Back to You

Frasier star Kelsey Grammer and Everybody Loves Raymond’s Patricia Heaton are back at what they do best – entertaining viewers on weekly comedy television.  The two sitcom heavyweights with seven Emmy awards between them star as former co-anchors who must once again share the spotlight at a Pittsburgh news desk.

Grammer, who earned a pair of Golden Globes and five Emmy awards for his portrayal of the snobbishly intelligent Dr. Frasier Crane on Frasier, now essays the role of the less than stellar yet egotistical Chuck Darling on Back to You.  The upcoming FOX series marks a reunion of sorts for Grammer and fellow Frasier alums, Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd.  Lloyd and Levitan both served as writers and executive producers on Frasier and are now co-creators of Back to You.  The three Frasier stalwarts recently spoke about making the transition from their old series to their new one.

"Frasier was so complicated, so messed up, whereas Chuck is really a simpleton,” Grammer admitted.  “He's not the smartest guy in the world, smart enough to get by, not a bad storyteller, but he's an egomaniac where Frasier was not."

"We quite often, on a daily basis, we say, `OK, what would Frasier do here, and let's do the opposite,'" Levitan revealed.  "Even though there are going to be a lot of people who still think of him as Frasier, we hope in time that they will see him as Chuck Darling.  I know we have."

Levitan also talked about the choice of Patricia Heaton for their female lead, to match wits and humor with the seasoned Grammer.

"What makes Patty so important to us is that she's one of those rare actresses who can go toe-to-toe with Kelsey, who can be just as strong as he is in a way that doesn't make her seem unlikable," Levitan said.  "From the beginning, Kelsey locked into Patricia as the right person for that role."

Back to You premieres Wednesday, September 19 on FOX.


-Rosario Santiago, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: AP
(Image Courtesy of NY Mag)