AKA
06-25-2003, 07:18 PM
Frasier: Time's Up
By Lia Haberman
E! Online
The therapy session's over.
Kelsey Grammer announced Tuesday on E! News Live that his alter ego, espresso-fueled pop psychologist Frasier Crane, would be taking down his shingle next May.
"It ends next year, and we've discussed it. We think it's time to let Frasier go off into some other world. Somewhere where his life goes on," said Grammer Tuesday. "But we'll end it with dignity."
And, according to the Emmy winner, he's been thinking about how to take his last bow for a while, even though he remains mum on the details. "We've actually talked it out…I've had an image for what the last show should be for the last 11 years, and so I think that's what we're going to do," said Grammer.
The news hardly comes as a surprise. After all, Dr. Crane's been dispensing his neurotic brand of wisdom for 10 years on the Seattle-based series, in addition to the nine years prior on Cheers. In fact, next season will make Grammer a record holder for playing the same character on prime-time television for 20 years.
"It's been a great run for me. I mean, it was really lucky. Twenty years...it's like being a cop, and then I'm gonna quit," mused Grammer.
The actor's long maintained that he wanted Frasier to match the longevity of its predecessor, Cheers, which was on the air from 1982 to 1993. (Dr. Crane joined the Boston barflies in 1984.) Next season will mark a match with the sudsy sitcom.
Earlier this year, Variety predicted that the show's license deal would not be renegotiated after it expired in 2004 due to a mutual lack of interest between Paramount, the show's producer and the Peacock.
Despite a record 30 Emmys and a respectable 12.6 million viewers this past season, the series had never recovered from its schedule flip-flop, when Frasier lost its Thursday-night slot to younger-skewing Will & Grace.
Even NBC programming chief Jeff Zucker admitted in January that the net has done the shrink show "no favors" this past season with its weak In-Laws lead-in.
In addition, the good doctor's show also comes with a hefty price tag. Grammer, 47, currently takes home $1.6 million per episode, making him the highest-paid performer in television history. (And that's without house calls.)
The big bucks are part of a deal NBC agreed to in 2001 to keep the spinoff series on the air until 2004 at the cost of about $5.2 million per episode.
But you won't find Grammer on the unemployment line. He's currently promoting his new project Gary the Rat, an animated series that bows on the would-be Spike-TV network Thursday. Grammer is credited both as a producer and as the voice of Gary, a sleazy lawyer transformed into a giant rat.
By Lia Haberman
E! Online
The therapy session's over.
Kelsey Grammer announced Tuesday on E! News Live that his alter ego, espresso-fueled pop psychologist Frasier Crane, would be taking down his shingle next May.
"It ends next year, and we've discussed it. We think it's time to let Frasier go off into some other world. Somewhere where his life goes on," said Grammer Tuesday. "But we'll end it with dignity."
And, according to the Emmy winner, he's been thinking about how to take his last bow for a while, even though he remains mum on the details. "We've actually talked it out…I've had an image for what the last show should be for the last 11 years, and so I think that's what we're going to do," said Grammer.
The news hardly comes as a surprise. After all, Dr. Crane's been dispensing his neurotic brand of wisdom for 10 years on the Seattle-based series, in addition to the nine years prior on Cheers. In fact, next season will make Grammer a record holder for playing the same character on prime-time television for 20 years.
"It's been a great run for me. I mean, it was really lucky. Twenty years...it's like being a cop, and then I'm gonna quit," mused Grammer.
The actor's long maintained that he wanted Frasier to match the longevity of its predecessor, Cheers, which was on the air from 1982 to 1993. (Dr. Crane joined the Boston barflies in 1984.) Next season will mark a match with the sudsy sitcom.
Earlier this year, Variety predicted that the show's license deal would not be renegotiated after it expired in 2004 due to a mutual lack of interest between Paramount, the show's producer and the Peacock.
Despite a record 30 Emmys and a respectable 12.6 million viewers this past season, the series had never recovered from its schedule flip-flop, when Frasier lost its Thursday-night slot to younger-skewing Will & Grace.
Even NBC programming chief Jeff Zucker admitted in January that the net has done the shrink show "no favors" this past season with its weak In-Laws lead-in.
In addition, the good doctor's show also comes with a hefty price tag. Grammer, 47, currently takes home $1.6 million per episode, making him the highest-paid performer in television history. (And that's without house calls.)
The big bucks are part of a deal NBC agreed to in 2001 to keep the spinoff series on the air until 2004 at the cost of about $5.2 million per episode.
But you won't find Grammer on the unemployment line. He's currently promoting his new project Gary the Rat, an animated series that bows on the would-be Spike-TV network Thursday. Grammer is credited both as a producer and as the voice of Gary, a sleazy lawyer transformed into a giant rat.