After a nearly 20-year break, "Frasier" has returned — but with few familiar faces. Kelsey Grammer is the only cast member you'll see from the original series when the reboot starts streaming Thursday on Paramount Plus. The action is set in Boston, but Frasier Crane never pops into Cheers, at least not in the first five episodes.
What isn't missing is that delicious mix of slapstick humor and sophisticated wit.
At 68, Grammer remains a nimble performer, practically jogging from one antic to the next while adjusting to becoming a college professor. He bounces off nicely against the newcomers, including his dimwit nephew (Anders Keith), semi-estranged son (Jack Cutmore-Scott) and Harvard colleague (Nicholas Lyndhurst), who seems poised to drink Norm Peterson under the table.
The scripts are sprinkled with references to "The Mikado," cassoulet recipes, Don Quixote and Oedipus Rex. There's even a bit delivered in Latin. Noel Coward is the driving inspiration, just like in the 1993-2004 version.
The new episodes drop plenty of references to the past, like the Crane brothers' ill-fated attempt to open a restaurant. But fans are going to miss seeing David Hyde Pierce, Jane Leeves and the rest of the ol' gang. And it doesn't make sense that Crane wouldn't visit the haunt where everybody knows his name. But "Frasier" is daring enough to look forward. So should you.
'20/20'
A two-hour edition of the long-running newsmagazine looks back at the disappearance of Minnesota's Jacob Wetterling, abducted and murdered in 1989, with updates that include the 2016 arrest of Danny Heinrich. The episode coincides with the release of mother Patty Wetterling's book, "Dear Jacob: A Mother's Journey of Hope." 8 p.m. Friday, ABC
'Saturday Night Live'
