Kelsey Grammer Says 'Frasier' Reboot Will Honor John Mahoney (Exclusive)

Kelsey Grammer is stepping back into the shoes of Frasier Crane in Paramount+'s upcoming Frasier revival. While original cast members haven't been confirmed to appear in the update, Grammer revealed the new series will honor one of them -- the late John Mahoney, who portrayed Frasier's dad, Martin Crane.

The Frasier reboot, which began filming in Los Angeles earlier this month, follows Frasier (Grammer) in the next chapter of his life as he returns to Boston, Massachusetts, with new challenges to face, new relationships to forge and an old dream or two to finally fulfill. Among Grammer's co-stars is Jack Cutmore-Scott, who joins the series as Frasier’s son, Freddy, as it aims to explore their father-son dynamic.

"He's going back to Boston because his son lives there," Grammer told ET's Rachel Smith while promoting his new film, Jesus Revolution. The first episode of the new series is titled "The Good Father," a callback to the original pilot, which was called "The Good Son," and saw Frasier, newly relocated to Seattle, taking in his father.

"There's a nod to certainly my father in the show, John Mahoney, there," Grammer acknowledged. "You'll see things about John all through the show. I think people will be very happy to see that he's honored in the way he is in the show." Mahoney died in 2018 at the age of 77. He appeared in all 263 episode of Frasier.

"And it's all about love. It's all about looking for love, becoming a good father," Grammer said, "because... Frasier has always been looking to become a full man."

Asked if his character finally achieves that goal in the new series, the actor quipped, "I don’t know, but I hope it takes him another 11 seasons!"

Grammer was first introduced as Frasier on Cheers, appearing in more than 200 episodes, before transitioning to his own show. He said playing the character now, more than 30 years since he first played him, has been an adventure.

"It's as familiar and exciting as life itself," he said. "Honestly, I've never understood boredom. My children say, 'Oh, I'm bored, Dad.' I've never been bored a day of my life and they're like, 'Oh please.' But I do not find myself bored. And I think Frasier’s one of those people. He accepts life as the challenge it is and he's always ready to meet it. It's always disappointing and he still gets up in the morning. And that's what I find fascinating about it."

He admitted to feeling nerves about how the update will be received by viewers.

"You always want it to be OK," Grammer said. "Honestly, you just put your best foot forward and do your best work. We've been doing that... honest work. You can write the best script you can and make it as funny as you possibly can and make it as heartfelt as you can. And we have done that and I think people are going to open this new page and say, 'Let’s have another taste.'"

As Grammer continues work on the Frasier reboot, he was teeing up his new film, Jesus Revolution, which is inspired by the real-life story of the late Pastor Chuck Smith and based on Greg Laurie's book of the same name covering the Jesus movement in California in the 1970s.

"People come to me and said, 'Oh, you're playing Chuck. I knew Chuck. I knew Pastor Smith. He baptized me or he married me and my wife,' and you can see in their eyes -- the light that this guy generated, and I'm proud to be associated," he shared. "And you can see their willingness to accept me as Chuck."

"They sort of go back to a place where they're standing with Chuck. They feel like they're visiting Chuck Smith again and it's been a wonderful experience to understand that the light continues, it doesn't go away. It doesn't die. He's still in there. And his church goes on and on," Grammer continued. "I know we don't talk about it much but maybe this will get people talking about it again, but he started something that was quite wonderful. And Greg Laurie continues it. There's some great joy there. There's not a trick, there's love and it's extraordinary."

Jesus Revolution is in theaters Friday, Feb. 24.

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