Frasier's Kelsey Grammer Reveals The Likelihood Of A Niles Appearance
Is the "Frasier" revival better without Niles? This debate has been ongoing since the series premiered earlier this year, but many fans want to see David Hyde Pierce's character return to the sitcom universe. Furthermore, Kelsey Grammer, who plays Frasier Crane, wants to reunite with his old co-star, but the decision is out of his hands.
"I really wanted David Hyde Pierce to join us," Grammar told Variety. "And I did my best to have him come along for the ride. And at one point, he finally just said, 'I don't really want to play the character anymore.' And that was fine."
Grammer added that he doesn't want the "Frasier" revival to be a continuation of the original series. However, if Pierce does decide to return, he's sure the creators will find a way to write him into the show. In fact, Niles was originally supposed to be a big part of the revival, but Pierce opting out forced the creators to come up with a new concept for the story.
The Frasier revival was supposed to feature Niles
The "Frasier" revival follows the titular character as he embarks on a new career at Harvard University, marking a significant departure from the previous iteration of the sitcom. However, Kelsey Grammer's character would have had a different vocation if David Hyde Pierce agreed to play Niles again.
"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 [in Season 2 of the original series]," co-writer Joe Cristalli revealed to Vulture. "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."
For now, Niles fans will have to settle for storylines involving his son, David (Anders Keith), who's a student at Harvard. The character is an important part of the revival series, and his presence means that his father is there in spirit.