Why An Original Frasier Cast Member Won't Return For The Revival

After two seasons of the "Frasier" revival series, the show still can't shake the feeling that had it managed to assemble the surviving cast from the original series, it would be much better. That's not to say the new series is as bad as some reviewers have made out, but there's no doubt "Frasier" 2024 just feels odd without the original gang.

There's more to this feeling than the lack of the original ensemble, though. A "Frasier" revival just felt a bit off from the moment it was announced. Aside from the fact Kelsey Grammer was saying not-so-modest things about his character being the key to "Frasier," (and overlooking the contributions of the outstanding ensemble in the process), there was the fact that the actor had clearly been struggling career-wise before rebooting his beloved '90s sitcom — the truly abject "Money Plane," in which Grammer put together an airborne heist being one rather lamentable example. When you add in the fact that all of this was happening amid our nostalgia-obsessed monoculture, resurrecting the great Dr. Crane was, at the very least, a bittersweet prospect for fans.

It was only later that we discovered Grammer and his new showrunners, Chris Harris and Joe Cristali, originally intended to bring the whole "Frasier" gang back and had to pivot at the last minute when only Grammer would agree to return. Of course, John Mahoney, who played the titular psychiatrist's father Martin Crane, had passed away in 2018, but everyone else seemingly just passed on the idea of returning — which considering the aforementioned issues surrounding the revival, made a lot of sense.

Since then, we have seen numerous former "Frasier" guest stars return, alongside Roz actress Peri Gilpin in a recurring role for season 2. But even as the show becomes slowly more populated by characters fans remember from the original, that same sense that something is just off persists. Now, a former "Frasier" cast member has voiced their reasons for not returning, and it kind of sums up that very feeling.

Thus far, David Hyde Pierce, who played Frasier's brother Niles, has been the most forthright about why he has yet to return to streaming-age "Frasier." The actor has seemed entirely reluctant to reprise the role of Niles, with Hyde Pierce revealing the reason for his non-involvement to Vulture, saying, "I don't have a strong feeling that there's anything more that I can think of that I need to say about [Niles]," adding, "I love those characters, but I don't miss them."

Those remarks seemed to get at the general awkwardness surrounding the "Frasier" revival, with Hyde Pierce articulating what is surely a sentiment shared among many fans. After all, with 11 seasons of "Frasier" already in existence, what else really did need to be said about the characters in 2023?

Then, yet another former cast member voiced her reluctance to return to "Frasier." Wendie Malick played Ronee Lawrence in the final season of the original sitcom. Frasier and Niles' childhood babysitter, Ronee begins as a love interest for Martin before the pair marry prior to Frasier departing Seattle in the season finale. Thus far, the revival has only referenced Ronee briefly, after it's revealed that she and Martin stayed married until his death and she sends Frasier his father's holiday decorations in the season 1 finale "Reindeer Games". All of which was a nice trip down memory lane, but actually seeing Malick, who currently appears in season 2 of Apple TV's "Shrinking," in the revival appears to be yet another impossibility.

The "Frasier" revival kicked off with a touching tribute to John Mahoney, and even named the central bar of the series "Mahoney's" in his honor. Before his death, the actor actually appeared with Wendie Malick in his post-"Frasier" years when they both acted in the sitcom "Hot in Cleveland," which also starred Jane Leeves, the actress who portrayed housekeeper Daphne on "Frasier." But it seems without Mahoney, Malick is reluctant to return to the world of Dr. Crane.

Speaking to TV Insider, the actress said, "It's sort of like when people ask me about 'Just Shoot Me.' Without George Segal, I just don't think it would feel right." She continued:

"I had such a connection to John Mahoney playing his love interest and finally marrying him that I'm not sure that I want to revisit that. That was something that was such a lovely ride, and that season was so much fun and I was honored to be part of it. And sometimes I think you feel like you took your character as far as you could, and then maybe you just leave it and savor those memories."

Malick's comments sound strangely similar to David Hyde Pierce's own, once again suggesting that it's not just fans who might have felt uncomfortable about reviving "Frasier" in 2023. Still, Hyde Pierce himself has sounded a touch more positive in recent months, revealing one condition for his potential return to "Frasier." Meanwhile, Malick even went on to tell TV Insider, "Never say never, but that's my gut feeling."

So who knows, maybe the "Frasier" revival will slowly manage to reassemble the original cast over the course of 11 more seasons or so. Maybe only then will it escape the feeling that there's something wrong at the core of the whole thing.