Peri Gilpin's Frasier Return Created A Timing Issue That Had To Be Fixed
After a season that contained brief sparks of the magic that made the original "Frasier" so beloved, the Paramount+ revival series actually ended on a high note. The "Frasier" reboot season finale stacked up quite well against previous Christmas episodes, featuring a classic Frasier dinner party gone awry and some decently executed farce that recalled the original sitcom's inimitable mix of humor and heart.
But there's no doubt the best part of the finale was the return of Peri Gilpin. Across all 11 seasons of the original sitcom, the actor played Roz, Frasier's producer at Seattle radio station KACL. The character became just as beloved as the rest of the supporting cast, which included David Hyde Pierce as Frasier's equally pompous brother Niles, John Mahoney as the brothers' father Martin, and Jane Leeves as housekeeper and Martin's carer, Daphne. But none of these other actors chose to return for the revival show, forcing star Kelsey Grammer and his new writing team to develop other ideas for the character.
That resulted in Frasier returning to Boston, the city in which Grammer's character first debuted on the classic sitcom "Cheers." Alas, he'd arrive in Beantown unaccompanied by any of the characters fans of the original show had come to love. Still, the revival series did manage to bring back some fan-favorites as guest stars, including Bebe Neuwirth's Lilith Sternin, Frasier's ex-wife and mother to his son, Freddy (played on the new show by Jack Cutmore-Scott). But the guest star who made the biggest impact was easily Gilpin herself, as evidenced by the overwhelming reception she received.
Roz's return caused some timing issues
When Kelsey Grammer first decided to revive "Frasier," he envisioned bringing back everyone from the original series. Unfortunately, David Hyde Pierce declined to return, as did Jane Leeves. Meanwhile, John Mahoney passed away in 2018, which just left Peri Gilpin out of the original ensemble cast.
Speaking to PrimeTimer, the revival show's co-showrunner and co-writer, Joe Cristali, revealed that Gilpin was onboard for a return right from the beginning, but even the Roz actor wasn't going to come back in any recurring capacity. As such, Cristali and co. kept their best guest star for the season finale, in which Roz shows up part-way through and reunites with her former boss. As Cristali explained:
"We knew we wanted to use [Gilpin] the right way. We didn't want to do some sort of one-off in the middle of the season where she comes and she goes. We wanted it to have some sort of emotional heft behind it. The idea that she could come in and sort of be this reassuring hand but also call [Frasier] on his BS as only she can. When we knew it was a Christmas episode and just this idea that Frasier has a big old hole in his heart, she seemed like the perfect person and such a nice gesture for Freddy to make [her visit] happen."
But while Cristali was aware Roz's return would be a big deal, it seems he wasn't prepared for how it would disrupt filming. The co-showrunner continued:
"We had to cut out like three minutes of applause from the audience when she was at Frasier's door. We didn't say she was there. We had the big black curtain up so you couldn't see her until the door opened. Same with Bebe. I think it was a genuine surprise."
Will Roz return to Frasier next season?
With Roz's return causing such a stir, you'd think Joe Cristali and the team behind the revival show might try to get her onboard as a recurring character ... which, it seems, isn't entirely off the table. As the co-showrunner told PrimeTimer:
"It also leaves room, maybe she can come back now. By design, we didn't give too much of her backstory so we can kind of leave that open as to where we can go with her. What is she doing now in her life?"
Of course, this is all dependent on whether "Frasier" gets renewed for another season. The first 10 episodes certainly weren't a complete disaster, though it's fair to say that the show overall was neither disappointing nor remarkable. What's more, star Kelsey Grammer has ambitious plans for the new adventures of Dr. Crane, evidently planning for another 100 episodes. Unfortunately, at this point, there's been no official word on whether the show will, in fact, be renewed.
If "Frasier" does return, perhaps having Roz around might help improve things. While the season opener and finale were solid, the episodes in-between clearly suffered from the lack of a top-notch supporting cast. If Roz were to return, it could be what the show needs to maintain its quality throughout the season — though the question of whether the revival itself was necessary to begin with still looms large.