Current:Home > MyKelsey Grammer's Frasier, Peri Gilpin's Roz are back together, maybe until the end -WealthSync Hub
Kelsey Grammer's Frasier, Peri Gilpin's Roz are back together, maybe until the end
View
Date:2025-04-13 11:15:20
LOS ANGELES − "Frasier" fans received the ultimate holiday present in last December's Season 1 finale when Peri Gilpin's Roz Doyle, the beloved KACL radio producer from the original NBC series, showed up at Frasier Crane's door in the Paramount+ reboot.
Well, Christmas is coming early this year as Gilpin, 63, brings Roz back for a Season 2 recurring role with Kelsey Grammer and his Boston-based "Frasier" in Episode 3 (now streaming, new episodes arrive on Thursdays). Considering that "Frasier" ended two decades ago − and the show's possible revival spent years in discussions − Roz's return is the gift that will keep on giving.
"It was a six-year reboot process, so this was a long time coming," says Grammer, 69, sitting beside his co-star.
"That's a show in itself," adds Gilpin. "But when it finally happened, when (Grammer) opened that door, it was like, 'I can't believe we're doing this again!' He teed it up like it was a present."
Kelsey Grammer:The star discusses the return of 'Frasier' to Seattle for Season 2
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Peri Gilpin and Kelsey Grammer started with 'Cheers,' got seriously funny on 'Frasier'
The professional relationship started three decades ago with Gilpin's 1993 guest appearance as a journalist on "Cheers," where she met Grammer playing the first iteration of his pompous Dr. Frasier Crane.
"I noticed that 'Oh, my God, Kelsey is the polar opposite of (Frasier Crane),' " says Gilpin, who subsequently joined NBC's "Frasier" as the sexually liberated and sharp-witted Roz, who perfectly punctured pretentious Frasier and his brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce). "I loved that alter ego."
In "Frasier" Season 5, Gilpin was concerned about the "huge" story twist, which involved freewheeling Roz getting pregnant from a fling and having daughter Alice − finding herself a single mother by season's end.
"I was very reluctant because I lost what I thought was really fun about Roz," says Gilpin, the mother of 19-year-old twin daughters Ava and Stella. "But I gained something else that women do gain. I felt like I went through that pregnancy. The character changed so much."
That did lead to some memorable comedy in front of a studio audience, including when Roz and Niles met Alice's Schnauzer-loving, significantly schnozzed future grandparents. The famed scene even cracked up the actors while filming.
Join our Watch Party!Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox
"That may have been either the worst or the best moment in our entire history of the first 'Frasier' iteration," says Grammer. "We're somewhat ashamed of it, and yet it was hilarious. It never happened (before) that the entire cast turned upstage and laughed on camera. It was embarrassingly unprofessional."
"It gave us so much," says Gilpin.
Roz spurs the return of 'Frasier' to Seattle and KACL: How long will it last?
Gilpin kept in touch with Grammer after the iconic sitcom ended its 11-season run with 37 Emmy Awards in 2004. Discussions of their "Frasier" reunion started, fittingly, during Grammer's annual New Year's Eve party in 2019. Grammer told fellow reveler Gilpin that the "Frasier" reboot was getting serious. Gilpin said she was ready to board.
"It was that simple," says Grammer. "We have this extraordinary living, breathing relationship that's still going."
Roz's return to "Frasier," where her former radio talk-show host Frasier is now teaching at Harvard, will spur a trip back to Seattle and the still-running station KACL 780 AM. The homecoming will feature Dan Butler as Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe, host of the "Gonzo Sports Show," and Edward Hibbert as Gil Chesterton, host of "Restaurant Beat."
With the passing of two decades, even walking onto the radio station's rebuilt set was surreal and emotional for Gilpin. Grammer, who directed the episode, was fine until he restated Frasier's famous phrase.
"When I sat in the chair in front of the audience and said, 'Hello, Seattle, I'm listening,' " says Grammer, breaking off in emotion. "It was beautiful."
"It gets you, it really does," says Gilpin. "It's melancholy. It's tears of sadness. It's tears of joy. But it's also like, you can't get it back, even if you build it."
The Seattle sojourn is not forever as Roz needs a personal reboot on the other coast.
"I can't let too much of this out, but we realize together that Roz is poised for a new life in Boston," says Grammer, who has dealt with critical barbs over the reboot. "For as long as the show's on, Roz will be there, I hope."
Roz and Frasier will love each other until the end, whatever that is
The season will highlight Roz's grown daughter Alice (played by Grammer's real-life daughter Greer Grammer). And without former frequent target Niles, Roz focuses much of her sharp wit on Frasier. "There are frequent drive-by shootings and verbal smacks," Grammer promises.
There's also solid love between the two characters, even as they both look for various forms of companionship. The duo did end up sleeping together in the original's Season 9 when Frasier consoled Roz following a breakup. Their waking, morning-after cuddles ended in mutual horror when they realized what had happened.
Yet Grammer doesn't dismiss the possibility that these two mismatched characters could end up together one day − or ending one other.
"One of my favorite moments between Roz and Frasier was always this, this line. They're standing at Frasier's apartment door saying goodbye, and Frazier says to Roz, 'You know, years from now, if it goes a certain way, maybe the two of us just ...' " Grammer recalls. "And then I say, 'Get married.' And Roz says, 'Kill each other.' "
veryGood! (71)
Related
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- Tom Izzo: Automatic bids for mid-major programs in NCAA Tournament 'got to be looked at'
- Dodgers rally to top Padres in MLB Korea season opener: Highlights, recap of Shohei Ohtani debut
- Maryland labor attorney becomes first openly gay judge on 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- International Day of Happiness: How the holiday got its start plus the happiest US cities
- 2024 Tesla Cybertruck Dual Motor Foundation Series first drive: Love it or hate it?
- Execution in Georgia: Man to be put to death for 1993 murder of former girlfriend
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- Unticketed passenger removed from Delta flight in Salt Lake City, police say
Ranking
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- South Carolina Court Weighs What Residents Call ‘Chaotic’ Coastal Adaptation Standards
- South Carolina House votes to expand voucher program. It’s fate in Senate is less clear
- When does the 'Halo' Season 2 finale come out? Release date, time, cast, where to watch
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- The Best Bra-Sized Swimsuits That *Actually* Fit Like A Dream
- Georgia execution set for today would be state's first in over 4 years
- Our Place Cookware: Everything To Know about the Trending Kitchen Brand
Recommendation
The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
Mercedes-Benz recalls 116,000 vehicles for fire risk: Here's which models are affected
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter fired by Dodgers after allegations of illegal gambling, theft
Elizabeth ‘Libby’ Murdaugh, mother of Alex, dies in hospice
Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
Brother of airport director shot by ATF agents speaks out about shooting
Shop Like a Frugal Billionaire in Amazon Outlet's Big Spring Sale Section, With Savings Up to 68% Off
Metropolitan Opera presents semi-staged `Turandot’ after stage malfunction