The One Cheers Character Kelsey Grammer Wants To See In The Frasier Reboot

When Kelsey Grammer joined "Cheers" in 1984, his character was meant to serve as a foil to Diane's other love interest, the earthy and unintellectual Sam Malone (Ted Danson). But Grammer was so well-suited to "Cheers" that he became a series regular.

For Grammer, Diane is central to understanding Frasier. "When I first got the role, the key to Frasier, for me, was that he loved her with his whole heart, that he loved with all of his being," Grammer continued in the same conversation with Kelly Clarkson. "And that actually defined who he is. He's been that way ever since. He just goes in wholeheartedly with everything, and that's what makes him funny."

It is telling — and very funny — that Grammer doesn't attribute the essence of Frasier's character to Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth), who also got her start on "Cheers." Then again, Lilith already appeared in the reboot, and the exes are as irritated by each other as ever.

But Grammer's desire to feature Diane on a would-be Season 2 of "Frasier" ignores her guest-starring role during Season 3 of the original series. In the episode "The Show Where Diane Comes Back", Diane travels to Seattle and asks Frasier if he'll help finance her play, which is a lightly fictionalized version of "Cheers." The pair reaches a reconciled place, with Diane apologizing for the heartbreak she caused Frasier before saying goodbye for good. Were Diane to return to "Frasier," it would be a fun bit of fan service, but would also undo her character's moving conclusion from 1996.