UK remake of huge 80s sitcom finally ‘in the works’

After years of fans begging, a revival of 80s sitcom Cheers is said to be in the works.

The hit series, which ran for 11 seasons from 1982 until 1993, starred Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Shelley Long, Woody Harrelson and Kirstie Alley.

And it’s now making a comeback on this side of the pond.

The comedy, widely regarded as one of the best ever, followed Ted’s character Sam, a former baseball player, and the staff and Boston regulars at his bar Cheers.

This time though, it’ll be adapted for a UK audience, and even set in a pub.

According to Deadline, production company Big Talk is in the early stages of pitching Cheers to British broadcasters, after CBS studios gave permission for an adaptation.

Chief executive Kenton Allan said it was a ‘huge honour’ to be entrusted with the beloved comedy, but worries he ‘might be insane’, after other reboots have flopped.

‘The British pub is an endangered species, so there’s an answer for the “Why now?” about it,’ he said.

‘The attitudes of Cheers in the ‘80s are very different to the attitudes of today, so there’s a massive amount of work to be done around taking inspiration from the original characters but creating something fresh.’

While it may be returning to screens, Frasier Crane actor Kelsey, who later landed his own hit spin-off, confessed he once thought it was a ‘terrible show’.

‘Maybe I saw this show? I think I might have seen the pilot when I was tending bar at O’Neill’s on 57th and 6th Avenue. I remember thinking, “What a terrible show. I would never want to be on something like that,”‘ he said.

‘She explained a little more about it, there was a requirement to keep it secret, like it was some kind of industrial espionage thing. And I thought, this is very cool and clandestine, so I’ll keep my mouth shut. She called me in, I went on tape, I got a call.’

After meeting the legendary ‘Sam and Diane’ as well as director James Burrows, Kelsey’s audition didn’t go to plan, as he recalled: ‘We read through the scenes, there were three scenes, and I didn’t get a single laugh…

‘I put the sides down the table, turned everybody and said, “I’m really glad I came. I’m going to go out on the street, see if I get some laughs out there.” And I left.’

A few days later, Kelsey was greeted with a huge surprise: ‘Sitting on the table was a bottle of Don Perignon, and it said, “Welcome to Cheers”. Which was a great moment in my life.

‘Of course, then I said: “Well, I’m going to have to fix the show, because it’s no good.”’