Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) meets Patricia Heaton again in season 2 and told us how “fantastic” it was
Regardless, Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton are long-established sitcom heavyweights. The former played Frasier Crane in Cheers and the Frasier Spinoff, and the latter played in Everyone loves Raymond And The middle. But the two have worked together twice before this year, and we will soon see them reunited for a third time in the 2024 television schedule. Heaton will star in the Paramount+ subscription-exclusive Frasier revival this season, and Grammer told CinemaBlend she got her start in a “fantastic way.”
I had the pleasure of speaking with Grammer for the Frasier Junket for the second season, sitting next to him is Peri Gilpin, who returns as Roz Doyle after her appearance in the first season finale. Given Grammer and Heaton’s long association, I asked him what it was like working with her again and whether this role was specifically written for her or if she went through traditional casting. He began by saying:
Well, it’s a funny story… I was doing a Gary Sinise charity event in Nashville, and while I was waiting for my flight, I was sitting in this bar in Nashville, and there was a girl who reminded me of Patty. I said, “Has anyone ever told you that you look like Patty Heaton?” And she said, “Oh God, people tell me that all the time.” Her mannerisms, everything. And suddenly I thought, “So, Frasier should fall in love with Patty Heaton… again.” Because we’ve actually been on three shows together now; this one, a short show she did a while ago, and then of course Back to You, the show that we thought was going to do pretty well until the writers went on strike. So I was sitting in the office with the guys and I mentioned this chance meeting with this girl that just made me think, “Oh, what a great idea to have Patty Heaton and bring her into Frasier’s life.” And they said, “Wow!” They called Adam, our manager. We both have the same manager, and in five minutes it was time. So she’s coming! That was fantastic!
There you have it! Thanks to a chance encounter with a Patricia Heaton lookalike, Kelsey Grammer realized that the real actress would be a great choice for the role of Frasier Crane’s new lover in the Paramount+ series. He successfully pitched the role to showrunners Chris Harris and Joe Cristalli, and since he and Heaton share the same manager, that was more than enough to land her appearance in Frasier Season 2. In case you don’t know, Grammer and Heaton first worked together on Back to youthe Fox sitcom aired for just one season from September 2007 to May 2008, making it one of the many shows hit hard by the writers’ strike of that time. Then, in 2020, the two reunited for an episode of Heaton’s show Carol’s second actwhich was also canceled after one season.
But you know what they say: good things come in threes! Patricia Heaton will play a bartender named Holly, who is officially described as “down-to-earth, unpretentious and openly mocking overly intellectual types” and “extraordinarily comfortable with herself and her place in life.” As Kelsey Grammer outlined below, sparks will fly between her and Frasier Crane, and he also briefly recalled how he and Heaton met:
All we knew at the time was that she was going to be a bartender, that they would meet by chance and develop an interest in each other. So it was great, very natural and organic. She’s so funny and so lovely. The very first time I met her was 25 years ago in an elevator at the Ritz-Carlton when we were doing some kind of show promo, and I remember thinking, “Boy, she’s really OK. I like her.” And that’s how it all started.
Patricia Heaton is just one of the many notable guest stars in Frasier Season 2, with additional cast members including Yvette Nicole Brown, Amy Sedaris, Rachel Bloom and Kelsey Grammer’s own daughter Greer Grammer, who was cast as Roz’s daughter Alice. We will also see the return of the original Frasier former cast members Dan Butler as Bob “Bulldog” Briscoe, Edward Hibbert as Gil Chesterton and Harriet Sansom Harris as Bebe Glazer.
The first two episodes of Frasier Season 2 will be released on Thursday, September 19, followed by a weekly release of the remaining eight seasons. Frasier and his predecessor Cheers Both can also be found on Paramount+.
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