Movies - TV
David Hyde Pierce Explains Why Frasier Never Showed Niles’ Wife
By DANIELLE RYAN
The “Cheers” spinoff series “Frasier” has a running gag where Niles Crane, played by David Hyde Pierce, talks about his wife Maris, but she never appears on screen.
In a 1996 interview with The Washington Post, Pierce revealed that Maris was originally planned to appear on screen so she wasn’t too similar to Norm’s unseen wife on “Cheers.”
Pierce explained that the plan changed, “Once the show was a success on its own, and they didn't have to worry about separating it from ‘Cheers, [...]’”
Pierce continued, “they just forgot about showing Maris because they were having such fun writing this character bit by bit.”