Frasier reboot 2021: are Jane Leeves and Peri Gilpin on the revival cast - and when Kelsey Grammer series could return

It has been announced that Kelsey Grammer will star in a reboot of acclaimed 1990s comedy Frasier, which originally ran for 11 seasons between 1993 and 2004.

It is one of the most revered TV comedies of all-time, having won widespread critical acclaim with Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award wins.

The new series will debut on streaming service Paramount+ in the US.

"There has long been a call from fans for its return, and that call is now answered," David Stapf, president of CBS Studios, said.

Here is everything you need to know about it.

What will the new series be about?

As well as reprising his role as the radio psychiatrist, Grammer – who has played the role across Cheers, Wings and the show that bears the character’s name – will also serve as executive producer on the series.

The actor, 66, said he “gleefully” anticipates “sharing the next chapter in the continuing journey of Dr Frasier Crane.

Speaking in February 2019, Grammer said he would like to see a “third act” for Frasier, but said new episodes would have to address the death of actor John Mahoney, who played his father on the show.

British-born actor Mahoney – who appeared in the long-running series for 11 years – died at the age of 77 in Chicago in February 2018.

“We have to button up a few things, tie up a few loose ends, having to do with the fact John is gone,” Grammer said at the launch of his West End show, Man Of La Mancha. “But there are a couple of really interesting areas and it’s a little premature to discuss them yet.

“The take I’m looking for is just that he has a third act rather than trying to pick up where the second act left off.”

Who will be in the cast?

There has so far been no word on whether any of Grammer’s former co-stars will be joining him for the reboot.

On the subject of co-star David Hyde Pierce, who played his brother Niles in the show, Grammer said: “We always greet each other as though it’s been just a day since we last saw one another and he is my actual brother, in terms of life experience.”

“I never had a brother, I have David. So we regard each other in that way."

On 17 February this year, Jane Leeves – who played housekeeper Daphne on the series – told Entertainment Weekly she would not be leaving her role on US medical drama series The Resident to film the a Frasier reboot.

But Leeves also said the reboot would be “a long way away” and that there are “a lot of pieces that have to come together to make [the revival] happen," suggesting she may not have been involved in plans for the new series.

In March 2019, Grammer again teased a return of the hit show, but said he wasn’t looking to play the character any more, who he described as arguably “one of the great comedic characters in the canon of television”.

“Should Frasier return, it won’t be for the critics,” he said. “We hope that if Frasier does come back, the people like it and they’ll watch because they had a chance to fall in love with him and those other characters.”

When can I watch it?

There is no confirmed date on which the new series of Frasier will begin, but Paramount+ – the streaming service on which it will be hosted – will launch on 4 March in the US, a rebranding of ViacomCBS’ existing subscription streaming service, CBS All Access.

“Having spent over 20 years of my creative life on the Paramount lot, both producing shows and performing in several," said Grammer, “I’d like to congratulate Paramount+ on its entry into the streaming world.”

As well as the Frasier revival, Paramount+ also announced crime drama series Criminal Minds is making a comeback, with executive producer Erica Messer overseeing a 10-episode anthology.

Paramount+ will also be home to docuseries, The Real Criminal Minds.

It is set to expand internationally later this year, the company said.