The reason David Hyde Pierce’s Niles didn’t return for the Frasier reboot

13 October 2023 , 15:58

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Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce as Frasier and Niles Crane (Image: CBS via Getty Images)

Paramount+ has finally dropped the long-awaited return of Frasier. The hugely successful 90s sitcom is back almost 20 years since the airing of its final episode in 2004.

The new series sees Kelsey Grammer return as Dr Frasier Crane as he leaves Seattle for Boston, where the character was first introduced in bar-based sitcom Cheers. Now a retired psychologist, the former radio host moves back to where it all began to be closer to his son.

Frasier is available to stream in the UK with a subscription to Paramount+. Fans can even watch the first two episodes now without paying a penny thanks to Paramount’s seven-day free trial.

After years of rumours regarding the show’s revival, Frasier’s return was officially announced in 2021. But since the show’s premiere on Friday (October 13), fans have been disappointed with the absence of one major character.

Frasier’s brother Niles – played by David Hyde Pierce – has not returned for the new series. Pierce appeared in all 264 episodes of Frasier’s 11-season run, becoming a fan-favourite and bagging four Emmy awards for his performance as the titular character’s neurotic younger sibling.

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David Hyde Pierce as Dr. Niles Crane in Frasier (CBS via Getty Images)

Many fans of the show have taken to social media to express their dismay at Niles absence. On Twitter, @kamsays said: “Frasier with no Niles is a travesty.”

@TGirlIF said: “Enjoyed the first two episodes of the new Frasier [but] man, it needs Niles!”

@SimmsLCFC89 echoed: “Loved the first episode of the new Frasier. Gutted Niles isn’t going to be in it.”

So why did David Hyde Pierce not return as Niles in the Frasier reboot?

Why is David Hyde Pierce not in the Frasier reboot?

Speaking to The Guardian in 2022, Pierce said he was “interested to see what they come up with,” but chose not to return to the show. Grammer addressed his absence in December, explaining his on-screen brother simply “wasn’t interested” in reprising his role.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Grammer said: “I approached our legacy cast, and David honestly wasn't very interested in playing that role again, and I get that, he’s an actor, which in a weird way propelled us to a whole new story and that actually is what I wanted to do anyway.”

David Hyde Pierce pictured in 2008 (Bruce Glikas/Getty Images)

Niles’ absence from the show gave the creative team options to bring in a host of new characters, including Niles’ son David, who was born in the original show’s finale and is attempts to fill the comedic gap left by his father. David is played by newcomer Anders Keith, who stars alongside Tenet actor Jack Cutmore-Scott as Frasier’s son Freddie and Only Fools and Horses star Nicholas Lyndhurst, who joins the cast as Frasier’s old college friend.

Also absent from the Frasier reboot is Frasier and Niles’ father, Martin, originally played by John Mahoney, who died in 2018 aged 77. The opening episode of the new series features a touching tribute to the Blackpool-born actor.

Jake Hackney