We nearly had a Frasier spin-off for a character who was in series for just 7 episodes

There was almost another spin-off added to the Frasier universe, focusing on a very surprising character.

The original program – which served as a spin-off of Cheers – premiered in September, 1993, and ran for 11 seasons, with Kelsey Grammer starring in the titular role beside Peri Gilpin, David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves.

We were reunited with the stuffy psychiatrist last year for the Paramount+ revival, with season two set to kick off on September 19.

It turns out there were plans to delve into the back story of one of his many girlfriends at one point, before the idea was scrapped entirely.

Hacks star Jean Smart, who played Frasier’s high school crush Lana Gardner (aka Lorna Lynley), confessed that she nearly landed her very own series based on the iconic character – who appeared in a total of seven episodes between season seven and season nine.

‘I was told they were thinking about spinning off her and her son, but they decided it wasn’t feasible financially,’ the actress recalled during an appearance on Good Morning America.

‘Because not only would they have to pay all the producers of Frasier, they would also have to pay all the producers and creators of Cheers.

‘That’s what I was told.’

Despite the plans to see more of Lana not coming to fruition, Jean still looks back on her days on Frasier fondly, sharing that she had ‘so much fun’ filming.

She took home two Emmy awards for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for her efforts.

Lana clearly left a very big impression when she made her debut, popping up in season seven episode Big Crane on Campus in 2000 – where a flustered Frasier couldn’t believe his luck when she agreed to go on a date with him, years after they were at school together.

Unfortunately, his crush deteriorated after they spent the night together, when he witnessed her explosive temper and quickly tried to stifle their relationship before it started.

Loyal viewers will be able to remember the iconic moment she yelled, ‘Put your brother on the phone’ to her son, causing Frasier to jump in fear, himself.

They were thrown together once again the following season, as Lana cunningly bargained her friend’s phone number in return for Frasier into tutoring her son, Kirby (Brian Klugman).

Last year, Kelsey reprised his beloved role for a divisive reboot – and confessed that he felt ‘vindicated’ when the series was picked up for a second season.

‘It feels great, it feels great,’ he recently told People Magazine of the announcement. ‘There was a sense of, I’m trying to think of the right word, vindication.

‘In my heart, I thought, “I know we can do this and I know we can do it really well.” And I didn’t want to do what some of the other shows had done, sort of come back and be the same show. I thought this all played exactly how it was meant to be.

‘And Frasier’s still alive, and he has a new story to tell and a new series of people to do it with, and it’s been fantastic.’

Maybe Lana could still make a comeback in the upcoming episodes…?

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