Frasier reboot creators Chris Harris and Joe Cristalli reveal their original plan for Niles and how he almost became the new Maris. Serving as a sequel to the original Cheers spinoff that aired from 1993 to 2004, the new Paramount+ series premiered on October 12 and brings back Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) for the third act of his life as he returns to Boston. The reboot, however, does not include any other original cast members in main roles, including Frasier's equally snobbish brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce).

In a new interview with Vulture, Cristalli and Harris revealed their original plan for the Frasier reboot was to have the brothers open a theater together. However, since Pierce decided not to return, the plan would have essentially made Niles the new Maris, the character's unseen wife whom he later divorces in the original series. Since this would have been "weird," as Harris says, the creators opted to abandon their original idea. Read what the two shared below:

Cristalli: For a long time, the idea was that Frasier and Niles were going to run a black-box theater, like how they bought that restaurant and brought it back to life. But it’s hard for Frasier and Niles to run the theater when you don’t have Niles, so we had to step back from that.

Harris: It would be weird to make Niles the new Maris.

Cristalli: Which we did talk about.

Why The Frasier Reboot Abandoned Its Original Plan

The original plan for the Frasier reboot would have been a suitable idea if Pierce opted to return. In the original series, Frasier and Niles have a deep appreciation for fine arts and high culture, including frequently attending the theater and the opera. Therefore, having the brothers open a theater would have been an appropriate premise for the reboot. It would have also paralleled a past storyline from Frasier season 2, episode 23, "The Innkeepers," when the brothers attempt to open a restaurant to unmitigated disaster, which is widely regarded as one of the best episodes of the show.

However, since Pierce didn't return as Niles, it was wise for the Frasier reboot to abandon its original idea. It would have been disrespectful for the reboot to relegate Niles, a beloved character, to an offscreen role similar to Maris, who was never a fleshed-out character and was instead used as a comedic and mysterious offscreen presence. Instead, the Frasier reboot attempts to replace Niles with a new sidekick named Alan Cornwall (Nicholas Lyndhurst). How this idea fares remains to be seen as Frasier airs new episodes every Thursday.

Source: Vulture