Los Angeles, California – The beloved cast of the hit ’80s sitcom “Cheers” reunited at the 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Peacock Theater. Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger, and George Wendt shared the stage together to present awards for Outstanding Directing and Writing for a Comedy Series. The nostalgic reunion brought back fond memories of their time on the iconic show, which was recreated on-stage for the special occasion.
During the reunion, Danson expressed gratitude to host Anthony Anderson for making the gathering possible. Ratzenberger referred to it as a “long-overdue class reunion.” Grammer, currently starring in the revival of “Frasier” on Paramount+, shared his pride in the show they all worked on. Perlman humorously added, “Yeah, and if somebody has the envelope, we can present the awards!” This was followed by Wendt’s surprise appearance from off-stage, holding the envelopes, much to the laughter of the audience.
Shelley Long, who left the series after Season 5 in 1987, was noticeably absent from the reunion. Woody Harrelson and Bebe Neuwirth, who also appeared on the show, did not attend the event either. Additionally, Kirstie Alley, who portrayed Rebecca, tragically passed away from colon cancer in 2022 at the age of 71.
The highlight of the night came when Danson presented the award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series to Christopher Storer for his work on the show “The Bear.” Storer emerged as the winner, defeating strong competition from Bill Hader for “Barry,” Amy Sherman-Palladino for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Mary Lou Belli for “The Ms. Pat Show,” and Tim Burton for “Wednesday.”
Storer’s success continued as he also won the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, beating out Hader for “Barry,” Mekki Leeper for “Jury Duty,” John Hoffman, Matteo Borghese, and Rob Turbovsky for “Only Murders in the Building,” Chris Kelly for “The Other Two,” and Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, and Jason Sudeikis for “Ted Lasso.” As Storer was unable to attend the ceremony, the “Cheers” cast graciously accepted the awards on his behalf.
For a complete list of winners at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, please click here.