The Frasier Revival Just Had Its Best Episode — But It's Bittersweet

By the end of the "Frasier" revival's first season, I was convinced that the new series should have been a one-off special. The series opener was a touching return to the world of Kelsey Grammer's Dr. Crane, featuring a moving tribute to the late Martin actor John Mahoney and some half-decent writing from new showrunners Chris Harris and Joe Cristali — the latter of whom is a self-confessed "Frasier" superfan who used to run a "Frasier For Hire" Twitter feed containing the writer's ideas for jokes that could have been used on the original sitcom.

The season finale, too, stacked up quite nicely against "Frasier" episodes past, bringing back the titular psychiatrist's former producer Roz (Peri Gilpin) for a cameo appearance that surely had fans of the original series tearing up. But between these two standout episodes, the "Frasier" revival's first season was a whole load of mediocre. New characters Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott), Eve (Jess Salgueiro), David (Anders Keith), and Alan (Nicholas Lyndhurst) served as ongoing reminders that the original cast weren't in evidence — despite the new actors clearly giving it their best.

So, the "Frasier" revival has mostly been laboring under the weight of this problem since its debut. Now, with season 2 hitting Paramount+, the series is once again reminding us that all we really want is to see the original gang back together — and no more is that evident than with the third episode of the new season, "All About Eve."

"All About Eve," isn't actually all about Freddy's roommate at all. It's really about Peri Gilpin, who once again returns as Roz for this third installment of season 2. And once again, we're reminded of how much the original "Frasier" actors helped elevate the series around them.

Whereas season 2 opened with an okay but quickly forgettable couple of episodes, this third offering is striking for its marked improvement. Roz shows up at Frasier's university and the pair return home, where Roz quickly encourages Frasier, Alan, and Freddy to watch Eve's young son, John, so that she, Eve, and Toks Olagundoye's Olivia can have a girls night out. While the ladies venture out for what turns out to be a somewhat anticlimactic evening on the town, the boys find that John is, for lack of a better term, an absolute babe magnet, and take him to a fancy art gallery event to make the most of their new infant wing man. After Roz, Eve, and Toks decide to attend the same event, Eve is incensed to discover the boys' immature scheme, before the whole thing wraps up in classic sitcom fashion with a reconciliation between everyone involved.

It might not sound like all that fantastic a premise, but there's an undeniable feeling that this is closer to classic "Frasier" than the revival show has managed thus far. The idea of Frasier using a baby to gain attention from women is a simple but effective way of giving the audience a classic dose of the character's hubris, which is quickly deflated to brilliant effect. Roz slots into the group with ease, too, scolding Frasier for not helping Eve with the baby enough and bringing a grounding, motherly energy to the gang. For whatever reason, the jokes are also sharper than they were in the previous two episodes. Kelsey Grammer is clearly having a ball playing up Frasier's pomposity, casting aside his "boorishly folded pocket square" in an attempt to come across as more of a "free spirit." But the other characters get some great lines, too, such as when Olivia tries to convince Roz to attend the gallery event with "Look, I know it sounds terrible ...," then stopping abruptly.

None of this is revolutionary, but it feels like old "Frasier," and the fact it took Gilpin's return to get here is both heartening and disheartening at the same time.

Running from 1993 to 2004 and comprising 11 seasons, the original "Frasier" remains one of the most beloved sitcoms in TV history, introducing audiences to one of the finest ensembles ever assembled. While Kelsey Grammer's snooty doctor was the center of the show, his brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce), father Martin (John Mahoney), live-in housekeeper Daphne (Jane Leeves), and producer Roz (Peri Gilpin) were what made the show such an enduring entry in the sitcom genre.

As such, when the revival show was announced with only Grammer returning, fans were understandably nervous. Now that we've had one full season and a handful of season 2 episodes, that nervousness has proved not to be entirely unfounded. Frasier himself is just as lovably pretentious as ever, but the new cast were never going to be able to match the magic of the original ensemble.

After season 2 of the "Frasier" revival was greenlit, it almost seemed as if the writers themselves had recognized this glaring flaw. The new run of episodes debuted alongside the news that not only would Peri Gilpin be back on a recurring basis, but Frasier would actually return to his hometown of Seattle, Washington, with several of his former coworkers set to make cameo appearances in the episodes to come. All of this plays into this nagging feeling that the show will never be good until it becomes its former self.

What are the chances of the original "Frasier" gang getting back together? Well, David Hyde Pierce originally made it sound as though his return was off the table, telling Vulture in June 2022, "I don't have a strong feeling that there's anything more that I can think of that I need to say about [Niles]." But in 2024, Hyde Pierce revealed what appeared to be his one condition for returning to "Frasier," telling METRO, "I think right from the beginning, when we talked about it, if the idea of had we been we were going to do, like, a one-off special episode, or something that would have been very easy to commit to." These latest comments from the Niles actor seem to indicate he'd perhaps be open to a guest spot rather than a recurring role — which would be another step in the revival series' slow transformation into the classic show.

Either way, Kelsey Grammer has ambitious plans for the future of "Frasier," revealing that he believes the revival show could last for 100 episodes. With Roz now a recurring character and Frasier set to return to Seattle this season, all signs are pointing towards the revival series slowly transmogrifying into a full-on recreation of the original show by the time that 100th episode rolls around— which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if the writing were sharp enough and the rest of the former ensemble proved they still had what it takes to make the show great.

But if such a thing does materialize, the question remains of just what the point of this Boston-based revival is, beyond setting up an actual revival of "Frasier" proper. If the answer turns out to be that it was merely a stepping stone towards the actual "Frasier" show we all wanted to see, that means we're going to have to sit through more of this kind of okay version of the series for some time before we actually get the show we want — which, however you slice it, is a pretty sad state of affairs.

"Frasier" is currently streaming on Paramount+.