‘Frasier’ Production Designer Reveals How ‘Cheers’ Inspired the Shrink’s New Bar (Exclusive)

The character of Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) made his first television appearance back in 1984, in the Season 3 premiere of Cheers. He's been a sitcom icon ever since. Now, he's returning to TV in a revival of his titular 1990s sitcom on Oct. 12, ready to start a new chapter in Boston. A new chapter means a new hangout, and while everyone at Frasier's new bar knows his name, he's not getting his drinks from Sam Malone (Ted Danson) anymore.

Though it's a new bar, Frasier production designer Glenda Rovello was very aware of Frasier Crane's history and his iconic hangout spots. Sam's bar in Cheers was a huge inspiration when she set out to design the trendy spot Frasier visits in the new series.

"The Cheers bar was [created by] Dahl Delu, and the architecture was so strong. So for our bar, we wanted to give it real materials [like] that original Cheers bar," Rovello told The Messenger. "So I did go out, and I found vintage glass pieces, leaded glass pieces. A lot of the bar is wood because I wanted it to have that real feel. A lot of it is just really fine millwork, and it's old-looking."

While Rovello wanted the look of the bar to remind people of Cheers, the set also had to be functional. It needed to look like a place where many different people would want to hang out, from Harvard professors to blue collar workers.

"We had to make it a place where academics would want to go and firefighters want to go. So our set dressing is pretty eccentric," Rovello explained. "Before we even set foot at the bar, before we even built it, we did these little movies of what a trivia night, how the actors could move through the spaces. We did these little 3D movies just to say, 'OK, the furniture could be set up in this configuration. For this karaoke scene, it could be this. Eve [Freddy's roommate] is walking down from her office, and this is how we see it.' We made sure it was very functional so it can be reimagined with different activities."

The bar is just one of many sets that Rovello had to design for the revival. She was also in charge of Frasier's new living space, knowing that his Seattle apartment was an equally iconic part of his original sitcom.

"I really pulled up his past. He is a very cultured man. He's a collector. I wanted it to have all of those layers. The writers also gave me a few things that they wanted him to collect…He's so well-traveled, and we just wanted to give him that gravitas," Rovello said when describing how she created the aesthetic for Frasier's new place. There are a few character-driven Easter eggs in the apartment, which longtime fans may appreciate. "I hope his apartment becomes iconic for this character. We had wallpaper hand-painted in Kansas City by artisans. It kind of looks like a Rorschach test. It's kind of on the nose in that it's psychiatry, so he is that kind of person."

The production designer also revealed the detail that she's most eager for fans to notice within the set: "I am hoping someone will notice that we have two pendants hanging in the living room, and they were custom-made," she said. "They have Morse code...One says 'Frasier,' and one says 'Kelsey,' so that's the kind of stuff that's very thoughtful and amazing."

Fans will have to see what else they can spot when Frasier premieres with its first two episodes on Thursday, Oct. 12 on Paramount+.