The reviews are in for the “Frasier” revival/sequel series and the good news is almost all the reviews say it’s at the very least decent with some really enjoying it. The bad news is those who didn’t like it seem to be calling it bland.
The legendary James Burrows helms those first two episodes for the revival which sees five-time Emmy winner Kelsey Grammer return as the titular psychotherapist Frasier Crane.
We join him in the next chapter of his life as he returns to Boston with new challenges to face, new relationships to forge and an old dream or two to finally fulfil.
With 30 reviews counted, the series sits at just 63% (6.6/10) on Rotten Tomatoes which is relatively average overall. Here’s a sampling of some reviews:
“It turns out that watching Frasier’s third chapter is a charming and delightful experience.” – Aramide Tinubu, Variety
“Grammer is so completely Frasier — a deceptively unsentimental character in a basically sentimental show — that the new edition, for all its innovations, wraps itself comfortably around him.” – Robert Lloyd, The LA Times
“The revival’s strength is being exactly what you would expect if Frasier had never ended in the first place in 2004 after 11 seasons.” – Dominic Patten, Deadline
“By the fourth episode, the chemistry, the ineffable magic, the ease, the unbottleable perfect combination of them all is there.” – Lucy Mangan, The Guardian
“The show needs more jokes and less earnest emoting, at the very least. Still, I’m not convinced that any amount of tweaking would be enough to justify its existence.” – Judy Berman, TIME Magazine
“When Frasier isn’t on screen, the show feels like a below-average sitcom – there’s no hook to it, nothing that makes these characters spring to life like Niles, Martin, and Daphne did decades ago.” – Ben Travers, Indiewire
“The whole endeavor feels like a very superficial read of what makes the character, and what made the Nineties version of Frasier, work.” – Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone
“Unfortunately for the new Frasier, however, being “good enough” only brings back memories of the one that was great.” – Kristen Baldwin, Entertainment Weekly
“It relies on moments of ‘Remember when we did this funny thing on ‘Frasier’? On ‘Cheers’?’ peppered in between the broadest comedy beats imaginable.” – LaToya Ferguson, The Wrap
Co-stars include Jack Cutmore-Scott as Frasier’s son, Freddy; Nicholas Lyndhurst as Frasier’s old college buddy turned university professor, Alan; Toks Olagundoye as Olivia, Alan’s colleague and head of the university’s psychology department; Jess Salgueiro as Freddy’s roommate, Eve; and Anders Keith as Frasier’s nephew, David.
Peri Gilpin, who played Roz in the original series, returns as a guest star whilst Bebe Neuwirth is back reprising her role as Lilith Sternin. The series premieres with two episodes on October 12th on the Paramount+ service, followed by a CBS premiere on October 17th.
