The key to Kelsey’s final maturation into Frasier was creating the Niles Crane character to play the old Frasier-like character from Cheers. Niles became Frasier, and Kelsey became Sam Malone. Angell, Casey, and Lee wrote up, just as the Charles Brothers did on Cheers. They didn’t care what the audience expected—they elevated the comedy with upscale jokes, humor, and farce, and the audience met them more than halfway.
