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Wikipedia

Cheers

May 14, 2023

This article is about the American TV series. For other uses, see Cheers (disambiguation). For the 2020s docuseries on cheerleading, see Cheer (TV series).

Cheers is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association with Paramount Network Television, and was created by the team of James Burrows and Glen and Les Charles. The show is set in the titular bar in Boston, where a group of locals meet to drink, relax and socialize.

Cheers
GenreSitcom
Created by
Starring
Theme music composer
Opening theme"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" by Gary Portnoy
Ending theme"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" (instrumental)
ComposerCraig Safan
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons11
No. of episodes275 (including three double-length episodes and a triple-length finale) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Cinematography
Camera setupFilm; Multi-camera
Running time21–25 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original networkNBC[1]
Picture formatNTSC
Audio format
Original releaseSeptember 30, 1982 (1982-09-30) –
May 20, 1993 (1993-05-20)
Related

At the center of the show is the bar's owner and head bartender, Sam Malone, who is a womanizing former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. The show's ensemble cast introduced in the pilot episode are waitresses Diane Chambers and Carla Tortelli, second bartender Coach Ernie Pantusso, and regular customers Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin. Later main characters of the show include Frasier Crane, Woody Boyd, Lilith Sternin, and Rebecca Howe.

After premiering in 1982, it was nearly canceled during its first season when it ranked almost last in ratings for its premiere (74th out of 77 shows). However, Cheers eventually became a Nielsen ratings juggernaut in the United States, earning a top-ten rating during eight of its 11 seasons, including one season at number one (season 9). The show spent most of its run on NBC's Thursday night "Must See TV" lineup. Its widely watched series finale was broadcast in 1993 to become the most watched single episode of the 1990s, and the show's 275 episodes have been successfully syndicated worldwide. Nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series for all 11 of its seasons on the air, it earned 28 Primetime Emmy Awards from a record of 117 nominations.

During its run, Cheers became one of the most popular series in history and received critical acclaim from its start to its end. In 1997, the episodes "Thanksgiving Orphans" and "Home Is the Sailor", aired originally in 1987, were respectively ranked No. 7 and No. 45 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.[2] Its series finale was watched by an estimated 93 million viewers, almost 40% of the US population at the time.[3] In 2002, Cheers was ranked No. 18 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.[4] In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the eighth-best-written TV series[5] and TV Guide ranked it No. 11 on their list of the 60 greatest shows.[6]

Characters

Before the Cheers pilot "Give Me a Ring Sometime" was completed and aired in 1982, the series consisted of four employees in the first script.[7] Neither Norm Peterson nor Cliff Clavin, regular customers of Cheers, were featured; later revisions added them as among the regular characters of the series.[8]

In later years, Woody Boyd replaced Coach, after the character died off-screen in season three (1984–85), following actor Nicholas Colasanto's death. Frasier Crane started as a recurring character and became a permanent one. In season six (1987–88), new character Rebecca Howe was added, having been written into the show after the finale of the previous season (1986–87). Lilith Sternin started as a one-time character in an episode of season four, "Second Time Around" (1985). After her second season five appearance, she became a recurring character and was later featured as a permanent one during season 10 (1991–92).

Original main characters

 
Cast of seasons one through three, left to right: (top) Shelley Long, Ted Danson; (middle) Rhea Perlman, Nicholas Colasanto; (bottom) George Wendt, John Ratzenberger[a]
  • Ted Danson as Sam Malone:
    A bartender and proprietor of Cheers, Sam is also a lothario. Before the series began, he was a baseball relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox nicknamed "Mayday Malone" until he became an alcoholic, harming his career. He has an on-again, off-again relationship with Diane Chambers, his class opposite, in the first five seasons (1982–1987). During their off-times, Sam has flings with many not-so-bright "sexy women",[9] yet fails to pursue a meaningful relationship.[9] After Diane is written out of the series, he tries to pursue Rebecca Howe, with varying results. At the end of the series, he is still unmarried and faces his sexual addiction with the help of Dr. Robert Sutton's (Gilbert Lewis) group meetings, advised by Frasier.
  • Shelley Long as Diane Chambers:
    An academic, sophisticated graduate student attending Boston University.[7] In the pilot, Diane is abandoned by her fiancé, leaving her without a job, a man, or money. Realizing that one of her few practical skills is memorization, which comes in handy when dealing with drink orders, she reluctantly becomes a barmaid. Later, she becomes a close friend of Coach[10] and has an on-and-off relationship with bartender Sam Malone, her class opposite. During their off-relationship times, Diane dates men who fit her upper-class ideals, such as Frasier Crane. In 1987, she leaves Boston behind for a writing career and to live in Los Angeles, California. Diane returns to Cheers to cure Sam of his drinking. Diane's biggest enemy is Carla, who frequently insults her, but Diane's lack of retaliation serves to annoy Carla even more.
  • Nicholas Colasanto as "Coach" Ernie Pantusso:
    A "borderline senile"[9] co-bartender, widower, and retired baseball coach. Coach is also a friend of Sam and a close friend of Diane. He has a daughter, Lisa (Allyce Beasley). Coach listens to people's problems and solves them. However, other people also help resolve his own problems. In 1985, Coach died without explicit explanation, as Colasanto died of a heart attack.[11]
  • Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli:
    A "wisecracking, cynical"[7] cocktail waitress, who treats customers badly. When the series premieres, she is the mother of five children by her ex-husband Nick Tortelli (Dan Hedaya). Over the course of the series, she bears three more, the depiction of which incorporated Perlman's real-life pregnancies.[12] All of her children are ill behaved, except Ludlow, whose father is a prominent academic. She flirts with men, including ones who are not flattered by her ways, and believes in superstitions. Later she marries Eddie LeBec, an ice hockey player, who later becomes a penguin mascot for ice shows. After he dies in an ice show accident by an ice resurfacer, Carla later discovers that Eddie had committed bigamy with another woman, whom he had gotten pregnant. Carla sleeps with Sam's enemy John Allen Hill to Sam's annoyance and anger.
  • George Wendt as Norm Peterson:
    A bar regular and occasionally-employed accountant. A recurrent joke on the show, especially in the earlier seasons, was that the character was such a popular and constant fixture at the bar that anytime he entered through the front door everyone present would yell out his name ("NORM!") in greeting; usually this cry would be followed by one of the present bartenders asking Norm how he was, usually receiving a sardonic response and a request for a beer. ("It's a dog-eat-dog world, and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear.") He has infrequent accounting jobs and a troubled marriage with (but is still in love with and married to) Vera, an unseen character, though she is occasionally heard. Later in the series, he becomes a house painter and an interior decorator. Even later in the series, Norm secures his dream job, tasting beer at a brewery. The character was not originally intended to be a main cast role;[8] Wendt auditioned for a minor role of George for the pilot episode. The role was only to be Diane Chambers' first customer and had only one word: "Beer!"[13] After he was cast in a more permanent role, the character was renamed Norm.[14]

Subsequent main characters

 
Cast of Cheers since season six.[b] (left to right): (top) Perlman, Woody Harrelson, Kelsey Grammer, Bebe Neuwirth; (bottom) Wendt, Kirstie Alley, Danson, Ratzenberger
  • John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin:
    A know-it-all bar regular and mail carrier. He lives with his mother Esther Clavin (Frances Sternhagen) in first the family house and later an apartment. In the bar, Cliff continuously spouts nonsensical and annoying trivia, making him an object of derision to the bar patrons. Ratzenberger auditioned for the role of a minor character George, but it went to Wendt, evolving the role into Norm Peterson.[15] The producers decided they wanted a resident bar know-it-all,[15] so the security guard Cliff Clavin was added for the pilot, as a recurring character for the first season before becoming a main character starting with the second. The producers changed his occupation into a mail carrier as they thought such a man would have wider knowledge than a guard.[16]
  • Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane:
    A psychiatrist and bar regular, a recurring character for seasons 3 and 4 who joins the main cast by season 5. Frasier started out as Diane Chambers' love interest in the third season (1984–85). In the fourth season (1985–86), after Diane jilts him at the altar in Europe, Frasier starts to frequent Cheers and becomes a regular. He later marries Lilith Sternin and has a son, Frederick. After the series ends, the character becomes the focus of the spin-off Frasier, in which he is divorced from Lilith and living in Seattle.
  • Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd:
    A not-so-bright[9] bartender, first appearing in season 4. He arrives from his Midwest hometown of Hanover, Indiana to Boston, to see Coach, his "pen pal" (as referring to exchanging "pens", not letters). When Sam tells Woody that Coach died, Sam hires Woody in Coach's place. Later, he marries his girlfriend Kelly Gaines (Jackie Swanson), also not-so-bright but raised in a rich family. In the final season, he runs for city council and, surprisingly, wins.
  • Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith Sternin:
    A psychiatrist and bar regular, a recurring character until joining the main cast in season 10. She is often teased by bar patrons about her uptight personality and appearance. In "Second Time Around" (1986), her first and only episode of the fourth season, her date with Frasier does not go well because they constantly argue. In the fifth season, with help from Diane, Lilith and Frasier begin a relationship. Eventually, they marry and have a son, Frederick. In the eleventh and final season, she leaves Frasier to live with another man in an experimental underground environment called the "Eco-pod." She returns later in the season and reconciles with Frasier. However, in the spinoff Frasier, the couple have divorced, with Lilith maintaining custody of Frederick. In season 11 of Cheers, Bebe Neuwirth is given "starring" credit only when she appears.
  • Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe:
    First appearing in season 6, she starts out as a strong independent woman, manager of the bar for the corporation that bought Cheers from Sam after his on-off relationship with Diane ended. Eventually, when Sam regains ownership, she begs him to let her remain, first as cocktail waitress and later as manager. She repeatedly has romantic failures with mainly rich men and becomes more and more "neurotic, insecure, and sexually frustrated".[17] At the start, Sam frequently attempts to seduce Rebecca without success.[18] As her personality changes,[17] he loses interest in her. In the series finale, after failed relationships with rich men, Rebecca marries a plumber and quits working for the bar. In the Frasier episode "The Show Where Sam Shows Up", she is revealed to be divorced and back at the bar. When Frasier asks whether this means that she is working there again, Sam says "no, she's just back at the bar."

Character table

Recurring characters

For a more comprehensive list, see List of Cheers characters.

Although Cheers operated largely around that main ensemble cast and their interactions with various one-off characters, guest stars and recurring characters did occasionally supplement them. Notable repeat guests included Dan Hedaya as Nick Tortelli and Jean Kasem as Loretta Tortelli, who were the main characters in the first spin-off The Tortellis, Fred Dryer as Dave Richards, Annie Golden as Margaret O'Keefe, Derek McGrath as Andy Schroeder (also referred to as Andy Andy), interchangeably Joel Polis and Robert Desiderio as rival bar owner Gary, Jay Thomas as Eddie LeBec, Roger Rees as Robin Colcord, Tom Skerritt as Evan Drake, Frances Sternhagen as Esther Clavin, Richard Doyle as Walter Gaines, Keene Curtis as John Allen Hill, Anthony Cistaro as Henri, Michael McGuire as Professor Sumner Sloan, and Harry Anderson as Harry 'The Hat' Gittes. Jackie Swanson, who played the recurring role of Woody's girlfriend and eventual wife "Kelly Gaines-Boyd", appeared in 24 episodes from 1989 to 1993. The character is as equally dim and naive—but ultimately as sweet-natured—as Woody.

Paul Willson played the recurring barfly character of "Paul Krapence". (In one early appearance in the first season he was called "Glen", and was later credited on-screen as "Gregg" and "Tom", but he was playing the same character throughout.) Thomas Babson played "Tom", a law student often mocked by Cliff Clavin, for continually failing to pass the Massachusetts bar exam. "Al", played by Al Rosen, appeared in 38 episodes, and was known for his surly quips. Rhea Perlman's father Philip Perlman played the role of "Phil".[19]

Celebrity appearances

Other celebrities guest-starred in single episodes as themselves throughout the series. Sports figures appeared on the show as themselves, with a connection to Boston or Sam's former team, the Red Sox, such as Luis Tiant, Wade Boggs and Kevin McHale (of the Boston Celtics).[20] Some television stars also made guest appearances as themselves such as Alex Trebek, Arsenio Hall, Dick Cavett, Robert Urich, George McFarland and Johnny Carson. Various political figures even made appearances on Cheers such as then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral William J. Crowe, former Colorado Senator Gary Hart, then-Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, then-Senator John Kerry, then-Governor Michael Dukakis, Ethel Kennedy (widow of Robert F. Kennedy), and then-Mayor of Boston Raymond Flynn, the last five of whom all represented Cheers' home state and city.

In maternal roles, Glynis Johns, in a guest appearance in 1983, played Diane's mother, Helen Chambers. Nancy Marchand played Frasier's mother, Hester Crane, in an episode that aired in 1985. In an episode that aired in 1992, Celeste Holm – who had previously played Ted Danson's mother in "Three Men and a Baby" – appeared as Kelly's jokester of a paternal grandmother. Melendy Britt appeared in the episode "Woody or Won't He" (1990) as Kelly's mother, Roxanne Gaines, a very attractive high-society lady and a sexy, flirtatious upper-class cougar who tries to seduce Woody.

The musician Harry Connick Jr. appeared in an episode as Woody's cousin and plays a song from his Grammy-winning album We Are in Love (c. 1991). John Cleese won a Primetime Emmy Award for his guest appearance as "Dr. Simon Finch-Royce" in the fifth-season episode, "Simon Says". Emma Thompson guest-starred as Nanny G/Nannette Guzman, a famous singing nanny and Frasier's ex-wife. Christopher Lloyd guest-starred as a tortured artist who wanted to paint Diane. Marcia Cross portrayed Rebecca's sister Susan in the season 7 episode Sisterly Love. John Mahoney once appeared as an inept jingle writer, which included a brief conversation with Frasier Crane, whose father he later portrayed on the spin-off Frasier. Peri Gilpin, who later played Roz Doyle on Frasier, also appeared in one episode of Cheers, in its 11th season, as Holly Matheson, a reporter who interviews Woody. The Righteous Brothers, Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley, also guest-starred in different episodes. In "The Guy Can't Help It", Rebecca meets a plumber, played by Tom Berenger, who came to fix one of the beer keg taps. They marry in the series finale, triggering her resignation from Cheers. Judith Barsi appears in the episode Relief Bartender.

Notable guest appearances of actresses portraying Sam's sexual conquests or potential sexual conquests include: Kate Mulgrew in the three-episode finale of season four, portraying Boston councilwoman Janet Eldridge; Donna McKechnie as Debra, Sam's ex-wife (with whom he is on good terms), who pretends to be an intellectual in front of Diane; Barbara Babcock as Lana Marshall, a talent agent who specializes in representing male athletes, her clients with whom she routinely sleeps on demand; Julia Duffy as Rebecca Prout, a depressed intellectual friend of Diane's; Alison LaPlaca as magazine reporter Paula Nelson; Carol Kane as Amanda, who Sam eventually learns was a fellow patient at the sanitarium with Diane; Barbara Feldon as Lauren Hudson, Sam's annual Valentine's Day fling (in an homage to Same Time, Next Year); Sandahl Bergman as Judy Marlowe, a longtime casual sex partner and whose now grown daughter, Laurie Marlowe (Chelsea Noble), who has always considered Sam a pseudo-father figure, Sam falls for; Madolyn Smith-Osborne as Dr. Sheila Rydell, a colleague of Frasier and Lilith; Valerie Mahaffey as Valerie Hill, John Allen Hill's daughter who Sam pursues if only to gain an upper hand in his business relationship with Hill; and Alexis Smith as Alice Anne Volkman, Rebecca's much older ex-professor. In season 9, episode 17, I'm Getting My Act Together and Sticking It in Your Face, Sam, believing Rebecca wants a more serious relationship, pretends to be gay, his lover being a casual friend named Leon (Jeff McCarthy)—the plan ultimately leads to a kiss between Sam and Leon.

Death of Nicholas Colasanto

Near the end of production of the third season, the writers of Cheers had to deal with the death of one of the main actors. Nicholas Colasanto's heart condition had been diagnosed in the mid-1970s, but it had worsened. He had lost weight and was having trouble breathing during filming, and he was hospitalized shortly before filming finished for season three due to fluid in his lungs. He recovered but was not cleared to return to work. He was visiting the set in January 1985 to watch the filming of several episodes, and co-star Shelley Long commented, "I think we were all in denial. We were all glad he was there, but he lost a lot of weight." Co-star Rhea Perlman added that he "wanted to be there so badly. He didn't want to be sick. He couldn't breathe well. It was hard. He was laboring all the time." Colasanto ultimately died of a heart attack at his home on February 12, 1985.[21]

The third-season episodes of Cheers were filmed out of order, partly to accommodate Shelley Long's pregnancy. As a result, they had already completed filming the season finale at the time of his death, which had scenes with Colasanto in it.

The Cheers writing staff assembled in June 1985 to discuss how to deal with the absence of Coach. They quickly discarded the idea that he had moved away, as they felt that he would never abandon his friends. In addition, most viewers were aware of Colasanto's death, so the writing staff decided to handle the situation more openly. The season four opener, "Birth, Death, Love and Rice", dealt with Coach's death and introduced Woody Harrelson, Colasanto's replacement.[21][22]

Episodes

Main article: List of Cheers episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRank[23]Rating[23]Households (seasons 1-6)/
Viewers (seasons 7-11)
(millions)
First airedLast aired
122September 30, 1982 (1982-09-30)March 31, 1983 (1983-03-31)7413.110.9
222September 29, 1983 (1983-09-29)May 10, 1984 (1984-05-10)3416.6[c]13.8
325September 27, 1984 (1984-09-27)May 9, 1985 (1985-05-09)1319.716.7
426September 26, 1985 (1985-09-26)May 15, 1986 (1986-05-15)523.720.4
526September 25, 1986 (1986-09-25)May 7, 1987 (1987-05-07)327.223.8
625September 24, 1987 (1987-09-24)May 5, 1988 (1988-05-05)323.420.7
722October 27, 1988 (1988-10-27)May 4, 1989 (1989-05-04)422.333.9
826September 21, 1989 (1989-09-21)May 3, 1990 (1990-05-03)322.734.7
927September 20, 1990 (1990-09-20)May 2, 1991 (1991-05-02)121.332.7
1026September 19, 1991 (1991-09-19)May 14, 1992 (1992-05-14)417.627.3
1128September 24, 1992 (1992-09-24)May 20, 1993 (1993-05-20)816.1[d]28.2

Themes

Nearly all of Cheers took place in the front room of the bar, but the characters often went into the rear pool room or the bar's office.[24] Cheers did not show any action outside the bar until the first episode of the second season, which took place in Diane's apartment.

The show's main theme in its early seasons was the romance between intellectual waitress Diane Chambers and the bar's owner Sam Malone, a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and recovering alcoholic.[25] After Shelley Long (Diane) left the show, the focus shifted to Sam's new relationship with Rebecca Howe, a neurotic corporate-ladder climber.

Many Cheers scripts centered or touched upon a variety of social issues, albeit humorously. As Toasting Cheers puts it, "The script was further strengthened by the writers' boldness in successfully tackling controversial issues such as alcoholism, homosexuality, and adultery."[26]

Social class was a subtext of the show. The "upper class" —represented by characters like Diane Chambers, Frasier Crane and Lilith Sternin— rubbed shoulders with middle- and working-class characters —Sam Malone, Carla Tortelli, Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin. An extreme example of this was the relationship between Woody Boyd and a millionaire's daughter, Kelly Gaines. Many viewers enjoyed Cheers in part because of this focus on character development in addition to plot development.[27]

Feminism and the role of women were also recurring themes throughout the show, with some critics seeing each of the major female characters portraying an aspect as a flawed feminist in her own way.[28] Diane was a vocal feminist, and Sam was the epitome of everything she hated: promiscuity and chauvinism. (See "Sam and Diane".)

Homosexuality was dealt with from the first season, which was rare in the early 1980s on American television.[29] In the first-season episode "The Boys in the Bar" (the title being a reference to the play and subsequent movie The Boys in the Band), a friend and former teammate of Sam's comes out in his autobiography. Some of the male regulars pressure Sam to take action to ensure that Cheers does not become a gay bar. The episode won a GLAAD Media Award, and the script's writers, Ken Levine and David Isaacs, were nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Addiction also plays a role in Cheers, almost exclusively through Sam. He is a recovering alcoholic who had bought a bar during his drinking days. Frasier has a notable bout of drinking in the fourth-season episode "The Triangle", while Woody develops a gambling problem in the seventh season's "Call Me Irresponsible". Carla and other characters drink beer while pregnant, but nobody seems to mind.

Cheers owners

 
The Cheers sign in 2005

Cheers had several owners before Sam, as the bar was opened in 1889. The "Est. 1895" on the bar's sign is a made-up date chosen by Carla for numerology purposes, revealed in season 8, episode 6, "The Stork Brings a Crane", which also revealed the bar's address as 1121⁄2 Beacon Street and that it originated under the name Mom's. In the series' second episode, "Sam's Women", Coach tells a customer looking for Gus, the owner of Cheers, that Gus was dead. In a later episode, Gus O'Mally comes back from Arizona for one night and helps run the bar.

The biggest storyline surrounding the ownership of Cheers begins in the fifth-season finale, "I Do, Adieu", when Sam and Diane part ways, due to Shelley Long's departure from the series. In addition, Sam leaves on a trip to circumnavigate the globe. Before he leaves, Sam sells Cheers to the Lillian Corporation. He returns in the sixth-season premiere, "Home is the Sailor", having sunk his boat, to find the bar under the new management of Rebecca Howe. He begs for his job back and is hired by Rebecca as a bartender. In the seventh-season premiere, "How to Recede in Business", Rebecca is fired and Sam is promoted to manager. Rebecca is allowed to keep a job at Lillian vaguely similar to what she had before, but only after Sam had Rebecca (in absentia) "agree" to a long list of demands that the corporation had for her.

From there, Sam occasionally attempted to buy the bar back with schemes that usually involved the wealthy executive Robin Colcord. Sam acquired Cheers again in the eighth-season finale, when it was sold back to him for 85¢ by the Lillian Corporation, after he alerted the company to Colcord's insider trading. Fired by the corporation because of her silence on the issue, Rebecca is hired by Sam as a hostess/office manager. For the rest of the episode, to celebrate Sam's reclaiming the bar, a huge banner hung from the staircase, reading "Under OLD Management"! When it was learned that the Pool Room and bathrooms were actually owned by Melville's (which spawned a war of wits between Sam and Melville's owner John Allen Hill), Rebecca later purchased them from Hill, making Sam and Rebecca partners in the ownership of Cheers (and more or less co-ran the establishment).

Sam had two main battles, one with Gary's Olde Towne Tavern, trying to beat them at some activity or another but always failing, except for one episode when Diane helped Cheers win the bowling trophy, and extending to the practical jokes they played on each other. The second was with Melville's owner John Allen Hill who kept annoying Sam with his pettiness and ego. Hill had an ongoing relationship with Carla.

Production

 
The Cheers Beacon Hill, formerly the Bull & Finch Pub, in Boston in 2005

Creation and concept

Some believe that the show is a rehashing of Boston's ABC affiliate WCVB's locally produced 1979 sitcom Park Street Under featuring Steve Sweeney and American Repertory Theater founder Karen MacDonald.[30] Three men developed and created the Cheers television series: Glen and Les Charles ("Glen and Les") and James Burrows,[31] who identified themselves as "two Mormons and a Jew."[32] They aimed at "creating a show around a Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn-type relationship" between their two main characters, Sam and Diane.[31] Malone represents the average man, while Chambers represents class and sophistication.[31] The show revolves around characters in a bar under "humorous adult themes" and "situations."[31]

The original idea was a group of workers who interacted like a family, the goal being a concept similar to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The creators considered making an American version of the British Fawlty Towers, set in a hotel or an inn. When the creators settled on a bar as their setting, the show began to resemble the radio program Duffy's Tavern, originally written and co-created by James Burrows' father Abe Burrows. They liked the idea of a tavern, as it provided a continuous stream of new people, for a variety of characters.[33] An early concept revolved around a woman becoming the new owner of the bar and the animosity created between her and the regulars, an idea which was used later in Season 6 when the character of Rebecca Howe was introduced.[34]

Early discussions about the location of the show centered on Barstow, California, then Kansas City, Missouri. They eventually turned to the East Coast and finally Boston. The Bull & Finch Pub in Boston, which was the model for Cheers, was chosen from a phone book.[35] When Glen Charles asked the bar's owner, Tom Kershaw, to shoot exterior and interior photos, he agreed, charging $1. Kershaw has since gone on to make millions of dollars, licensing the pub's image and selling a variety of Cheers memorabilia. The Bull & Finch became the 42nd-busiest outlet in the American food and beverage industry in 1997.[33] During initial casting, Shelley Long, who was in Boston at the time filming A Small Circle of Friends, remarked that the bar in the script resembled a bar she had come upon in the city, which turned out to be the Bull & Finch.[36]

Production team

The crew of Cheers numbered in the hundreds. The three creators—James Burrows and Glen and Les Charles—kept offices on Paramount's lot for the duration of the Cheers run. The Charles Brothers remained in overall charge throughout the show's run, frequently writing major episodes, though starting with the third season they began delegating the day-to-day running of the writing staff to various showrunners. Ken Estin and Sam Simon were appointed as showrunners for the third season, and succeeded by David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee the following year. Angell, Casey and Lee would remain as showrunners until the end of the seventh season when they left to develop their own sitcom, Wings, and were replaced by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner and Phoef Sutton for the eighth through tenth seasons. For the final season, Tom Anderson and Dan O'Shannon acted as the showrunners.

James Burrows is regarded as being a factor in the show's longevity, directing 243 of the 270 episodes and supervising the show's production.[37] Among the show's other directors were Andy Ackerman, Thomas Lofaro, Tim Berry, Tom Moore, Rick Beren, as well as cast members John Ratzenberger and George Wendt.[27]

Craig Safan provided the series' original music for its entire run except the theme song. His extensive compositions for the show led to his winning numerous ASCAP Top TV Series awards for his music.

Casting

The character of Sam Malone was originally intended to be a retired football player and was slated to be played by Fred Dryer, but Danson was chosen in part because he was younger and had more acting experience than Dryer.[38] After casting Ted Danson, it was decided that a former baseball player (Sam "Mayday" Malone) would be more believable than a retired football player.[39][40] Dryer, however, would go on to play sportscaster Dave Richards, an old friend of Sam, in three episodes. Bill Cosby was also considered early in the casting process for the role of Sam, after being recommended by the network.[41]

Shelley Long was recommended by various sources to the producers for the role of Diane Chambers, but Long wished to be offered the part straight out and had to be coaxed into giving an audition. When she did read for the part, according to Glen Charles, "that was it, we knew that we wanted her."[41] Before the final decision was made, three pairs of actors were tested in front of the producers and network executives for Sam and Diane: Danson and Long, Fred Dryer and Julia Duffy, William Devane and Lisa Eichhorn.[38] The chemistry was so apparent between Long and Danson that it secured them the roles.[38][41] Ted Danson was sent to bartending school to prepare him for the part and, according to Burrows, had to learn "how to pretend that he knew a lot about sports" since Danson was not a sports fan in real life and had never been to a baseball game.[38]

The character of Cliff Clavin was created for John Ratzenberger after he auditioned for the role of Norm Peterson, which eventually went to George Wendt. While chatting with producers afterward, he asked if they were going to include a "bar know-it-all", the part which he eventually played.[42] Alley joined the cast when Shelley Long left, and Woody Harrelson joined when Nicholas Colasanto died. Danson, Perlman and Wendt were the only actors to appear in every episode of the series; Ratzenberger appears in all but one (and his name wasn't part of the opening credit montage during the first season).

Filming styles and locations

 
Interior of the bar

"On Cheers, we never did everything twice. On Cheers, we went through the scene and I only reshot jokes that didn't work or I went back and picked up shots I missed."

James Burrows[43]

Most Cheers episodes were, as a voiceover stated at the start of each, "filmed before a live studio audience" on Paramount Stage 25 in Hollywood, generally on Tuesday nights. Scripts for a new episode were issued the Wednesday before for a read-through, Friday was rehearsal day, and final scripts were issued on Monday. Burrows, who directed most episodes, insisted on using film stock rather than videotape. He was also noted for using motion in his directorial style, trying to constantly keep characters moving rather than standing still.[44] Burrows and the Charles brothers emphasized to the cast to "never assume that you're not being watched" because the camera would be focused on the actors at all times, so they had to always be reacting and "always be funny".[34] During the first season when ratings were poor Paramount and NBC asked that the show use videotape to save money, but a poor test taping ended the experiment and Cheers continued to use film.[45]

Due to a decision by Glen and Les Charles, the cold open was often not connected to the rest of the episode, with the lowest-ranked writers assigned to create the jokes for them. Some cold opens were taken from episodes that ran too long.[46]

The first year of the show took place entirely within the confines of the bar, the first location outside the bar being Diane's apartment in the second year. When the series became a hit, the characters started venturing further afield, first to other sets and eventually to an occasional exterior location. The exterior location shots of the bar were of the Bull & Finch Pub, located directly north of the Boston Public Garden. The pub has become a tourist attraction because of its association with the series, and draws nearly one million visitors annually.[33][47] It has since been renamed Cheers Beacon Hill; its interior is different from the TV bar. The pub itself is at 84 Beacon Street (on the corner of Brimmer Street). In August 2001, there was a replica made of the bar in Faneuil Hall to capitalize on the popularity of the show.

After the show ended, the 1,000 square foot bar set from Cheers was offered to the Smithsonian, which turned it down because it was too large.[48] It was displayed for a short time at the defunct Hollywood Entertainment Museum, but later returned to storage, where it remained for many years. In 2014, CBS donated the set to the Museum of Television after a years-long campaign by James Burrows and his office on behalf of the museum's founder, James Comisar. At the time of the donation, Comisar initiated a planned $100,000 restoration of the set using former conservators from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, although a site for the 10,000 item collection of the museum had not been decided upon.[49][48]

Theme song

Main article: Where Everybody Knows Your Name
 
The original version of one of the images used in the opening title sequence.

Before "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", written by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo, became the show's theme song, Cheers' producers rejected two of Portnoy's and Hart Angelo's songs. The songwriters had collaborated to provide music for Preppies, an unsuccessful Broadway musical. When told they could not appropriate "People Like Us", Preppies' opening song, the pair wrote another song "My Kind of People", which resembled "People Like Us" and intended to satirize "the lifestyle of old decadent old-money WASPs," but, to meet producers' demands, they rewrote the lyrics to be about "likeable losers" in a Boston bar. The show's producers rejected this song, as well. After they read the script of the series pilot, they created another song "Another Day". When Portnoy and Hart Angelo heard that NBC had commissioned thirteen episodes, they created an official theme song "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" and rewrote the lyrics.[50] On syndicated airings of Cheers, the theme song was shortened to make room for additional commercials.

Reception

Critical reception

Cheers was critically acclaimed in its first season, though it landed a disappointing 74th out of 77 shows in that year's ratings.[51] This critical support, the early success at the Primetime Emmy Awards, and the support of the president of NBC's entertainment division Brandon Tartikoff, are thought to be the main reasons for the show's survival and eventual success.[52] Tartikoff stated in 1983 that Cheers was a sophisticated adult comedy and that NBC executives "never for a second doubted" that the show would be renewed.[31] Writer Levine believes that the most important reason was that the network recognized that it did not have other hit shows to help promote Cheers; as he later wrote, "[NBC] had nothing else better to replace it with."[53]

In 2013, GQ magazine held an online competition to find the best TV comedy. Cheers was voted the greatest comedy show of all time.[54] In 2017, James Charisma of Paste magazine ranked the show's opening sequence No. 5 on a list of The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time.[55] In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked Cheers as the eighth-greatest TV show of all time.[56]

Ratings

Ratings improved for the summer reruns after the first season.[57] The cast went on various talk shows to try to further promote the series after its first season. By the second season Cheers was competitive with CBS's top-rated show Simon & Simon.[31] With the growing popularity of Family Ties, which ran in the slot ahead of Cheers from January 1984 until Family Ties was moved to Sundays in 1987, and the placement of The Cosby Show in front of both at the start of their third season (1984), the line-up became a runaway ratings success that NBC eventually dubbed "Must See Thursday". The next season, Cheers ratings increased dramatically after Woody Boyd became a regular character as well. The fifth season earned the series the highest rating for the year that it would ever achieve. Although ratings mostly declined each year after that, the show retained a competitive advantage and rose to rank number one for the year for its first and only time in the ninth season. Although ratings and ranking both lost ground in the last two seasons, it still performed well, as it was the only show on NBC during those seasons to be in the top 10. By the end of its final season, the show had a run of eight consecutive seasons in the top ten of the Nielsen ratings; seven of them were in the top five.[58]

NBC dedicated a whole night to the final episode of Cheers, following the one-hour season finale of Seinfeld (which was its lead-in). The show began with a "pregame" show hosted by Bob Costas, followed by the final 98-minute episode itself. NBC affiliates then aired tributes to Cheers during their local newscasts, and the night concluded with a special Tonight Show broadcast live from the Bull & Finch Pub. Although the episode fell short of its hyped ratings predictions to become the most-watched television episode, it was the most watched show that year, bringing in 93 million viewers[3] (64 percent of all viewers that night), almost 40% of the US population at the time, and ranked 11th all time in entertainment programming. The 1993 final broadcast of Cheers also emerged as the highest rated broadcast of NBC to date, as well as the most watched single episode from any television series throughout the decade 1990s on U.S. television.[59][60][61][e]

The episode originally aired in the usual Cheers spot of Thursday night, and was then rebroadcast on Sunday. While the original broadcast did not outperform the M*A*S*H finale, the combined non-repeating audiences for the Thursday and Sunday showings did. Television had greatly changed between the two finales, leaving Cheers with a broader array of competition for ratings.[62]

NBC timeslots:

  • Season 1 Episodes 1–12: Thursday at 9:00 pm
  • Season 1 Episode 13 – Season 2 Episode 10: Thursday at 9:30 pm
  • Season 2 Episode 11 – Season 11 Episode 28: Thursday at 9:00 pm

Serialized storylines

Although not the first sitcom to do it, Cheers employed the use of end-of-season cliffhangers and, starting with the third season, the show's storylines became more serialized. The show's success helped make such multi-episode story arcs popular on sitcoms, which Les Charles regrets.

[W]e may have been partly responsible for what's going on now, where if you miss the first episode or two, you are lost. You have to wait until you can get the whole thing on DVD and catch up with it. If that blood is on our hands, I feel kind of badly about it. It can be very frustrating."[57]

Cheers began with a limited five-character ensemble consisting of Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, Nicholas Colasanto and George Wendt. Cheers was able to gradually phase in characters such as Cliff, Frasier, Lilith, Rebecca, and Woody. By the time season 10 began, the show had eight front characters in its roster.

Awards and honors

For a more comprehensive list, see List of awards and nominations received by Cheers.

Over its eleven-season run, the Cheers cast and crew earned many awards. The show garnered a record 111 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, with a total of 28 wins. In addition, Cheers earned 31 Golden Globe nominations, with a total of six wins. Danson, Long, Alley, Perlman, Wendt, Ratzenberger, Harrelson, Grammer, Neuwirth, and Colasanto all received Emmy nominations for their roles. Cheers won the Golden Globe Award for "Best TV-Series – Comedy/Musical" in 1991 and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1983, 1984, 1989, and 1991. The series was presented with the "Legend Award" at the 2006 TV Land Awards, with many of the surviving cast members attending the event.[63]

The following are awards that have been earned by the Cheers cast and crew over its 11-season run:

Winner Award
Emmy Year Golden Globe Year
Kirstie Alley Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 1991 Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical 1991
Ted Danson Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series 1990
1993 		Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical 1990
1991
Woody Harrelson Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series 1989 —
Shelley Long Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 1983 Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical 1985
— Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for TV 1983
Bebe Neuwirth Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 1990
1991 		—
Rhea Perlman Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 1984
1985
1986
1989
John Cleese Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series 1987
Production Awards Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series 1983
1991
Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series 1983 1984
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Graphic Design and Title Sequences 1983
Outstanding Film Editing for a Series 1984
Outstanding Editing for a Series – Multi-Camera Production 1988
1993
Outstanding Live and Tape Sound Mixing and Sound Effects for a Series 1985
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or Special 1986
1987
1990

Distribution

Syndication

Cheers grew in popularity as it aired on American television and entered off-network syndication in 1987, initially distributed by Paramount Domestic Television. When the show went off the air in 1993, Cheers was syndicated in 38 countries, with 179 American television markets and 83 million viewers.[64] When the quality of some earlier footage of Cheers began to deteriorate, it underwent a careful restoration in 2001.[65] The series aired on Nick at Nite from 2001 to 2004 and on TV Land from 2004 to 2008,[47] with Nick at Nite airing week-long Cheers "Everybody Knows Your Name" marathons. The show was removed from the lineup in 2004. The series began airing on Hallmark Channel in the United States in October 2008, and WGN America in 2009. In January 2011, Reelz Channel began airing the series in hour-long blocks. MeTV began airing Cheers weeknights in 2010. USA Network has aired the series on Sunday early mornings and weekday mornings to allow it to show extended-length films of 2+1⁄2 hours and maintain symmetric schedules.

In 2011, Cheers was made available on the Netflix and Amazon Prime Video streaming services.[66]

Cheers began airing on Eleven (a digital channel of Network Ten) in Australia on January 11, 2011. NCRV in the Netherlands aired all 275 episodes in sequence, once per night, repeating the series a total of three times.

In Italy, Cheers aired on Italia 1 & Canale 5 as Cin Cin from 1985 until 1988.

Cheers was first screened in the UK on Channel 4, and was one of the then-fledgling network's first imports. As of 2012, Cheers has been repeated on UK satellite channel CBS Drama. It has also been shown on the UK free-to-air channel ITV4, with two episodes every weeknight. On March 16, 2015, the series began airing on UK subscription channel Gold on weekdays at 9:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Cheers aired again daily in 2019 on Channel 4.[citation needed]

High definition

A high-definition transfer of Cheers began running on HDNet in the United States in August 2010. The program was originally shot on film (but transferred to and edited on videotape) and broadcast in a 4:3 aspect ratio, but the newly transferred versions are in 16:9.[original research?] However, in the United Kingdom, the HD repeats on ITV4 HD, and later Channel 4 HD, are shown in the original 4:3 aspect ratio.

Home media

Paramount Home Entertainment and (from 2006 onward) CBS Home Entertainment have released all 11 seasons of Cheers on DVD in Region 1, Region 2 and Region 4. In the US, some episodes from the final three seasons appear on the DVDs with music substitutions. For example, in the episode "Grease", "I Fought the Law" was replaced even though its removal affects the comedic value of the scenes in which it was originally heard. The finale episode (73 minutes long without commercials) is presented in its three-part syndicated cut.[citation needed]

On March 6, 2012, CBS released Fan Favorites: The Best of Cheers. Based on the 2012 Facebook poll, the selected episodes are:[67]

  1. "Give Me a Ring Sometime" (season 1, episode 1)
  2. "Diane's Perfect Date" (season 1, episode 17)
  3. "Pick a Con, Any Con" (season 1, episode 19)
  4. "Abnormal Psychology" (season 5, episode 4)
  5. "Thanksgiving Orphans" (season 5, episode 9)
  6. "Dinner at Eight-ish" (season 5, episode 20)
  7. "Simon Says" (season 5, episode 21)
  8. "An Old Fashioned Wedding", parts one and two (season 10, episodes 25)

On May 5, 2015, CBS DVD released Cheers – The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[68]

Digital media distribution

The complete 11 seasons of Cheers are available through the iTunes Store, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock and Hulu. In Canada, all seasons are available on streaming service Crave.[69]

The entire series is available in the UK on All 4.

Licensing

The series lent itself naturally to the development of Cheers bar-related merchandise, culminating in the development of a chain of Cheers themed pubs. Paramount's licensing group, led by Tom McGrath, developed the Cheers pub concept initially in partnership with Host Marriott, which placed Cheers themed pubs in over 15 airports around the world.[70] Boston boasts the original Cheers bar, historically known to Boston insiders as the Bull and Finch, as well as a Cheers restaurant in the Faneuil Hall marketplace, and Sam's Place, a spin-off sports bar concept also located at Faneuil Hall. In 1997 Europe's first officially licensed Cheers bar opened in London's Regent's Street W1. Like Cheers Faneuil Hall, Cheers London is a replica of the set. The gala opening was attended by James Burrows and cast members George Wendt and John Ratzenberger.[71] The Cheers bar in London closed on December 31, 2008. The actual bar set had been on display at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum until the museum's closing in early 2006.[72]

The theme song to the show was eventually licensed to a Canadian restaurant, Kelsey's Neighbourhood Bar & Grill.[73]

CBS currently holds the rights to the Cheers franchise as a result of the 2005 Viacom split which saw Paramount transfer its entire television studio to CBS (both CBS and Viacom would reunite in 2019).

Spin-offs, crossovers and cultural references

 
Woody, Cliff, and Norm on The Simpsons

Some of the actors and actresses from Cheers brought their characters into other television shows, either in a guest appearance or in a new spin-off series. The most successful Cheers spin-off was Frasier, which featured Frasier Crane following his relocation back to Seattle, Washington. Sam, Diane, and Woody all individually appeared in Frasier episodes, with Lilith appearing as a guest on multiple episodes. In the season nine episode "Cheerful Goodbyes", Frasier returns to Boston and meets up with the Cheers gang, later attending Cliff's retirement party.[74]

Although Frasier was more successful, The Tortellis was the first series to spin off from Cheers, premiering in 1987. The show featured Carla's ex-husband Nick Tortelli and his wife Loretta, but was canceled after 13 episodes and drew protests for its stereotypical depictions of Italian Americans.[75]

In addition to direct spin-offs, several Cheers characters had guest appearance crossovers with other shows, including Wings and St. Elsewhere (episode "Cheers"). Cheers has also been spoofed or referenced in other media, including The Simpsons (spoofing the title sequence and theme song in "Flaming Moe's"; actually visiting the place with vocal role reprises of the majority of the principal cast in "Fear of Flying"), Scrubs (episode "My Life in Four Cameras"), Adventure Time (episode "Simon & Marcy"), the 2012 comedy film Ted, and the 2011 video game Dragon Age II.[citation needed]

In Australia, Cheers is remembered for its role in the infamous cancellation of the 1992 Nine Network special Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos. Due to the then-owner of Nine Network Kerry Packer's objections to its content, Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos was pulled off the air during its first and only broadcast; viewers saw the network abruptly begin airing a rerun of Cheers midway through the special, either after a scheduled commercial break or a Nine Network bumper claiming a technical problem. Nine Network's affiliate in Perth didn't air the special at all and filled its timeslot with two episodes of Cheers. When the program was re-aired in its entirety in 2008, it abruptly cut away to the opening of Cheers midway through in a reenactment of the incident before resuming the second half that didn't get aired.

In the Cheers episode "Woody For Hire, Norman Meets the Apes" Woody shows and tells everyone how he was an extra on Boston based drama Spenser: For Hire. In the season 4 episode of Seinfeld titled "The Pitch", Jerry and George are presenting their idea for a sitcom to NBC executives. George is unhappy with their offer and feels that he deserves the same salary as Ted Danson which he claims was $800,000 per episode, being that Cheers is also an NBC show. Danson's reported salary was actually $250,000 per episode. At this point Cheers was in its 10th season and Ted Danson had won an Emmy and a Golden Globe the year before.[76]

In the seventh episode of the second season of How I Met Your Mother, a coffee shop barista mistakenly hears Barney's name as "Swarley" and writes it on his cup. This leads to a running gag in which everyone mercilessly refers to Barney as "Swarley" despite his protests, which culminates in everyone in McClaren's bar shouting "Swarley" when he enters and playing the Cheers theme song. The credits are then shown in the "Cheers" style.[77] In the season seven episode, In Tailgate, Ted and Barney are outraged with the price to get into MacLaren's on New Year's Eve, so they offer for everyone to come upstairs. In the apartment, there is a puzzles sign that is designed to parody Cheers. Ted and Barney employ Kevin as their bartender, and they invent a theme song which also parodies the Cheers theme song.[78]

In the 2015 video game Fallout 4, set in Boston, there is a bar named 'Prost Bar' near Boston Common which, when entered, is an almost exact replica of the bar used in the series. It includes two dead bodies sat at the end of the bar, with one of them wearing a mail carrier's uniform, a direct reference to regular barfly Cliff Clavin.[79]

The eighth anniversary special of Late Night with David Letterman, airing in 1990, began with a scene at Cheers, in which the bar's TV gets stuck on NBC, and all of the bar patrons decide to go home instead of staying to watch David Letterman. The scene was re-used to open Letterman's final episode in 1993.[citation needed] A similar scene aired in the Super Bowl XVII Pregame Show on NBC, in which the characters briefly discuss the upcoming game.[citation needed]

In the season 2 finale of the NBC sitcom The Good Place, Ted Danson's character Michael appears as a bartender while wearing a blue plaid button-down, in a clear homage to Danson's character in Cheers.[80]

In 2019 members of the Cheers cast, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt, John Ratzenberger and Kirstie Alley reprised their characters in an episode of The Goldbergs where they play customers of Geoff's short-lived food delivery business.[81]

Remake

In September 2011, Plural Entertainment debuted a remake of the series on Spanish television, also titled Cheers. Set at an Irish pub, it starred Alberto San Juan as Nicolás "Nico" Arnedo, the equivalent of Sam Malone in the original series. It also used the original theme song, rerecorded in Spanish by Dani Martín, under the title "Donde la gente se divierte."

In December 2012, The Irish Film and Television Network announced that casting was underway on an Irish-language version of Cheers produced by production company Sideline. The new show, tentatively titled Teach Seán, would air on Ireland's TG4 and features a main character who, like Sam Malone, is a bar owner, a retired athlete and a recovering alcoholic. However, because of being set in Ireland, the barman is a "former hurling star" rather than an ex-baseball player.[82] As of August 2019, the Irish remake has not occurred.

Cheers: Live on Stage

On September 9, 2016, a stage adaptation called Cheers: Live on Stage opened at the Shubert Theatre in Boston. Comprising pieces of the original TV series, the play was adapted by Erik Forrest Jackson. It was produced by Troika/Stageworks. The director was Matt Lenz. It starred Grayson Powell as Sam Malone, Jillian Louis as Diane Chambers, Barry Pearl as Ernie 'Coach' Pantusso, Sarah Sirotta as Carla Tortelli, Paul Vogt as Norm Peterson, and Buzz Roddy as Cliff Clavin. The production was scheduled to tour through 2017, but was cancelled in 2016.[83][84][85]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Ratzenberger joined the main cast in season two after frequently appearing in his recurring role in season one.
  2. ^ Only Kirstie Alley was introduced in season six, while the rest of the cast appeared in prior seasons.
  3. ^ Tied with Goodnight, Beantown.
  4. ^ Tied with The CBS Sunday Movie.
  5. ^ The article, "Cheers Finale Most-Watched Show of Season," from May 22, 1993, edition of Rocky Mountain News said that the share of viewing audience was 62. The 2009 article, "The gang gathers for one last round," by Hal Boedeker, claims that the finale drew over 80 million viewers in 1993.

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Bibliography

Further reading

  • Andrews, Bart; Blythe, Cheryl (1987). Cheers : the official scrapbook. New York, N.Y.: New American Library. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-451-82160-7.
  • Carter, Bill (April 29, 1990). "The Tonic That Keeps 'Cheers' Bubbling Along". The New York Times. p. 6.
  • Carter, Bill (May 9, 1993). "Why 'Cheers' Proved So Intoxicating". The New York Times. p. 6.
  • Darowski, Joseph J.; Darowski, Kate (2019) Cheers: A Cultural History. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
  • Fallows, Randall (September 1, 2000). "The Enneagram of Cheers: Where Everybody Knows Your Number". The Journal of Popular Culture. 34 (2): 169–179. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.2000.3402_169.x.
  • Hundley, Heather L. (June 1, 1995). "The naturalization of beer in Cheers". Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. 39 (3): 350–359. doi:10.1080/08838159509364311.
  • "'Cheers' - the TV Series". h2g2. July 4, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  • Bird, J.B. (2005). "Cheers". In Horace Newcomb (ed.). Encyclopedia of television (2nd ed.). New York: Fitzroy Dearborn. pp. 497–499. ISBN 978-1-57958-394-1.
  • Snauffer, Douglas (2008). The Show Must Go On: How the Deaths of Lead Actors Have Affected Television Series. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3295-0.
  • "Cheers". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  • Tom Pendergast, Sara Pendergast, ed. (1999). St. James encyclopedia of popular culture (1st ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: St. James Press. p. 488. ISBN 978-1-55862-400-9.

External links

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Cheers.
  • Official website  
  •   Media related to Cheers (television series) at Wikimedia Commons
  • Cheers at IMDb
  • Cheers at epguides.com
  • at Museum of Broadcast Communications
  • Cheers Boston, an official website of a bar that tributes to and is also a production set of Cheers
  • Cheers Bruchsal Bar in Bruchsal cheersbruchsal.de

May 14, 2023
cheers, this, article, about, american, series, other, uses, disambiguation, 2020s, docuseries, cheerleading, cheer, series, american, sitcom, television, series, that, from, september, 1982, 1993, with, total, half, hour, episodes, across, seasons, show, prod. This article is about the American TV series For other uses see Cheers disambiguation For the 2020s docuseries on cheerleading see Cheer TV series Cheers is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30 1982 to May 20 1993 with a total of 275 half hour episodes across 11 seasons The show was produced by Charles Burrows Charles Productions in association with Paramount Network Television and was created by the team of James Burrows and Glen and Les Charles The show is set in the titular bar in Boston where a group of locals meet to drink relax and socialize CheersGenreSitcomCreated byGlen and Les Charles James BurrowsStarringTed Danson Shelley Long Nicholas Colasanto Rhea Perlman George Wendt John Ratzenberger Kelsey Grammer Woody Harrelson Kirstie Alley Bebe NeuwirthTheme music composerGary Portnoy Judy Hart AngeloOpening theme Where Everybody Knows Your Name by Gary PortnoyEnding theme Where Everybody Knows Your Name instrumental ComposerCraig SafanCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of seasons11No of episodes275 including three double length episodes and a triple length finale list of episodes ProductionExecutive producersJames Burrows Glen and Les Charles Bill and Cheri Steinkellner Phoef Sutton season 9 10 Tom Anderson season 11 Dan O Shannon season 11 CinematographyJohn Finger Kenneth Peach first three episodes Camera setupFilm Multi cameraRunning time21 25 minutesProduction companiesCharles Burrows Charles Productions Paramount Network TelevisionReleaseOriginal networkNBC 1 Picture formatNTSCAudio formatStereo 1982 1987 Dolby Surround 1988 1993 Original releaseSeptember 30 1982 1982 09 30 May 20 1993 1993 05 20 RelatedThe Tortellis Wings Frasier Cheers Spanish version At the center of the show is the bar s owner and head bartender Sam Malone who is a womanizing former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox The show s ensemble cast introduced in the pilot episode are waitresses Diane Chambers and Carla Tortelli second bartender Coach Ernie Pantusso and regular customers Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin Later main characters of the show include Frasier Crane Woody Boyd Lilith Sternin and Rebecca Howe After premiering in 1982 it was nearly canceled during its first season when it ranked almost last in ratings for its premiere 74th out of 77 shows However Cheers eventually became a Nielsen ratings juggernaut in the United States earning a top ten rating during eight of its 11 seasons including one season at number one season 9 The show spent most of its run on NBC s Thursday night Must See TV lineup Its widely watched series finale was broadcast in 1993 to become the most watched single episode of the 1990s and the show s 275 episodes have been successfully syndicated worldwide Nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series for all 11 of its seasons on the air it earned 28 Primetime Emmy Awards from a record of 117 nominations During its run Cheers became one of the most popular series in history and received critical acclaim from its start to its end In 1997 the episodes Thanksgiving Orphans and Home Is the Sailor aired originally in 1987 were respectively ranked No 7 and No 45 on TV Guide s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time 2 Its series finale was watched by an estimated 93 million viewers almost 40 of the US population at the time 3 In 2002 Cheers was ranked No 18 on TV Guide s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time 4 In 2013 the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the eighth best written TV series 5 and TV Guide ranked it No 11 on their list of the 60 greatest shows 6 Contents 1 Characters 1 1 Original main characters 1 2 Subsequent main characters 1 3 Character table 1 4 Recurring characters 1 5 Celebrity appearances 1 6 Death of Nicholas Colasanto 2 Episodes 3 Themes 4 Cheers owners 5 Production 5 1 Creation and concept 5 2 Production team 5 3 Casting 5 4 Filming styles and locations 5 5 Theme song 6 Reception 6 1 Critical reception 6 2 Ratings 6 3 Serialized storylines 6 4 Awards and honors 7 Distribution 7 1 Syndication 7 1 1 High definition 7 2 Home media 7 3 Digital media distribution 8 Licensing 9 Spin offs crossovers and cultural references 10 Remake 11 Cheers Live on Stage 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 15 Bibliography 16 Further reading 17 External linksCharacters EditBefore the Cheers pilot Give Me a Ring Sometime was completed and aired in 1982 the series consisted of four employees in the first script 7 Neither Norm Peterson nor Cliff Clavin regular customers of Cheers were featured later revisions added them as among the regular characters of the series 8 In later years Woody Boyd replaced Coach after the character died off screen in season three 1984 85 following actor Nicholas Colasanto s death Frasier Crane started as a recurring character and became a permanent one In season six 1987 88 new character Rebecca Howe was added having been written into the show after the finale of the previous season 1986 87 Lilith Sternin started as a one time character in an episode of season four Second Time Around 1985 After her second season five appearance she became a recurring character and was later featured as a permanent one during season 10 1991 92 Original main characters Edit Cast of seasons one through three left to right top Shelley Long Ted Danson middle Rhea Perlman Nicholas Colasanto bottom George Wendt John Ratzenberger a Ted Danson as Sam Malone A bartender and proprietor of Cheers Sam is also a lothario Before the series began he was a baseball relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox nicknamed Mayday Malone until he became an alcoholic harming his career He has an on again off again relationship with Diane Chambers his class opposite in the first five seasons 1982 1987 During their off times Sam has flings with many not so bright sexy women 9 yet fails to pursue a meaningful relationship 9 After Diane is written out of the series he tries to pursue Rebecca Howe with varying results At the end of the series he is still unmarried and faces his sexual addiction with the help of Dr Robert Sutton s Gilbert Lewis group meetings advised by Frasier Shelley Long as Diane Chambers An academic sophisticated graduate student attending Boston University 7 In the pilot Diane is abandoned by her fiance leaving her without a job a man or money Realizing that one of her few practical skills is memorization which comes in handy when dealing with drink orders she reluctantly becomes a barmaid Later she becomes a close friend of Coach 10 and has an on and off relationship with bartender Sam Malone her class opposite During their off relationship times Diane dates men who fit her upper class ideals such as Frasier Crane In 1987 she leaves Boston behind for a writing career and to live in Los Angeles California Diane returns to Cheers to cure Sam of his drinking Diane s biggest enemy is Carla who frequently insults her but Diane s lack of retaliation serves to annoy Carla even more Nicholas Colasanto as Coach Ernie Pantusso A borderline senile 9 co bartender widower and retired baseball coach Coach is also a friend of Sam and a close friend of Diane He has a daughter Lisa Allyce Beasley Coach listens to people s problems and solves them However other people also help resolve his own problems In 1985 Coach died without explicit explanation as Colasanto died of a heart attack 11 Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli A wisecracking cynical 7 cocktail waitress who treats customers badly When the series premieres she is the mother of five children by her ex husband Nick Tortelli Dan Hedaya Over the course of the series she bears three more the depiction of which incorporated Perlman s real life pregnancies 12 All of her children are ill behaved except Ludlow whose father is a prominent academic She flirts with men including ones who are not flattered by her ways and believes in superstitions Later she marries Eddie LeBec an ice hockey player who later becomes a penguin mascot for ice shows After he dies in an ice show accident by an ice resurfacer Carla later discovers that Eddie had committed bigamy with another woman whom he had gotten pregnant Carla sleeps with Sam s enemy John Allen Hill to Sam s annoyance and anger George Wendt as Norm Peterson A bar regular and occasionally employed accountant A recurrent joke on the show especially in the earlier seasons was that the character was such a popular and constant fixture at the bar that anytime he entered through the front door everyone present would yell out his name NORM in greeting usually this cry would be followed by one of the present bartenders asking Norm how he was usually receiving a sardonic response and a request for a beer It s a dog eat dog world and I m wearing Milkbone underwear He has infrequent accounting jobs and a troubled marriage with but is still in love with and married to Vera an unseen character though she is occasionally heard Later in the series he becomes a house painter and an interior decorator Even later in the series Norm secures his dream job tasting beer at a brewery The character was not originally intended to be a main cast role 8 Wendt auditioned for a minor role of George for the pilot episode The role was only to be Diane Chambers first customer and had only one word Beer 13 After he was cast in a more permanent role the character was renamed Norm 14 Subsequent main characters Edit Cast of Cheers since season six b left to right top Perlman Woody Harrelson Kelsey Grammer Bebe Neuwirth bottom Wendt Kirstie Alley Danson Ratzenberger John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin A know it all bar regular and mail carrier He lives with his mother Esther Clavin Frances Sternhagen in first the family house and later an apartment In the bar Cliff continuously spouts nonsensical and annoying trivia making him an object of derision to the bar patrons Ratzenberger auditioned for the role of a minor character George but it went to Wendt evolving the role into Norm Peterson 15 The producers decided they wanted a resident bar know it all 15 so the security guard Cliff Clavin was added for the pilot as a recurring character for the first season before becoming a main character starting with the second The producers changed his occupation into a mail carrier as they thought such a man would have wider knowledge than a guard 16 Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane A psychiatrist and bar regular a recurring character for seasons 3 and 4 who joins the main cast by season 5 Frasier started out as Diane Chambers love interest in the third season 1984 85 In the fourth season 1985 86 after Diane jilts him at the altar in Europe Frasier starts to frequent Cheers and becomes a regular He later marries Lilith Sternin and has a son Frederick After the series ends the character becomes the focus of the spin off Frasier in which he is divorced from Lilith and living in Seattle Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd A not so bright 9 bartender first appearing in season 4 He arrives from his Midwest hometown of Hanover Indiana to Boston to see Coach his pen pal as referring to exchanging pens not letters When Sam tells Woody that Coach died Sam hires Woody in Coach s place Later he marries his girlfriend Kelly Gaines Jackie Swanson also not so bright but raised in a rich family In the final season he runs for city council and surprisingly wins Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith Sternin A psychiatrist and bar regular a recurring character until joining the main cast in season 10 She is often teased by bar patrons about her uptight personality and appearance In Second Time Around 1986 her first and only episode of the fourth season her date with Frasier does not go well because they constantly argue In the fifth season with help from Diane Lilith and Frasier begin a relationship Eventually they marry and have a son Frederick In the eleventh and final season she leaves Frasier to live with another man in an experimental underground environment called the Eco pod She returns later in the season and reconciles with Frasier However in the spinoff Frasier the couple have divorced with Lilith maintaining custody of Frederick In season 11 of Cheers Bebe Neuwirth is given starring credit only when she appears Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe First appearing in season 6 she starts out as a strong independent woman manager of the bar for the corporation that bought Cheers from Sam after his on off relationship with Diane ended Eventually when Sam regains ownership she begs him to let her remain first as cocktail waitress and later as manager She repeatedly has romantic failures with mainly rich men and becomes more and more neurotic insecure and sexually frustrated 17 At the start Sam frequently attempts to seduce Rebecca without success 18 As her personality changes 17 he loses interest in her In the series finale after failed relationships with rich men Rebecca marries a plumber and quits working for the bar In the Frasier episode The Show Where Sam Shows Up she is revealed to be divorced and back at the bar When Frasier asks whether this means that she is working there again Sam says no she s just back at the bar Character table Edit Character Actress Actor Seasons1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11Sam Malone Ted Danson MainDiane Chambers Shelley Long Main GuestErnie Coach Pantusso Nicholas Colasanto MainCarla Tortelli Rhea Perlman MainNorm Peterson George Wendt MainCliff Clavin John Ratzenberger Recurring MainWoody Boyd Woody Harrelson MainFrasier Crane Kelsey Grammer Recurring MainRebecca Howe Kirstie Alley MainLilith Sternin Bebe Neuwirth Guest Recurring MainRecurring characters Edit For a more comprehensive list see List of Cheers characters Although Cheers operated largely around that main ensemble cast and their interactions with various one off characters guest stars and recurring characters did occasionally supplement them Notable repeat guests included Dan Hedaya as Nick Tortelli and Jean Kasem as Loretta Tortelli who were the main characters in the first spin off The Tortellis Fred Dryer as Dave Richards Annie Golden as Margaret O Keefe Derek McGrath as Andy Schroeder also referred to as Andy Andy interchangeably Joel Polis and Robert Desiderio as rival bar owner Gary Jay Thomas as Eddie LeBec Roger Rees as Robin Colcord Tom Skerritt as Evan Drake Frances Sternhagen as Esther Clavin Richard Doyle as Walter Gaines Keene Curtis as John Allen Hill Anthony Cistaro as Henri Michael McGuire as Professor Sumner Sloan and Harry Anderson as Harry The Hat Gittes Jackie Swanson who played the recurring role of Woody s girlfriend and eventual wife Kelly Gaines Boyd appeared in 24 episodes from 1989 to 1993 The character is as equally dim and naive but ultimately as sweet natured as Woody Paul Willson played the recurring barfly character of Paul Krapence In one early appearance in the first season he was called Glen and was later credited on screen as Gregg and Tom but he was playing the same character throughout Thomas Babson played Tom a law student often mocked by Cliff Clavin for continually failing to pass the Massachusetts bar exam Al played by Al Rosen appeared in 38 episodes and was known for his surly quips Rhea Perlman s father Philip Perlman played the role of Phil 19 Celebrity appearances Edit Other celebrities guest starred in single episodes as themselves throughout the series Sports figures appeared on the show as themselves with a connection to Boston or Sam s former team the Red Sox such as Luis Tiant Wade Boggs and Kevin McHale of the Boston Celtics 20 Some television stars also made guest appearances as themselves such as Alex Trebek Arsenio Hall Dick Cavett Robert Urich George McFarland and Johnny Carson Various political figures even made appearances on Cheers such as then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral William J Crowe former Colorado Senator Gary Hart then Speaker of the House Tip O Neill then Senator John Kerry then Governor Michael Dukakis Ethel Kennedy widow of Robert F Kennedy and then Mayor of Boston Raymond Flynn the last five of whom all represented Cheers home state and city In maternal roles Glynis Johns in a guest appearance in 1983 played Diane s mother Helen Chambers Nancy Marchand played Frasier s mother Hester Crane in an episode that aired in 1985 In an episode that aired in 1992 Celeste Holm who had previously played Ted Danson s mother in Three Men and a Baby appeared as Kelly s jokester of a paternal grandmother Melendy Britt appeared in the episode Woody or Won t He 1990 as Kelly s mother Roxanne Gaines a very attractive high society lady and a sexy flirtatious upper class cougar who tries to seduce Woody The musician Harry Connick Jr appeared in an episode as Woody s cousin and plays a song from his Grammy winning album We Are in Love c 1991 John Cleese won a Primetime Emmy Award for his guest appearance as Dr Simon Finch Royce in the fifth season episode Simon Says Emma Thompson guest starred as Nanny G Nannette Guzman a famous singing nanny and Frasier s ex wife Christopher Lloyd guest starred as a tortured artist who wanted to paint Diane Marcia Cross portrayed Rebecca s sister Susan in the season 7 episode Sisterly Love John Mahoney once appeared as an inept jingle writer which included a brief conversation with Frasier Crane whose father he later portrayed on the spin off Frasier Peri Gilpin who later played Roz Doyle on Frasier also appeared in one episode of Cheers in its 11th season as Holly Matheson a reporter who interviews Woody The Righteous Brothers Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley also guest starred in different episodes In The Guy Can t Help It Rebecca meets a plumber played by Tom Berenger who came to fix one of the beer keg taps They marry in the series finale triggering her resignation from Cheers Judith Barsi appears in the episode Relief Bartender Notable guest appearances of actresses portraying Sam s sexual conquests or potential sexual conquests include Kate Mulgrew in the three episode finale of season four portraying Boston councilwoman Janet Eldridge Donna McKechnie as Debra Sam s ex wife with whom he is on good terms who pretends to be an intellectual in front of Diane Barbara Babcock as Lana Marshall a talent agent who specializes in representing male athletes her clients with whom she routinely sleeps on demand Julia Duffy as Rebecca Prout a depressed intellectual friend of Diane s Alison LaPlaca as magazine reporter Paula Nelson Carol Kane as Amanda who Sam eventually learns was a fellow patient at the sanitarium with Diane Barbara Feldon as Lauren Hudson Sam s annual Valentine s Day fling in an homage to Same Time Next Year Sandahl Bergman as Judy Marlowe a longtime casual sex partner and whose now grown daughter Laurie Marlowe Chelsea Noble who has always considered Sam a pseudo father figure Sam falls for Madolyn Smith Osborne as Dr Sheila Rydell a colleague of Frasier and Lilith Valerie Mahaffey as Valerie Hill John Allen Hill s daughter who Sam pursues if only to gain an upper hand in his business relationship with Hill and Alexis Smith as Alice Anne Volkman Rebecca s much older ex professor In season 9 episode 17 I m Getting My Act Together and Sticking It in Your Face Sam believing Rebecca wants a more serious relationship pretends to be gay his lover being a casual friend named Leon Jeff McCarthy the plan ultimately leads to a kiss between Sam and Leon Death of Nicholas Colasanto Edit Near the end of production of the third season the writers of Cheers had to deal with the death of one of the main actors Nicholas Colasanto s heart condition had been diagnosed in the mid 1970s but it had worsened He had lost weight and was having trouble breathing during filming and he was hospitalized shortly before filming finished for season three due to fluid in his lungs He recovered but was not cleared to return to work He was visiting the set in January 1985 to watch the filming of several episodes and co star Shelley Long commented I think we were all in denial We were all glad he was there but he lost a lot of weight Co star Rhea Perlman added that he wanted to be there so badly He didn t want to be sick He couldn t breathe well It was hard He was laboring all the time Colasanto ultimately died of a heart attack at his home on February 12 1985 21 The third season episodes of Cheers were filmed out of order partly to accommodate Shelley Long s pregnancy As a result they had already completed filming the season finale at the time of his death which had scenes with Colasanto in it The Cheers writing staff assembled in June 1985 to discuss how to deal with the absence of Coach They quickly discarded the idea that he had moved away as they felt that he would never abandon his friends In addition most viewers were aware of Colasanto s death so the writing staff decided to handle the situation more openly The season four opener Birth Death Love and Rice dealt with Coach s death and introduced Woody Harrelson Colasanto s replacement 21 22 Episodes EditMain article List of Cheers episodes SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRank 23 Rating 23 Households seasons 1 6 Viewers seasons 7 11 millions First airedLast aired122September 30 1982 1982 09 30 March 31 1983 1983 03 31 7413 110 9222September 29 1983 1983 09 29 May 10 1984 1984 05 10 3416 6 c 13 8325September 27 1984 1984 09 27 May 9 1985 1985 05 09 1319 716 7426September 26 1985 1985 09 26 May 15 1986 1986 05 15 523 720 4526September 25 1986 1986 09 25 May 7 1987 1987 05 07 327 223 8625September 24 1987 1987 09 24 May 5 1988 1988 05 05 323 420 7722October 27 1988 1988 10 27 May 4 1989 1989 05 04 422 333 9826September 21 1989 1989 09 21 May 3 1990 1990 05 03 322 734 7927September 20 1990 1990 09 20 May 2 1991 1991 05 02 121 332 71026September 19 1991 1991 09 19 May 14 1992 1992 05 14 417 627 31128September 24 1992 1992 09 24 May 20 1993 1993 05 20 816 1 d 28 2Themes EditNearly all of Cheers took place in the front room of the bar but the characters often went into the rear pool room or the bar s office 24 Cheers did not show any action outside the bar until the first episode of the second season which took place in Diane s apartment The show s main theme in its early seasons was the romance between intellectual waitress Diane Chambers and the bar s owner Sam Malone a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and recovering alcoholic 25 After Shelley Long Diane left the show the focus shifted to Sam s new relationship with Rebecca Howe a neurotic corporate ladder climber Many Cheers scripts centered or touched upon a variety of social issues albeit humorously As Toasting Cheers puts it The script was further strengthened by the writers boldness in successfully tackling controversial issues such as alcoholism homosexuality and adultery 26 Social class was a subtext of the show The upper class represented by characters like Diane Chambers Frasier Crane and Lilith Sternin rubbed shoulders with middle and working class characters Sam Malone Carla Tortelli Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin An extreme example of this was the relationship between Woody Boyd and a millionaire s daughter Kelly Gaines Many viewers enjoyed Cheers in part because of this focus on character development in addition to plot development 27 Feminism and the role of women were also recurring themes throughout the show with some critics seeing each of the major female characters portraying an aspect as a flawed feminist in her own way 28 Diane was a vocal feminist and Sam was the epitome of everything she hated promiscuity and chauvinism See Sam and Diane Homosexuality was dealt with from the first season which was rare in the early 1980s on American television 29 In the first season episode The Boys in the Bar the title being a reference to the play and subsequent movie The Boys in the Band a friend and former teammate of Sam s comes out in his autobiography Some of the male regulars pressure Sam to take action to ensure that Cheers does not become a gay bar The episode won a GLAAD Media Award and the script s writers Ken Levine and David Isaacs were nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award Addiction also plays a role in Cheers almost exclusively through Sam He is a recovering alcoholic who had bought a bar during his drinking days Frasier has a notable bout of drinking in the fourth season episode The Triangle while Woody develops a gambling problem in the seventh season s Call Me Irresponsible Carla and other characters drink beer while pregnant but nobody seems to mind Cheers owners Edit The Cheers sign in 2005 Cheers had several owners before Sam as the bar was opened in 1889 The Est 1895 on the bar s sign is a made up date chosen by Carla for numerology purposes revealed in season 8 episode 6 The Stork Brings a Crane which also revealed the bar s address as 1121 2 Beacon Street and that it originated under the name Mom s In the series second episode Sam s Women Coach tells a customer looking for Gus the owner of Cheers that Gus was dead In a later episode Gus O Mally comes back from Arizona for one night and helps run the bar The biggest storyline surrounding the ownership of Cheers begins in the fifth season finale I Do Adieu when Sam and Diane part ways due to Shelley Long s departure from the series In addition Sam leaves on a trip to circumnavigate the globe Before he leaves Sam sells Cheers to the Lillian Corporation He returns in the sixth season premiere Home is the Sailor having sunk his boat to find the bar under the new management of Rebecca Howe He begs for his job back and is hired by Rebecca as a bartender In the seventh season premiere How to Recede in Business Rebecca is fired and Sam is promoted to manager Rebecca is allowed to keep a job at Lillian vaguely similar to what she had before but only after Sam had Rebecca in absentia agree to a long list of demands that the corporation had for her From there Sam occasionally attempted to buy the bar back with schemes that usually involved the wealthy executive Robin Colcord Sam acquired Cheers again in the eighth season finale when it was sold back to him for 85 by the Lillian Corporation after he alerted the company to Colcord s insider trading Fired by the corporation because of her silence on the issue Rebecca is hired by Sam as a hostess office manager For the rest of the episode to celebrate Sam s reclaiming the bar a huge banner hung from the staircase reading Under OLD Management When it was learned that the Pool Room and bathrooms were actually owned by Melville s which spawned a war of wits between Sam and Melville s owner John Allen Hill Rebecca later purchased them from Hill making Sam and Rebecca partners in the ownership of Cheers and more or less co ran the establishment Sam had two main battles one with Gary s Olde Towne Tavern trying to beat them at some activity or another but always failing except for one episode when Diane helped Cheers win the bowling trophy and extending to the practical jokes they played on each other The second was with Melville s owner John Allen Hill who kept annoying Sam with his pettiness and ego Hill had an ongoing relationship with Carla Production Edit The Cheers Beacon Hill formerly the Bull amp Finch Pub in Boston in 2005 Creation and concept Edit Some believe that the show is a rehashing of Boston s ABC affiliate WCVB s locally produced 1979 sitcom Park Street Under featuring Steve Sweeney and American Repertory Theater founder Karen MacDonald 30 Three men developed and created the Cheers television series Glen and Les Charles Glen and Les and James Burrows 31 who identified themselves as two Mormons and a Jew 32 They aimed at creating a show around a Spencer Tracy Katharine Hepburn type relationship between their two main characters Sam and Diane 31 Malone represents the average man while Chambers represents class and sophistication 31 The show revolves around characters in a bar under humorous adult themes and situations 31 The original idea was a group of workers who interacted like a family the goal being a concept similar to The Mary Tyler Moore Show The creators considered making an American version of the British Fawlty Towers set in a hotel or an inn When the creators settled on a bar as their setting the show began to resemble the radio program Duffy s Tavern originally written and co created by James Burrows father Abe Burrows They liked the idea of a tavern as it provided a continuous stream of new people for a variety of characters 33 An early concept revolved around a woman becoming the new owner of the bar and the animosity created between her and the regulars an idea which was used later in Season 6 when the character of Rebecca Howe was introduced 34 Early discussions about the location of the show centered on Barstow California then Kansas City Missouri They eventually turned to the East Coast and finally Boston The Bull amp Finch Pub in Boston which was the model for Cheers was chosen from a phone book 35 When Glen Charles asked the bar s owner Tom Kershaw to shoot exterior and interior photos he agreed charging 1 Kershaw has since gone on to make millions of dollars licensing the pub s image and selling a variety of Cheers memorabilia The Bull amp Finch became the 42nd busiest outlet in the American food and beverage industry in 1997 33 During initial casting Shelley Long who was in Boston at the time filming A Small Circle of Friends remarked that the bar in the script resembled a bar she had come upon in the city which turned out to be the Bull amp Finch 36 Production team Edit The crew of Cheers numbered in the hundreds The three creators James Burrows and Glen and Les Charles kept offices on Paramount s lot for the duration of the Cheers run The Charles Brothers remained in overall charge throughout the show s run frequently writing major episodes though starting with the third season they began delegating the day to day running of the writing staff to various showrunners Ken Estin and Sam Simon were appointed as showrunners for the third season and succeeded by David Angell Peter Casey and David Lee the following year Angell Casey and Lee would remain as showrunners until the end of the seventh season when they left to develop their own sitcom Wings and were replaced by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner and Phoef Sutton for the eighth through tenth seasons For the final season Tom Anderson and Dan O Shannon acted as the showrunners James Burrows is regarded as being a factor in the show s longevity directing 243 of the 270 episodes and supervising the show s production 37 Among the show s other directors were Andy Ackerman Thomas Lofaro Tim Berry Tom Moore Rick Beren as well as cast members John Ratzenberger and George Wendt 27 Craig Safan provided the series original music for its entire run except the theme song His extensive compositions for the show led to his winning numerous ASCAP Top TV Series awards for his music Casting Edit The character of Sam Malone was originally intended to be a retired football player and was slated to be played by Fred Dryer but Danson was chosen in part because he was younger and had more acting experience than Dryer 38 After casting Ted Danson it was decided that a former baseball player Sam Mayday Malone would be more believable than a retired football player 39 40 Dryer however would go on to play sportscaster Dave Richards an old friend of Sam in three episodes Bill Cosby was also considered early in the casting process for the role of Sam after being recommended by the network 41 Shelley Long was recommended by various sources to the producers for the role of Diane Chambers but Long wished to be offered the part straight out and had to be coaxed into giving an audition When she did read for the part according to Glen Charles that was it we knew that we wanted her 41 Before the final decision was made three pairs of actors were tested in front of the producers and network executives for Sam and Diane Danson and Long Fred Dryer and Julia Duffy William Devane and Lisa Eichhorn 38 The chemistry was so apparent between Long and Danson that it secured them the roles 38 41 Ted Danson was sent to bartending school to prepare him for the part and according to Burrows had to learn how to pretend that he knew a lot about sports since Danson was not a sports fan in real life and had never been to a baseball game 38 The character of Cliff Clavin was created for John Ratzenberger after he auditioned for the role of Norm Peterson which eventually went to George Wendt While chatting with producers afterward he asked if they were going to include a bar know it all the part which he eventually played 42 Alley joined the cast when Shelley Long left and Woody Harrelson joined when Nicholas Colasanto died Danson Perlman and Wendt were the only actors to appear in every episode of the series Ratzenberger appears in all but one and his name wasn t part of the opening credit montage during the first season Filming styles and locations Edit Interior of the bar On Cheers we never did everything twice On Cheers we went through the scene and I only reshot jokes that didn t work or I went back and picked up shots I missed James Burrows 43 Most Cheers episodes were as a voiceover stated at the start of each filmed before a live studio audience on Paramount Stage 25 in Hollywood generally on Tuesday nights Scripts for a new episode were issued the Wednesday before for a read through Friday was rehearsal day and final scripts were issued on Monday Burrows who directed most episodes insisted on using film stock rather than videotape He was also noted for using motion in his directorial style trying to constantly keep characters moving rather than standing still 44 Burrows and the Charles brothers emphasized to the cast to never assume that you re not being watched because the camera would be focused on the actors at all times so they had to always be reacting and always be funny 34 During the first season when ratings were poor Paramount and NBC asked that the show use videotape to save money but a poor test taping ended the experiment and Cheers continued to use film 45 Due to a decision by Glen and Les Charles the cold open was often not connected to the rest of the episode with the lowest ranked writers assigned to create the jokes for them Some cold opens were taken from episodes that ran too long 46 The first year of the show took place entirely within the confines of the bar the first location outside the bar being Diane s apartment in the second year When the series became a hit the characters started venturing further afield first to other sets and eventually to an occasional exterior location The exterior location shots of the bar were of the Bull amp Finch Pub located directly north of the Boston Public Garden The pub has become a tourist attraction because of its association with the series and draws nearly one million visitors annually 33 47 It has since been renamed Cheers Beacon Hill its interior is different from the TV bar The pub itself is at 84 Beacon Street on the corner of Brimmer Street In August 2001 there was a replica made of the bar in Faneuil Hall to capitalize on the popularity of the show After the show ended the 1 000 square foot bar set from Cheers was offered to the Smithsonian which turned it down because it was too large 48 It was displayed for a short time at the defunct Hollywood Entertainment Museum but later returned to storage where it remained for many years In 2014 CBS donated the set to the Museum of Television after a years long campaign by James Burrows and his office on behalf of the museum s founder James Comisar At the time of the donation Comisar initiated a planned 100 000 restoration of the set using former conservators from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art although a site for the 10 000 item collection of the museum had not been decided upon 49 48 Theme song Edit Main article Where Everybody Knows Your Name The original version of one of the images used in the opening title sequence Before Where Everybody Knows Your Name written by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo became the show s theme song Cheers producers rejected two of Portnoy s and Hart Angelo s songs The songwriters had collaborated to provide music for Preppies an unsuccessful Broadway musical When told they could not appropriate People Like Us Preppies opening song the pair wrote another song My Kind of People which resembled People Like Us and intended to satirize the lifestyle of old decadent old money WASPs but to meet producers demands they rewrote the lyrics to be about likeable losers in a Boston bar The show s producers rejected this song as well After they read the script of the series pilot they created another song Another Day When Portnoy and Hart Angelo heard that NBC had commissioned thirteen episodes they created an official theme song Where Everybody Knows Your Name and rewrote the lyrics 50 On syndicated airings of Cheers the theme song was shortened to make room for additional commercials Reception EditCritical reception Edit Cheers was critically acclaimed in its first season though it landed a disappointing 74th out of 77 shows in that year s ratings 51 This critical support the early success at the Primetime Emmy Awards and the support of the president of NBC s entertainment division Brandon Tartikoff are thought to be the main reasons for the show s survival and eventual success 52 Tartikoff stated in 1983 that Cheers was a sophisticated adult comedy and that NBC executives never for a second doubted that the show would be renewed 31 Writer Levine believes that the most important reason was that the network recognized that it did not have other hit shows to help promote Cheers as he later wrote NBC had nothing else better to replace it with 53 In 2013 GQ magazine held an online competition to find the best TV comedy Cheers was voted the greatest comedy show of all time 54 In 2017 James Charisma of Paste magazine ranked the show s opening sequence No 5 on a list of The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time 55 In 2022 Rolling Stone ranked Cheers as the eighth greatest TV show of all time 56 Ratings Edit Ratings improved for the summer reruns after the first season 57 The cast went on various talk shows to try to further promote the series after its first season By the second season Cheers was competitive with CBS s top rated show Simon amp Simon 31 With the growing popularity of Family Ties which ran in the slot ahead of Cheers from January 1984 until Family Ties was moved to Sundays in 1987 and the placement of The Cosby Show in front of both at the start of their third season 1984 the line up became a runaway ratings success that NBC eventually dubbed Must See Thursday The next season Cheers ratings increased dramatically after Woody Boyd became a regular character as well The fifth season earned the series the highest rating for the year that it would ever achieve Although ratings mostly declined each year after that the show retained a competitive advantage and rose to rank number one for the year for its first and only time in the ninth season Although ratings and ranking both lost ground in the last two seasons it still performed well as it was the only show on NBC during those seasons to be in the top 10 By the end of its final season the show had a run of eight consecutive seasons in the top ten of the Nielsen ratings seven of them were in the top five 58 NBC dedicated a whole night to the final episode of Cheers following the one hour season finale of Seinfeld which was its lead in The show began with a pregame show hosted by Bob Costas followed by the final 98 minute episode itself NBC affiliates then aired tributes to Cheers during their local newscasts and the night concluded with a special Tonight Show broadcast live from the Bull amp Finch Pub Although the episode fell short of its hyped ratings predictions to become the most watched television episode it was the most watched show that year bringing in 93 million viewers 3 64 percent of all viewers that night almost 40 of the US population at the time and ranked 11th all time in entertainment programming The 1993 final broadcast of Cheers also emerged as the highest rated broadcast of NBC to date as well as the most watched single episode from any television series throughout the decade 1990s on U S television 59 60 61 e The episode originally aired in the usual Cheers spot of Thursday night and was then rebroadcast on Sunday While the original broadcast did not outperform the M A S H finale the combined non repeating audiences for the Thursday and Sunday showings did Television had greatly changed between the two finales leaving Cheers with a broader array of competition for ratings 62 NBC timeslots Season 1 Episodes 1 12 Thursday at 9 00 pm Season 1 Episode 13 Season 2 Episode 10 Thursday at 9 30 pm Season 2 Episode 11 Season 11 Episode 28 Thursday at 9 00 pmSerialized storylines Edit Although not the first sitcom to do it Cheers employed the use of end of season cliffhangers and starting with the third season the show s storylines became more serialized The show s success helped make such multi episode story arcs popular on sitcoms which Les Charles regrets W e may have been partly responsible for what s going on now where if you miss the first episode or two you are lost You have to wait until you can get the whole thing on DVD and catch up with it If that blood is on our hands I feel kind of badly about it It can be very frustrating 57 Cheers began with a limited five character ensemble consisting of Ted Danson Shelley Long Rhea Perlman Nicholas Colasanto and George Wendt Cheers was able to gradually phase in characters such as Cliff Frasier Lilith Rebecca and Woody By the time season 10 began the show had eight front characters in its roster Awards and honors Edit For a more comprehensive list see List of awards and nominations received by Cheers Over its eleven season run the Cheers cast and crew earned many awards The show garnered a record 111 Primetime Emmy Award nominations with a total of 28 wins In addition Cheers earned 31 Golden Globe nominations with a total of six wins Danson Long Alley Perlman Wendt Ratzenberger Harrelson Grammer Neuwirth and Colasanto all received Emmy nominations for their roles Cheers won the Golden Globe Award for Best TV Series Comedy Musical in 1991 and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1983 1984 1989 and 1991 The series was presented with the Legend Award at the 2006 TV Land Awards with many of the surviving cast members attending the event 63 The following are awards that have been earned by the Cheers cast and crew over its 11 season run Winner AwardEmmy Year Golden Globe YearKirstie Alley Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 1991 Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series Comedy Musical 1991Ted Danson Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series 1990 1993 Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series Comedy Musical 1990 1991Woody Harrelson Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series 1989 Shelley Long Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 1983 Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series Comedy Musical 1985 Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series Mini Series or Motion Picture Made for TV 1983Bebe Neuwirth Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 1990 1991 Rhea Perlman Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 1984 1985 1986 1989John Cleese Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series 1987Production Awards Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series 1983 1991Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series 1983 1984Outstanding Individual Achievement in Graphic Design and Title Sequences 1983Outstanding Film Editing for a Series 1984Outstanding Editing for a Series Multi Camera Production 1988 1993Outstanding Live and Tape Sound Mixing and Sound Effects for a Series 1985Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or Special 1986 1987 1990Distribution EditSyndication Edit Cheers grew in popularity as it aired on American television and entered off network syndication in 1987 initially distributed by Paramount Domestic Television When the show went off the air in 1993 Cheers was syndicated in 38 countries with 179 American television markets and 83 million viewers 64 When the quality of some earlier footage of Cheers began to deteriorate it underwent a careful restoration in 2001 65 The series aired on Nick at Nite from 2001 to 2004 and on TV Land from 2004 to 2008 47 with Nick at Nite airing week long Cheers Everybody Knows Your Name marathons The show was removed from the lineup in 2004 The series began airing on Hallmark Channel in the United States in October 2008 and WGN America in 2009 In January 2011 Reelz Channel began airing the series in hour long blocks MeTV began airing Cheers weeknights in 2010 USA Network has aired the series on Sunday early mornings and weekday mornings to allow it to show extended length films of 2 1 2 hours and maintain symmetric schedules In 2011 Cheers was made available on the Netflix and Amazon Prime Video streaming services 66 Cheers began airing on Eleven a digital channel of Network Ten in Australia on January 11 2011 NCRV in the Netherlands aired all 275 episodes in sequence once per night repeating the series a total of three times In Italy Cheers aired on Italia 1 amp Canale 5 as Cin Cin from 1985 until 1988 Cheers was first screened in the UK on Channel 4 and was one of the then fledgling network s first imports As of 2012 Cheers has been repeated on UK satellite channel CBS Drama It has also been shown on the UK free to air channel ITV4 with two episodes every weeknight On March 16 2015 the series began airing on UK subscription channel Gold on weekdays at 9 30 a m and 10 00 a m Cheers aired again daily in 2019 on Channel 4 citation needed High definition Edit A high definition transfer of Cheers began running on HDNet in the United States in August 2010 The program was originally shot on film but transferred to and edited on videotape and broadcast in a 4 3 aspect ratio but the newly transferred versions are in 16 9 original research However in the United Kingdom the HD repeats on ITV4 HD and later Channel 4 HD are shown in the original 4 3 aspect ratio Home media Edit Paramount Home Entertainment and from 2006 onward CBS Home Entertainment have released all 11 seasons of Cheers on DVD in Region 1 Region 2 and Region 4 In the US some episodes from the final three seasons appear on the DVDs with music substitutions For example in the episode Grease I Fought the Law was replaced even though its removal affects the comedic value of the scenes in which it was originally heard The finale episode 73 minutes long without commercials is presented in its three part syndicated cut citation needed On March 6 2012 CBS released Fan Favorites The Best of Cheers Based on the 2012 Facebook poll the selected episodes are 67 Give Me a Ring Sometime season 1 episode 1 Diane s Perfect Date season 1 episode 17 Pick a Con Any Con season 1 episode 19 Abnormal Psychology season 5 episode 4 Thanksgiving Orphans season 5 episode 9 Dinner at Eight ish season 5 episode 20 Simon Says season 5 episode 21 An Old Fashioned Wedding parts one and two season 10 episodes 25 On May 5 2015 CBS DVD released Cheers The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 68 Digital media distribution Edit The complete 11 seasons of Cheers are available through the iTunes Store Amazon Prime Video Peacock and Hulu In Canada all seasons are available on streaming service Crave 69 The entire series is available in the UK on All 4 Licensing EditThe series lent itself naturally to the development of Cheers bar related merchandise culminating in the development of a chain of Cheers themed pubs Paramount s licensing group led by Tom McGrath developed the Cheers pub concept initially in partnership with Host Marriott which placed Cheers themed pubs in over 15 airports around the world 70 Boston boasts the original Cheers bar historically known to Boston insiders as the Bull and Finch as well as a Cheers restaurant in the Faneuil Hall marketplace and Sam s Place a spin off sports bar concept also located at Faneuil Hall In 1997 Europe s first officially licensed Cheers bar opened in London s Regent s Street W1 Like Cheers Faneuil Hall Cheers London is a replica of the set The gala opening was attended by James Burrows and cast members George Wendt and John Ratzenberger 71 The Cheers bar in London closed on December 31 2008 The actual bar set had been on display at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum until the museum s closing in early 2006 72 The theme song to the show was eventually licensed to a Canadian restaurant Kelsey s Neighbourhood Bar amp Grill 73 CBS currently holds the rights to the Cheers franchise as a result of the 2005 Viacom split which saw Paramount transfer its entire television studio to CBS both CBS and Viacom would reunite in 2019 Spin offs crossovers and cultural references Edit Woody Cliff and Norm on The Simpsons Some of the actors and actresses from Cheers brought their characters into other television shows either in a guest appearance or in a new spin off series The most successful Cheers spin off was Frasier which featured Frasier Crane following his relocation back to Seattle Washington Sam Diane and Woody all individually appeared in Frasier episodes with Lilith appearing as a guest on multiple episodes In the season nine episode Cheerful Goodbyes Frasier returns to Boston and meets up with the Cheers gang later attending Cliff s retirement party 74 Although Frasier was more successful The Tortellis was the first series to spin off from Cheers premiering in 1987 The show featured Carla s ex husband Nick Tortelli and his wife Loretta but was canceled after 13 episodes and drew protests for its stereotypical depictions of Italian Americans 75 In addition to direct spin offs several Cheers characters had guest appearance crossovers with other shows including Wings and St Elsewhere episode Cheers Cheers has also been spoofed or referenced in other media including The Simpsons spoofing the title sequence and theme song in Flaming Moe s actually visiting the place with vocal role reprises of the majority of the principal cast in Fear of Flying Scrubs episode My Life in Four Cameras Adventure Time episode Simon amp Marcy the 2012 comedy film Ted and the 2011 video game Dragon Age II citation needed In Australia Cheers is remembered for its role in the infamous cancellation of the 1992 Nine Network special Australia s Naughtiest Home Videos Due to the then owner of Nine Network Kerry Packer s objections to its content Australia s Naughtiest Home Videos was pulled off the air during its first and only broadcast viewers saw the network abruptly begin airing a rerun of Cheers midway through the special either after a scheduled commercial break or a Nine Network bumper claiming a technical problem Nine Network s affiliate in Perth didn t air the special at all and filled its timeslot with two episodes of Cheers When the program was re aired in its entirety in 2008 it abruptly cut away to the opening of Cheers midway through in a reenactment of the incident before resuming the second half that didn t get aired In the Cheers episode Woody For Hire Norman Meets the Apes Woody shows and tells everyone how he was an extra on Boston based drama Spenser For Hire In the season 4 episode of Seinfeld titled The Pitch Jerry and George are presenting their idea for a sitcom to NBC executives George is unhappy with their offer and feels that he deserves the same salary as Ted Danson which he claims was 800 000 per episode being that Cheers is also an NBC show Danson s reported salary was actually 250 000 per episode At this point Cheers was in its 10th season and Ted Danson had won an Emmy and a Golden Globe the year before 76 In the seventh episode of the second season of How I Met Your Mother a coffee shop barista mistakenly hears Barney s name as Swarley and writes it on his cup This leads to a running gag in which everyone mercilessly refers to Barney as Swarley despite his protests which culminates in everyone in McClaren s bar shouting Swarley when he enters and playing the Cheers theme song The credits are then shown in the Cheers style 77 In the season seven episode In Tailgate Ted and Barney are outraged with the price to get into MacLaren s on New Year s Eve so they offer for everyone to come upstairs In the apartment there is a puzzles sign that is designed to parody Cheers Ted and Barney employ Kevin as their bartender and they invent a theme song which also parodies the Cheers theme song 78 In the 2015 video game Fallout 4 set in Boston there is a bar named Prost Bar near Boston Common which when entered is an almost exact replica of the bar used in the series It includes two dead bodies sat at the end of the bar with one of them wearing a mail carrier s uniform a direct reference to regular barfly Cliff Clavin 79 The eighth anniversary special of Late Night with David Letterman airing in 1990 began with a scene at Cheers in which the bar s TV gets stuck on NBC and all of the bar patrons decide to go home instead of staying to watch David Letterman The scene was re used to open Letterman s final episode in 1993 citation needed A similar scene aired in the Super Bowl XVII Pregame Show on NBC in which the characters briefly discuss the upcoming game citation needed In the season 2 finale of the NBC sitcom The Good Place Ted Danson s character Michael appears as a bartender while wearing a blue plaid button down in a clear homage to Danson s character in Cheers 80 In 2019 members of the Cheers cast Rhea Perlman George Wendt John Ratzenberger and Kirstie Alley reprised their characters in an episode of The Goldbergs where they play customers of Geoff s short lived food delivery business 81 Remake EditIn September 2011 Plural Entertainment debuted a remake of the series on Spanish television also titled Cheers Set at an Irish pub it starred Alberto San Juan as Nicolas Nico Arnedo the equivalent of Sam Malone in the original series It also used the original theme song rerecorded in Spanish by Dani Martin under the title Donde la gente se divierte In December 2012 The Irish Film and Television Network announced that casting was underway on an Irish language version of Cheers produced by production company Sideline The new show tentatively titled Teach Sean would air on Ireland s TG4 and features a main character who like Sam Malone is a bar owner a retired athlete and a recovering alcoholic However because of being set in Ireland the barman is a former hurling star rather than an ex baseball player 82 As of August 2019 the Irish remake has not occurred Cheers Live on Stage EditOn September 9 2016 a stage adaptation called Cheers Live on Stage opened at the Shubert Theatre in Boston Comprising pieces of the original TV series the play was adapted by Erik Forrest Jackson It was produced by Troika Stageworks The director was Matt Lenz It starred Grayson Powell as Sam Malone Jillian Louis as Diane Chambers Barry Pearl as Ernie Coach Pantusso Sarah Sirotta as Carla Tortelli Paul Vogt as Norm Peterson and Buzz Roddy as Cliff Clavin The production was scheduled to tour through 2017 but was cancelled in 2016 83 84 85 See also Edit Television portal United States portalEarly Doors 2003 Park Street Under 1979 Notes Edit Ratzenberger joined the main cast in season two after frequently appearing in his recurring role in season one Only Kirstie Alley was introduced in season six while the rest of the cast appeared in prior seasons Tied with Goodnight Beantown Tied with The CBS Sunday Movie The article Cheers Finale Most Watched Show of Season from May 22 1993 edition of Rocky Mountain News said that the share of viewing audience was 62 The 2009 article The gang gathers for one last round by Hal Boedeker claims that the finale drew over 80 million viewers in 1993 References Edit Wood Jennifer M Bar Trivia 30 Facts About Cheers Mental Floss http mentalfloss com article 56133 30 things you might not know about cheers Archived June 16 2017 at the Wayback Machine Special Collector s Issue 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time TV Guide June 28 July 4 1997 a b Darowski Joseph J Darowski Kate 2017 Frasier A Cultural History Rowman amp Littlefield ISBN 978 1442277960 Archived from the original on February 10 2023 Retrieved October 22 2020 TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows Cbsnews com Archived from the original on September 4 2012 Retrieved September 13 2012 101 Best Written TV Series List wga org Archived from the original on June 7 2013 Retrieved June 28 2013 Fretts Bruce Roush Matt The Greatest Shows on Earth TV Guide Magazine 61 3194 3195 16 19 a b c Scott Vernon Series Producers Working Now to Get Cheers Archived March 9 2021 at the Wayback Machine 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2021 retrieved April 18 2021 Danson Duchovny share thoughts on TV business Reuters July 7 2008 Archived from the original on August 12 2022 Retrieved August 12 2022 Eames Tom March 24 2014 How I Met Your Mother 10 best episodes Digital Spy Archived from the original on April 1 2022 Retrieved April 1 2022 How I Met Your Mother Tailgate The A V Club January 3 2012 Archived from the original on April 1 2022 Retrieved April 1 2022 There s a Pretty Great Cheers Easter Egg in Fallout 4 November 11 2015 Archived from the original on November 26 2020 Retrieved May 22 2017 Ivie Devon The Good Place Finally Gave Ted Danson His Cheers Moment Vulture Archived from the original on April 15 2021 Retrieved February 2 2018 September 16 EW Staff EDT 2019 at 03 25 PM Cheers stars to reunite on The Goldbergs as part of ABC s Cast from the Past Week EW com Archived from the original on December 1 2021 Retrieved December 1 2021 Irish TV channel to remake Cheers Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on March 8 2021 Retrieved October 3 2019 Cheers Live On Stage Archived from the original on September 18 2016 Retrieved September 18 2016 Newmark Judith October 12 2016 Cheers Live On Stage tour is canceled stltoday com Archived from the original on November 13 2020 Retrieved August 11 2019 Cheers Live On Stage Chicago Tribune Archived from the original on April 17 2019 Retrieved April 16 2020 Bibliography EditBjorklund Dennis A 1997 Toasting Cheers An Episode Guide to the 1982 1993 Comedy Series with cast biographies and character profiles McFarland amp Company Inc Jefferson North Carolina ISBN 978 0 89950 962 4 permanent dead link Jones Gerald 1992 Honey I m Home Sitcoms Selling the American Dream New York Grove Weidenfeld Grove Press ISBN 978 0 8021 1308 5 Wendt George 2009 Drinking with George New York Simon Spotlight Entertainment ISBN 978 1 4391 4958 4 Further reading EditAndrews Bart Blythe Cheryl 1987 Cheers the official scrapbook New York N Y New American Library p 209 ISBN 978 0 451 82160 7 Carter Bill April 29 1990 The Tonic That Keeps Cheers Bubbling Along The New York Times p 6 Carter Bill May 9 1993 Why Cheers Proved So Intoxicating The New York Times p 6 Darowski Joseph J Darowski Kate 2019 Cheers A Cultural History Lanham MD Rowman amp Littlefield Fallows Randall September 1 2000 The Enneagram of Cheers Where Everybody Knows Your Number The Journal of Popular Culture 34 2 169 179 doi 10 1111 j 0022 3840 2000 3402 169 x Hundley Heather L June 1 1995 The naturalization of beer in Cheers Journal of Broadcasting amp Electronic Media 39 3 350 359 doi 10 1080 08838159509364311 Cheers the TV Series h2g2 July 4 2003 Retrieved December 27 2011 Bird J B 2005 Cheers In Horace Newcomb ed Encyclopedia of television 2nd ed New York Fitzroy Dearborn pp 497 499 ISBN 978 1 57958 394 1 Snauffer Douglas 2008 The Show Must Go On How the Deaths of Lead Actors Have Affected Television Series Jefferson North Carolina McFarland ISBN 978 0 7864 3295 0 Cheers Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc Retrieved December 27 2011 Tom Pendergast Sara Pendergast ed 1999 St James encyclopedia of popular culture 1st ed Farmington Hills MI St James Press p 488 ISBN 978 1 55862 400 9 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Cheers Official website Media related to Cheers television series at Wikimedia Commons Cheers at IMDb Cheers at epguides com Cheers at Museum of Broadcast Communications Cheers Boston an official website of a bar that tributes to and is also a production set of Cheers Cheers Bruchsal Bar in Bruchsal cheersbruchsal de Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cheers amp oldid 1154561094, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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