David Hyde Pierce Turned Down ‘Frasier’ Reboot Because ‘They Actually Don’t Need Me’ and ‘I Never Really Wanted to G
The classic NBC sitcom “Frasier” returned earlier this year with a revival series on Paramount+, but it did so without the involvement of former series regular David Hyde Pierce. While star Kelsey Grammer returned, Pierce turned down the chance to once again play Frasier’s younger brother, Niles Crane — a role that earned Pierce three Emmys for supporting actor in a comedy series during the show’s original run.
“I never really wanted to go back,” Pierce recently told Los Angeles Times about his decision to skip the reboot. “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.”
“When we got into real talks about the reboot, I had just started on the ‘Julia’ TV show and was working on a musical and going to do another musical,” Pierce continued. “I just thought, ‘I don’t want to be committed to a show and not be able to do stuff like this.’ And 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.” The “Frasier” reboot picks up years after the original sitcom’s finale and finds an older Frasier moving back to Boston to reconnect with his firefighter son (Jack Cutmore-Scott). The reboot’s co-writer Joe Cristalli told Vulture earlier this year that the intention was to always have Frasier and Niles back together, but that became impossible when Pierce turned down the show.
“For a long time, the idea was that Frasier and Niles were going to run a black-box theater, like how they bought that restaurant and brought it back to life,” Cristalli said. “But it’s hard for Frasier and Niles to run the theater when you don’t have Niles, so we had to step back from that.”
In a recent interview with Variety, Grammer said he wants to keep the “Frasier” reboot going on Paramount+ for at least 100 more episodes. When asked if he wants to see Pierce’s Niles back on screen, Grammer responded: “I mean, we have Niles’ son on the show. It would be nice to have that happen. We won’t force it; we’ll see what happens. We can certainly write to it. There’s arguably a lot of people in the world that have seen ‘Frasier,’ and would really sort of celebrate seeing him again.”
All 10 episodes of the “Frasier” reboot’s first season are available to stream now on Paramount+.
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | December 15, 2023 4:15 AM
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I’m glad the new show is improving with each episode. I really want it to do well. And the guy playing David is adorable.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | December 12, 2023 7:33 PM
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He’ll come crawling back.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | December 12, 2023 9:54 PM
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The Frasier reboot is shit.
Julia is even bigger shit.
I don't know what DHP is going to do.
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | December 12, 2023 9:57 PM
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Kelcey Grammer is a Trumper piece of shit so I will never watch his pathetic reboot. I'd bet that DHP finds him detestable too but has too much class to say so.
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | December 14, 2023 11:35 PM
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r1 Why do you want it to do well? Kelsey Grammer is a homophobic right-wing nut job Trumper.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | December 14, 2023 11:39 PM
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R6 why would I want so many people to lose their jobs just because I don’t like Kelsey’s politics?
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | December 15, 2023 1:40 AM
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I would say to the staff, don't hitch your wagon to scumbag narcissists.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | December 15, 2023 1:47 AM
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R4 Julia is pretty awful. The writing has this creepy artificiality to it. One dinner table scene where the actress playing Julia talks about learning to “feed, fuck and flatter” DHO’s character, Paul, was just odd and atonal. You hear the writers’ voices instead of the characters’. You can smell the plot devices added to the story.
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | December 15, 2023 2:03 AM
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It does seem like DHP is being diplomatic about something. But good for him if he has enough money to say no to this reboot.
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | December 15, 2023 2:07 AM
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R10. He made a mint on fraiser. He was in the bette midler hello dolly broadway. He’s in the sondheim show at the shed. The julia crap. He did well. Probably crazy well. & he’s openly gay & married. He’ll probably show up as Nile. I read a profile on him - so at the moment I know a lot about him. Soon to replaced by other useless celebrity nothingness.
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | December 15, 2023 2:18 AM
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r7 You're not very bright
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | December 15, 2023 2:25 AM
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Fir years he was making $750,000 per Frasier episode and his net worth is estimated at around $40M.
I shouldn't worry too much about his foolishness in turning away work offers. He seems to take on projects that he enjoys doing. He doesn't appear to lead a wildly extravagant life, or to measure his happiness by social media likes and gossip column mentions. He doesn't seem to have wildly expensive habits like $30M divorce settlements, for instance.
| by Anonymous | reply 13 | December 15, 2023 3:04 AM
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I didn't get the sense he was being unpleasant. He doesn't seem to want to repeat himself. Good for him. He has fuck you money from Frasier and doesn't have to go back.
The new Frasier is its own thing, but I think perhaps DHP realized even if he had been interested, Niles would not be well served in a more 2020-era show - that kind of character needs a Joe Keenan to write it.
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | December 15, 2023 4:01 AM
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Kelsey Grammer, on the other hand, probably needs the money. He had an expensive divorce a few years ago. Paid out something like $100 million. Still has several children under 18. Current wife is young. What a dummy (Kelsey).
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | December 15, 2023 4:15 AM
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