might be a romantic future for her and Freddy, there's still a lot we don't know about Eve. If and when season 2 arrives, we'll surely find out more about the character. This will be good for Jess Salgueiro, who only gained a real appreciation for sitcom acting when she shot the pilot episode of the show.
Speaking to The Toronto Star, the Winnipeg-born actor revealed she was actually quite snobby about multi-cam shows and sitcom actors before filming her first episode of "Frasier." As she put it:
"I did not expect to like doing a sitcom as much as I liked doing a sitcom. I was probably a bit of a snob about multi-cam (shows) before I did it. I think I thought that the actors were just kind of doing a shtick or, you know, not really acting. I was kind of like, 'This isn't elevated enough.' But then after my first episode, I was like, 'That's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.'"
Jess Salgueiro's Frasier conversion
While we all have our preferences, I think it's fair to say that there's absolutely nothing wrong with sitcoms. In fact, sitcoms seem to occupy an especially beloved status among audiences. As much as I love "The Wire," for example, when I think about it, I don't necessarily feel the same warmth and fondness that I do when recalling time spent watching the original "Frasier." That's not to say "Frasier" is "better" per se, but just that we generally seem to feel more sentimental about sitcoms than other types of shows. We experience the characters in a way that makes it feel as if we know them personally, which was basically the selling point of the show on which "Frasier" first appeared — "Cheers."
That's why it's odd to hear Jess Salgueiro talking negatively about sitcoms. There's no doubt modern incarnations of the genre are pretty dire, but there's a long and dignified history of sitcoms of which Salgueiro should feel honored to be a part — even if it is in a show that's neither disappointing nor remarkable. Thankfully, it seems she, much like her born-again co-star Kelsey Grammer, has been converted.
Sitcoms can be more than comedy
After recalling how she felt about sitcoms going into "Frasier" 2023, Jess Salgueiro went on to explain to The Star how the challenge of live performance helped change her mind:
"I don't think of myself as a comedian and I had to go make people laugh. The audience is right there. You're getting the feedback immediately, right? If you don't make them laugh, you feel it. The silence is painful. So that pressure alone was what made it really hard."
"Frasier" isn't Salguerio's first time on a comedy show, however, as she previously appeared on the beloved Canadian comedy, "Letterkenny," albeit a show with a very different format for comedy TV. The actor went on to say that she "loves comedy," and seems like she not only developed an appreciation for the sitcom craft but for how these shows resonate with audiences, adding:
"I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, we get to go to work, make people laugh, make people smile.' In this case ('Frasier'), make people nostalgic, maybe feel comforted. I have the best job in the world ... it made me kind of fall more in love with comedy and made me way less, I guess, judgmental."
It's also worth remembering that far from just making people laugh, or even comforting audiences, "Frasier" itself was genuinely affecting at times. The show was just as much about heart as it was humor, and there were numerous moments throughout the original series that transcended the situational comedy to become remarkably poignant — especially whenever John Mahoney got to display his acting chops.
Let's hope if there is a season 2 of "Frasier" 2023 (Kelsey Grammer is particularly ambitious on that point), it manages to recapture a little more of that aspect.