Niles Isn't In The Frasier Revival

Niles is notoriously to Frasier what Frasier himself is to everyone else — an impossibly uptight and haughty man with eccentricities to spare. The brothers also maintain a fairly active sibling rivalry where both have plenty of reason to feel insecure about each other. From Frasier's viewpoint, Niles' social and professional standing in upper-crust circles is arguably far higher. Meanwhile, Frasier's far higher public profile and status as an older and (slightly) more well-adjusted brother give Niles plenty to gripe about.

"Frasier" Season 1, Episode 22 — "Author, Author" — is a perfect example of their dynamic. While Niles is a highly respected, much-published psychiatrist and a board member of the American Psychiatric Association, he also feels inferior to Frasier's fame. Though he always has a snide remark about his brother's radio show, he also begrudgingly envies and respects Frasier's public profile and the way he's able to help so many people, which he states in no uncertain terms on Season 7, Episode 19. When Niles agrees to fill in for Frasier on Season 1, Episode 23, he even turns out to be extremely good at it himself, slinging advice at the callers while displaying every sign he's enjoying himself.

While Niles' feelings on Frasier's fame have always been quite conflicted, the revival show's big reveal that Frasier's celebrity status and fortune have increased exponentially since we last saw him may have been just too much for the younger Dr. Crane to handle — either because Niles might be unable to cope with the ensuing sense of inferiority or because "Dr. Crane" must also have affected him more directly and personally.