"Frasier," starring Kelsey Grammer in his Emmy Award-winning title role of Dr. Frasier Crane, made history by becoming the first series, comedy or drama, to achieve a record five consecutive Emmy wins for Outstanding Comedy Series. With this achievement, the series stands ahead of the classic series which are four-time winners: "The Dick Van Dyke Show,"
"All in the Family," "Hill Street Blues," "L.A. Law" and "Cheers,"
the series from which "Frasier" was "spun-off."
In its eighth season, "Frasier" has earned a total of 21 Emmys, including three for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Grammer) and two for
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (David Hyde Pierce). In addition, the series has garnered the prestigious Peabody Award; People's Choice Awards for the series and for Best Actor (Grammer); a Humanitas Prize; Golden Globes for Best Musical or Comedy Series and Best Actor (Grammer), and the TV Guide Award as Favorite Comedy Series, along with many other accolades.
The upscale comedy provides a weekly dose of the neuroses and tribulations suffered by an insecure and pompous psychiatrist, Dr. Frasier Crane, host of a
Seattle radio advice show. The twice-divorced doctor's peaceful home life of fine cigars and haute cuisine was shattered when his gruff, ex-cop father, Martin (Emmy nominee John Mahoney), was injured in the line of duty and forced to move in with Frasier.
Martin brought with him a semi-psychic, live-in home-care provider, Daphne Moon (Emmy nominee Jane Leeves); his pesky Jack Russell terrier, Eddie (Moose); and a duct-taped recliner that clashes with Frasier's more aesthetically pleasing Eames and Wassily chairs.
Their home is frequently visited by Frasier's snobbish and
competitive brother, Niles (Pierce), a fellow psychiatrist whose romantic interests lie with Daphne. At work, his slightly jaded producer, single parent Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin), supports Frasier.
Over the past year, "Frasier" has proven the strength of its overall
appeal by being the only series on any network to consistently out-rate the Juggernaut "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" in head-to-head competition. "Frasier" averaged a 9.5 rating and 24 share in adults 18-24 and pulled in 20.1 million viewers overall. The season finale -- in which Daphne left her groom at the alter for Niles -- attracted the program's largest audience ever with 33.7
million viewers and the highest adult 18-49 rating (17.0/41) since 1994.
"Frasier" is a presentation of Grub Street Productions in association
with Paramount Network Television. Emmy winners David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee ("Cheers") are the creators; and along with Dan O'Shannon ("Cheers"), Mark Reisman ("Wings") and Kelsey Grammer, serve as the executive producers.