When Jess Salgueiro auditioned in person for the role of young single mom Eve on Frasier, she had to do it in front of a pair of sitcom legends: star and producer Kelsey Grammer and director Jim Burrows. Pressure? Yes and no says the actress, who was born in Winnipeg, Man. She figured there must
In Part Two of my conversation with Ken Levine, more evidence that the Emmy-winner is one of TV’s top storytellers. One of my favourite episodes from his excellent podcast, Hollywood & Levine, is the one where he told listeners exactly what he thought of the recent reboot of Frasier. Some might see this as sour
What hasn’t Ken Levine done? He’s an Emmy-winning screenwriter who has — with writing partner David Issacs — written for some of television’s best comedies. You may have heard of M*A*S*H, Cheers and Frasier. In his spare time (!) he has also been a disc jockey, a major league baseball play-by-play announcer, a cartoonist, a playwright, a director,
Standing outside the Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto Thursday night, in a long lineup to see a screening of Paramount+’s Frasier, a passerby stopped to ask me what all the fuss was about. “We’re here to see Frasier,” I told the gentleman. He seemed puzzled. “Kelsey Grammer, the star of Frasier, is appearing here in
Earlier this week I was asked to preview the coming fall TV season for CBC radio syndication. It is something I look forward to — a half-day marathon timed at ten minute intervals with radio markets right across Canada. Wednesday, they included radio hosts from Kelowna to St. John’s, with stops in Victoria, Vancouver, Whitehorse,
What’s the opposite of a Golden Age? Tin? Aluminum? Plastic? Whatever it is, we are definitely NOT in a golden age of network TV comedy. NBC has just two lame programs, the revived Night Court and something called Lopez vs. Lopez. ABC has Abbott Elementary, which despite critical acclaim, is at best feel-good pablum. The
One of the comfort food shows re-watched start-to-finish in the Brampton bunker during the pandemic was Frasier. The series, which ended an 11-season run in May of 2004, seemed even funnier the second time around. Why did it hold up so well? The usual reasons: great writing, excellent cast. It was of its time but
Can Frasier make it without Niles, Daphne, Roz and Eddie the dog? Rebooting Kelsey Grammer’s Frasier without David Hyde Pierce as younger brother Niles does seem a little like reteaming Laurel without Hardy. Consider, however, that Grammar brought nobody with him when he left Cheers. Sometimes fresh blood is an essential part of new surroundings.