The new Frasier reboot on Paramount+ features Kelsey Grammer as titular character Dr. Frasier Crane from the popular NBC '90s sitcom.
But, aside from Bebe Neuwirth as Frasier's ex-wife Lilith and Peri Gilpin as Frasier's friend and former producer Roz Doyle, the show's original cast members have not made appearances in the series, including actor David Hyde Pierce.
Pierce has chosen not to reprise his role as Frasier's little brother, psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane, on the Frasier reboot.
He explained the reason why in a Los Angeles Times interview, saying that he “never really wanted to go back” to playing the character that led to his Hollywood breakthrough.
Pierce clarified:
"It’s not like I said, ‘Oh, I don’t ever want to do that again."
“I loved every moment. It was that I wanted to do other things.”
However, revisiting the same character became less appealing for him as he delved into other projects like Max's Julia, in which he plays Paul Child, the husband to renowned chef and cookbook author Julia Child, played by British actor Sarah Lancashire.
Pierce was also busy getting ready for the 2023 off-Broadway premiere of Stephen Sondheim's final work Here We Are, based on the films of Luis Buñuel, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) and The Exterminating Angel (1962).
Said the four-time Best Supporting Actor Emmy winner:
“I had just started on the Julia TV show and was working on a musical and going to do another musical."
"…And I just thought, ‘I don’t want to be committed to a show and not be able to do stuff like this.’”
Pierce noted how the Frasier reboot was doing just fine without him on the show.
Aside from his busy schedule preventing him from returning to Frasier, Pierce told the Times:
“I also thought, ‘They don’t actually need me."
“Frasier has moved on to a new world. They have new characters. And I think I’m right. It’s doing great."
"And the new people they have are great.”
Fans shared their thoughts.
Some supported his decision, while Frasier fans hoped to see him make a brief cameo in a future episode.
Fans who were disappointed in the new Frasier show, which got mixed reviews, believed Pierce made the right call.
Initially, Frasier's showrunners tried to persuade Pierce to play Niles again and even enticed him with a storyline that would play to Pierce's theatrical strength.
One of the concepts pitched to him was of the two brothers opening a black box theater.
But it would be to no avail.
They recalled:
"We talked to David Hyde Pierce a couple of times. He was in a tough position."
"Everybody wants to see him as Niles, but he doesn’t want to step back into those shoes. He felt like he didn’t have anything new to bring to the character."
"He read versions and gave us notes and thoughts, and he acknowledged it was funny and we found the tone the original did so well."
"It just wasn’t for him."
The character of Dr. Frasier Crane was first introduced on the '80s sitcom Cheers and later featured in the spinoff series Frasier, which ran from 1993–2004.
Paramount+'s Frasier premiered on October 12, 2023.
The show sees the title character returning to Boston to start a professorship at Harvard University after the death of his father Martin and the end of his relationship with Charlotte.
Pierce can be seen in Julia, which is currently streaming both seasons on Max.
He can also be seen in the stage musical Here We Are with fellow cast members Francois Battiste, Tracie Bennett, Bobby Cannavale, Micaela Diamond, Amber Gray, Jin Ha, Rachel Bay Jones, Denis O'Hare, Steven Pasquale, and Jeremy Shamos.
The off-Broadway production is playing at The Shed in New York City's Hudson Yards and is set to close on January 21, 2024.
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