"Frasier" has returned to TV but aside from Kelsey Grammer's eponymous character, other key characters are missing, including David Hyde Pierce, who played brother Niles Crane in the original sitcom, which ran from 1993 to 2004.
Now, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Pierce has explained why he did not reprise his role in the reboot.
"I never really wanted to go back," the actor said. "It's not like I said, 'Oh, I don't ever want to do that again.' I loved every moment. It was that I wanted to do other things."
Pierce is engaged in various projects, playing Paul Child in the Max series "Julia," alongside Sarah Lancashire as Julia Child. He also has a significant role in "Here We Are," a theater production featuring the final music composed by the late Stephen Sondheim in 2021.
"When we got into real talks about the [Fraiser] reboot, I had just started on the 'Julia' TV show and was working on a musical and going to do another musical," Pierce said. "And I just thought, 'I don't want to be committed to a show and not be able to do stuff like this.' And I also thought, 'They don't actually need me.' 'Frasier' has moved on to a new world. They have new characters. And I think I'm right. It's doing great. And the new people they have are great."
This is not the first time Pierce has spoken about his decision not to join the "Fraiser" reboot. Last year, during an interview with Vulture, the actor shared that he didn't want to half-heartedly commit to something that had been such an important part of his career.
"That whole time of my life, the writing on those shows, the actors I got to work with — all of that is deeply important to me," he said. "And I would never disrespect that in such a way as to say just offhandedly, 'Oh, no, thanks. I'm not going to do that again.' It's too valuable to me. But by the same token, because it's so valuable to me, I also wouldn't do it just to do it."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.