Since Frasier’s long-awaited revival, fans have been begging to see Shelley Long return to reprise her role of Diane Chambers. The reboot’s star, Kelsey Grammer, is holding out hope that their reunion will eventually happen.
During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Tuesday, January 9, Kelsey, 68, confessed that he “would like to see Diane come back.” The Emmy winner feels like the return of Diane would “put something to bed” and would allow the characters to “end up with a nice thing between them.”
Shelley, 74, first portrayed Diane on Cheers from 1982 to 1987 and again in 1993. She joined the Cheers spinoff, Frasier, as Diane in 1994 and made special appearances on the sitcom in 1996 and 2001.
While no official plans to bring Diane back have been announced, reviving the series has been a full-circle moment for Kelsey and his costars.
“When I first got the role, the key to Frasier for me was that he loved her with his whole heart, that he loved with all of his being. And that actually defined who he is,” he said. “He’s been that way ever since. He just goes in wholeheartedly with everything — and that’s what makes him funny.”
In the series finale of season 1 of the Frasier revival, Bebe Neuwirth and Peri Gilpin returned to reprise their roles of Dr. Lilith Sternin and Roz Doyle, respectively.
“I just loved getting to do it,” Peri told Entertainment Weekly in December 2023 of making an appearance. “It was a fantasy come true to play that part again and to go back into that world.”
As for whether or not she is interested in returning to the role full-time in the future, Peri, 62, said, “If that’s a possibility, if that’s something that happens.”
Paramount+ has not officially announced season 2 of the Frasier reboot. Still, Kelsey is already dreaming up the potential of his iconic NBC character, Frasier Crane, becoming a staple on the streaming service.
“We haven’t really cracked a storyline yet for season 2,” the 30 Rock alum told The Hollywood Reporter in December 2023. “We haven’t really gotten into that stuff, but we probably will fairly soon. I believe we have a home at Paramount+ for several years to come, and we certainly have several ideas for it.”