There was almost another spin-off added to the Frasier universe, focusing on a very surprising character. The original program – which served as a spin-off of Cheers – premiered in September, 1993 , and ran for 11 seasons, with Kelsey Grammer starring in the titular role beside Peri Gilpin , David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves. We were reunited with the stuffy psychiatrist last year for the Paramount+ revival, with season two set to kick off on September 19.
It turns out there were plans to delve into the back story of one of his many girlfriends at one point , before the idea was scrapped entirely. Hacks star Jean Smart, who played Frasier’s high school crush Lana Gardner (aka Lorna Lynley), confessed that she nearly landed her very own series based on the iconic character – who appeared in a total of seven episodes between season seven and season nine. ‘I was told they were thinking about spinning off her and her son, but they decided it wasn’t feasible financially,’ the actress recalled during an appearance on Good Morning America.
‘Because not only would they have to pay all the producers of Frasier, they would also have to pay all the producers and creators of Cheers. ‘That’s what I was told.’ Despite the plans to see more of Lana not coming to fruition, Jean still looks back on her days on Frasier fondly, sharing that she had ‘so much fun’ filming.
She took home two Emmy awards for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for her efforts. Lan.