Kelsey Grammer says Frasier revival 'might happen again, it might not'

Kelsey Grammer is downplaying any talk of an imminent Frasier revival, and even says NBC “may not be interested.”

After participating in a press conference promoting his upcoming Fox show Proven Innocent, Grammer was asked to address industry chatter about a possible return of Frasier, the Emmy-winning spin-off of Cheers. The actor confirmed there was some talk about the possibility — even going so far as saying “the idea of a Cheers reboot is something else that has crossed people’s minds.”

But he seemed to caution anyone from thinking he and his fellow cast members will return to Seattle anytime soon.

“I have a wonderful life. I played Frasier for 20 years,” he told reporters. “It might happen again, it might not.”

As is always the case, it all depends upon the script, anyway. ���There’s nothing wrong with doing a full-blown season [with 22 episodes] if it’s great,” Grammer said. “But we have to make sure it’s a great show.”

They also have to make sure they have a home. “I don’t believe in exclusivity,” Grammer added. “I think NBC may not be interested. We might go somewhere else if that’s the case.”

RELATED VIDEO: John Mahoney, beloved patriarch of TV’s Frasier, dies at 77

Earlier this year, EW confirmed Grammer and the cast had been talking about a reunion. But the February death of John Mahoney, who played the beloved father of Frasier (Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce), had cast a pall on the idea — and for good reason.

“The idea has been discussed and certainly people who were in favor of it loved the idea of John being a part of it because he was so much of the balance of the show,” says co-executive producer Christopher Lloyd, who talked to EW in February about Mahoney’s death. “You have these two stuffy intellectuals and a dyed-in-the-wool man of the people. That just provided so much balance in the show so it would be a little hard imagining to do it without him.”

That said, Lloyd thinks Mahoney would have wanted NBC and the cast to go on without him.

“John was such a generous soul,” Lloyd says. “He would be the first person to say, ‘Oh course you should go ahead and do it.’ Even if it came up before [his death], he would be the first person to root everybody forward in doing it.”