Nearly twenty years ago, Frasier ended its eleven-year run with the series finale "Goodnight Seattle," and left its title character getting off of an airplane to pursue his Season 11 love interest, Charlotte (Laura Linney), in Chicago. However, despite that happy ending for Kelsey Grammer's unlucky-in-love radio psychiatrist in 2004, there has been no indication that the upcoming sequel series will cast Linney or include Charlotte as Frasier's girlfriend. This decision raises many questions for Frasier fans; while likely motivated simply by Linney's availability, is Charlotte's exclusion from the revival motivated in some way by fan dislike of her character? And if so, could Lilith or Roz take her place as Frasier's final love interest?
Over the eleven seasons of Frasier and nine seasons of Cheers in which Grammer played Frasier Crane, the hapless therapist dated or was involved with over sixty different women. Despite his constant breakups, he and the fans retained hope that at least one of his various romances would end well and allow him to move on from his tragic divorce from his first wife, Dr. Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth), at the end of Cheers. While some fans rooted for Lilith and Frasier to reunite, others hoped something would happen between him and Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin). Mostly, though, hope centered on the series' girls-of-the-week. There was much fan affection for Season 6's Faye and Season 8's Claire in particular, but in the end, Charlotte was the winner.
Why Charlotte's Absence May Be Motivated by Fan Reaction
However, while there were certainly fans who enjoyed Charlotte and were happy that Frasier seemingly found his happy ending, there were also many fans who disliked her. Given that she appeared in only a handful of episodes in the final season, there certainly wasn't much time for her to win fans' hearts. While Linney was charismatic in the role, for most fans it was an unsatisfactory conclusion to a twenty-year-long story arc that began with Frasier arriving on Cheers as Diane's new boyfriend. To have the conclusion to such a long quest for love wrap up at the last minute with someone new seemed an inadequate payoff to all that searching.
While there was no definitive "Fan Preferred Pairing" for Frasier, fans did have a few possible candidates in mind. The most popular was Roz Doyle, Frasier's friend and producer of his show. The two had a fling in Season 9's finale and shared romantic tension in Season 7's "Hot Pursuit" and the Season 10 finale. However, the creators chose not to go down that route, returning the two to friends in Season 11 and keeping their friendship strictly platonic.
How Frasier Could Still Have a Happy Romantic Ending
Another popular option was a reunion with his ex-wife Lilith. Despite their divorce in the final season of Cheers, the chemistry between the two actors and their characters remained every bit as strong during their moments of crossover on Frasier, with many hints of a lingering attraction through Season 11. While this option has certainly been popular for a long time, there are also plenty of arguments against a Lilith reunion. It would have made Frasier's quest for new love seem redundant, and the hurt from their breakup seemed too intense to accommodate a happy reunion.
The new series has the potential to finally answer this question. It could potentially create a new love interest for Frasier; it could return one of the fan-favorite Girls of the Week (Faye or Claire), or it could, given that both Gilpin and Neuwirth are signed up for the revival, finally unite Frasier with one of his popular "ships." The options are potentially limitless; Charlotte's absence and Roz and Lilith's presence on the show may be connected and deliberate. Hopefully, at the very least, Frasier's love life may finally have a happy ending.
The Frasier revival is slated to premiere on Paramount+ in 2023.