Thirty years after “Cheers” came to an end, the cast and creatives reunited Friday night, courtesy of the ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas. The reunion panel, organized by Variety‘s Michael Schneider, including co-creators James Burrows, Les Charles and Glen Charles and actors Ted Danson, George Wendt and John Ratzenberger.
During the conversation, the iconic creators reflected on making the show and the cast talked about how they joined the series and how it has impacted their lives over the years.
“Teddy and Shelly auditioned together and they had a chemistry that just makes writing better,” Burrows said of the cast of Danson and Shelley Long, who played Diane Chambers, Sam’s love interest, for five seasons.
For Danson, he praised Long, who was not present: “I don’t think we’ve seen a character like that since Lucille Ball. I do believe I was on ‘Cheers’ because of Shelley, because Shelley was a knockout.
The group also talked about the difference in today’s sitcoms – and the lack of the multi-cam. “Many times have I attended a sitcom’s funeral,” said Burrows. “Somehow it pops out of the box, but I’m not sure right now. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Jack Plunkett, ATX TV Festival 2023
The creators also explained that after losing Nick Colasanto, who played Coach on the series, the network wanted to bring in someone new and younger. They cast a character named Woody and had already found who they thought they would cast. When they met Woody Harrelson, that all changed.
They also talked about bringing in Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe in Season 6 after Long decided to leave.
“She’s not here. It’s very strange,” said Danson, who grew emotional at the memory of Alley, who died of cancer in December. “She came in like a ball of fire… She made her entry into the table read and she put on a Shelly Long, blonde wig. We’re like, ‘OK, you’ll do great.'”
Meanwhile, for her first day, Wendt and Ratzenberger thought they should buy her something as the new woman on set – and decided to buy a shotgun. “We wrote on the card, ‘You’re going to have to shoot your way out,'” Ratzenberger recalled.
When talking about the end of the show, Danson admitted it was his decision. “My life was a hot mess. I think I needed time to get my life back on track,” he said. “If I had continued, I would not have met my wife Mary Steenburgen.”
“Of all the shows I’ve done — and I’ve done a lot of them — this will always be my fifth child,” Burrows said at the end of the panel.
“Cheers” aired on NBC for 11 seasons, from 1982 to 1993. It also spawned the spin-off “Frasier,” which featured psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) returning home to Seattle. (A “Fraiser” revival, with Burrows directing, will return later this year on Paramount+.)
Before the cast and creatives took the stage, ATX TV Festival hosted a pilot script reading with celebrities taking on the roles of the main cast. David Walton read for Sam, Cassidy Freeman read for Diane, David Lascher read for Coach, Christina Vidal read for Carla, Chris Estrada read for Cliff, James Lafferty read for Sumner, Harold Perrineau read for Norm, Ronald Gladden read for Ron and Ashley Fink read stage directions.