A Frasier writer has finally set the record straight on some of the biggest questions that have plagued fans for 30 years – how is he so rich, and how did his charm work on so many women?
The sitcom, a spin-off of Cheers, followed Dr Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) returning to his hometown of Seattle and reconnecting with his equally picky brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and his dad, Martin (John Mahoney), while treating listeners of his KACL call-in radio show.
Throughout the entire run, we saw the radio psychiatrist spend a fortune on sherry, priceless works of art and suits from every designer you can think of.
Let’s not forget that he converted an entire room in his swanky apartment into a hat museum – despite never being seen in a single one.
Unsurprisingly, this has raised countless questions from viewers on just how he was able to live his very best life on the salary of a local radio host.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk to celebrate the comedy’s 30-year anniversary, writer and executive producer Joe Keenan finally gave us the answer we’ve been searching for.
‘The question has come up,’ he told us in an interview before the WGA strike. ‘We think Frasier made a lot of money in private practice in Boston, and he has investments.
‘What we imagined to be the salary of a local radio personality was perhaps a little bit inflated.’
Comparing Frasier’s standard of living to that of his brother, Joe insisted that the radio shrink’s lifestyle wasn’t completely out of sync.
‘On the other hand, when you looked at Niles and his house with Maris, this baronial mansion that Niles lived in, Frasier’s apartment didn’t seem all that…,’ he continued.
‘In addition to it, we’ve lived on that set, and it wasn’t that big when you actually stepped onto [it]. You were surprised at how much smaller it was to navigate than it looked on camera, and how narrow some of the passages were.
‘His dining room only seated four people … That apartment, without that view [of the Seattle Space Needle], would not seem that astonishing. It was the view that made it seem fabulous.’
There is no denying that the doctor also had a certain way with the ladies and was able to somehow, briefly, charm nearly every woman that he came across.
Shedding light on the thought process behind this, Joe explained that there wasn’t a huge amount of time to tell a story in every instalment, so ‘corners were cut’ with the way he would meet people.
‘Frasier’s insane flirtiness was as much a function of how little time you have to tell a story,’ he said.
‘You’ve got 20-22 minutes to tell the stories so you find yourself cutting a lot of corners with meet cutes, and people seeing somebody at a party and immediately going up [to them].
‘If there’s something that we always laughed at in the room, it’s how rapidly women are charmed by Frasier, who wouldn’t be charmed in real life by the coordinate by the corny, flirtatious things he’ll say and the compliments he’ll say.
‘That whole highfalutin, chivalrous thing he’ll play when he’s trying to get a woman interested, I don’t know if people would be offended by that as much as they find it ham fisted.’
We were first introduced to Frasier in 1984, when he popped up in sitcom Cheers, and quickly became a regular at the iconic bar.
He was clearly popular as the character landed his very own spin-off in 1993, with a spin-off set to air on Paramount+ next week.
But, be prepared for more speculation on his finances as Kelsey confirmed that the shrink ended up ‘rich beyond his dreams’.
Bring it on.
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