Well, this isn't quite the news comedy fans were hoping to receive going into 2025. While there are plenty of comedies still thriving on the small screen, one veteran of the genre won't be returning for another season... at least not at its current home.
After two seasons, Paramount+ canceled Frasier, the 2023 revival series of the Emmy-winning NBC sitcom. The new edition, which picked back up with Kelsey Grammer's titular character in Boston working at Harvard and reconnecting with his adult son Freddy, premiered on the streamer with great buzz. However, that buzz admittedly died down by the time season 2 came around.
Even as a fan of both the '90s original and the modern revival series, I'm not entirely surprised by Paramount+'s choice to cancel the series. Based on cultural awareness, Frasier's second act wasn't making many waves. But as a sitcom titan, it stings to see the series axed. I had expected at least one last season as a final hurrah. The series didn't have that chance, but there's hope.
Frasier revival will have trouble reversing cancellation
According to Deadline, CBS Studios will shop the Frasier revival to other streaming outlets, with Prime Video and Hulu on the table since they both stream the original classic. But if a show is getting canceled by its rightful owner (CBS Studios owns both the original and the revival), it's something of a big ask for another company to take on the risk of swooping in for the save. If it's not working on one streamer after two seasons in, what's a new streamer going to do?
In all honesty, Prime Video and Hulu don't make much sense for relocation options. Multi-cam sitcoms aren't quite as popular as streaming originals (hence the cancellation), and it's unclear how much of a draw one would be on Prime Video. Likewise, Hulu has gotten overcrowded, and bringing Frasier under the Disney umbrella doesn't seem like the best fit. Netflix would have been a great home for the series if it had started there from the beginning.
Since the original Frasier series aired on NBC, one would assume that the company's streamer Peacock would bite on giving the show a second life. In spite of tepid beginnings, Peacock has been rising in success. Bringing Frasier Crane back home to the NBC fold could be the key to what this series needs, but again, it's going to be a difficult path to resurrection.
The revival series was met with a lukewarm response upon premiere in October 2023, and when season 2 premiered in September 2024, most television viewers likely weren't aware that Frasier was still on Paramount+. As revivals go, this wasn't the strongest attempt at one, but it also wasn't the worst. Its passing resemblance to the original was surely both a draw and an obstacle.
I'll be sad to see the revival series go out this unceremoniously. Once at the top of television, now stumbling after less than an original season's worth of episodes. It's a shame that a show this comforting and nostalgic couldn't find a place in our current pop culture landscape. Yes, there's still hope for the show to bounce back, but that feels more like biding time than an actual lifeline.
Both seasons of the Frasier revival are streaming on Paramount+.