The cancelation ofFrasier’s revival before its third season cut across a romantic storyline that was shaping up to be one of the best in the show’s history. In the second half of season 2, Frasier Crane’s son Freddy seemed enamored with Alice Doyle, the daughter of Frasier’s longtime friend and radio producer Roz. The possibility of Freddy and Alice getting together seemed to make a lot more sense that the will they/won’t they speculation around Frasier and Roz’s friendship in the original show’s run.
WhileFrasier and Roz did sleep together, ultimately it was clear that the two would never have worked together as a couple. Freddy Crane and Alice Doyle, on the other hand, appear perfect for each other. They don’t have the baggage of working together for years, or a close friendship that could be pushed to breaking point by a romantic dalliance. What’s more,when Alice meets Freddy for the first time since childhood, her attraction to him is immediate. Given how well the two of them get along in the season 2 finale, it seems that the feeling is mutual.
Frasier Season 2 Set Up A Freddy Crane & Alice Doyle Romance For Season 3
Freddy And Alice Were Hitting It Off At Frasier’s Christmas Party In The Finale Episode
With hindsight, it’s obvious that a story arc was beingset up over the course ofFrasierseason 2 that would see Freddy Crane and Alice Doyleend up together at some point. In season 1, Alice had a long-term boyfriend and spent the holidays with his family, suggesting that she was unavailable for any potential relationship in the show. By season 2, however, things have changed entirely.It’s revealed in an early episode that Alice has broken up with her boyfriendand moved to Providence, Rhode Island, less than 50 miles away from Freddy and Frasier in Boston.
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The scene is set for Freddy and Alice to meet during the season’s sixth episode, “Cape Cod”, with Freddy’s fear that his father is planning to make a move on Roz serving as the perfect decoy for the audience. Alice can’t hide her feelings for Freddy, as oblivious as he may be about them at the time. But when Alice returns to Boston forFrasier’s Christmas party, sparks really begin to fly between the pair of them, to the extent that Freddy’s friend and possible love interest Eve becomes visibly jealous.
Freddy & Alice Would Be The Best Way To Do A Crane/Doyle Romance In Frasier
It Makes Far More Sense Than Frasier And Roz Getting Together
Given all the history betweenFrasier and Roz, who returned as a recurring character during both seasons ofFrasier’s revival, it would feel false and inauthentic if they got together at this stage. While Roz started off as an antagonist in the original show, she soon became a close friend and confidante of its titular character. When she and Frasier slept together in the penultimate episode of season 9, it was portrayed as a terrible mistake that almost cost them their friendship.
That Was Surely The Final Nail In The Coffin For A Frasier & Roz Romance In The Reboot Show, And It’s A Big Relief
Season 2 of the Frasier reboot has seen an increased presence from Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin), but thankfully also shuts down the idea of a romance.
By contrast, the gradual and believable way in whichAlice Doyle, played by Frasier actor Kelsey Grammar’s daughter Greer, is introduced into the second season of the revival only leaves one possibility for her relationship with Freddy. The two of them live in different cities, and will never spend enough time together to become friends in the same way that Frasier and Roz did. Instead, the only reason Alice would keep coming to meet Freddy is that she’s interested in him romantically.
If Freddy reciprocates her feelings,this would be a smart way of resolving the decades-old Crane/Doyle romantic conundrum,without having to undo the deep-rooted platonic bond that Frasier and Roz have built up during their time in Seattle together. A relationship between Freddy and Alice would also pit Frasier and Roz in different corners if any difficulties arise.
Freddy & Alice’s Romance Could’ve Added A Great New Layer to Frasier & Roz’s Friendship
They Could Become Even Closer, But A Layer Of Tension Would Also Be Added
Seeing their son and daughter in a relationship would necessarily change the friendship dynamic between Frasier and Roz. On the one hand, it might bring them even closer together as friends. But on the other, it could add a layer of tension if anything goes wrong with their children’s relationship, which would be interesting for us to see play out. There’s plenty of comedic potential in an argument between Freddy and Alice spilling over into a proxy war between Frasier and Roz.
Some gags involving Freddy and Alice could serve as callbacks to running gags about Roz’s relationships in the original show.
As well as the tension that could arise from Freddy and Alice’s relationship, there would be plenty of opportunities for the show to drawparallels between the friendship dynamic that Frasier and Roz share and the romantic dynamic shared by their children. Some gags involving Freddy and Alice could serve as callbacks to running gags about Roz’s relationships and insecurities in the original show. There could also be jokes about how different Alice is from her mother, just as the revival show pokes fun at how different Freddy is from Frasier.
The comedy which could arise from comparisons between the two generations of Cranes and Doyle is almost endless, and would open the door toRoz actor Peri Gilpin rejoiningFrasier’s main cast. Alas, it may well be that we never see Freddy and Alice’s relationship come to fruition.
Is There Any Hope For Frasier Season 3?
Kelsey Grammar’s Comments Open The Door To A Third Season
There could still be hope ofFrasier’s revival continuing into a third season, according to Kelsey Grammar. The actor has now expressed his determined belief that the show will return, tellingThe New York Post, “We’ll end up somewhere where people are passionate about it.” Grammar isn’t speaking in hypothetical terms or equivocating over the possibility ofFrasiercarrying on its revival run. He’s made a point of stating that the show will be back, without a shadow of a doubt.
Words of encouragement from the show’s main star give us reason to be optimistic, since it certainly feels that there’s unfinished business in the series.
If Grammar’s belief proves to be correct, then we can look forward to the idea of Freddy Crane and Alice Doyle’s relationshipplaying out in season 3 ofFrasier, only on a different streaming platform from Paramount+. Words of encouragement from the show’s main star give us reason to be optimistic, since it certainly feels that there’s unfinished business in the series, not only for Freddy and Alice, but forFrasier himself, and his friend Alan Cornwall.
A third season is facing a lengthy delay at the very least, with producers still searching for a potential buyer to fund it. Still, where there’s an audience out there, there’s a way for one platform or another to get a show with one of the greatest legacies of any sitcom in history back on the air.Frasierfans, hold your breath.
