Shelley Long “Never Regretted” Leaving ‘Cheers’ Early

The Emmy winner stated that ‘Cheers’ used to be “a dream come true” and “one of the most pleasant reports” of her lifestyles. So why did she walk away?

Jun. Four 2024, Published 1:Forty six p.m. ET

The NBC sitcom Cheers was a vital and industrial damage hit, incomes 28 Emmy Awards out of 117 nominations, together with 4 wins for Outstanding Comedy Series, and spending several years within the ratings pantheon. It additionally spawned the derivative sitcom Frasier, starring Kelsey Grammar. He told Variety recently that he would really like for Shelley Long to enroll in Frasier’s Paramount+ revival. So, why did Shelley Long leave Cheers anyway?

For the first five seasons of Cheers, Shelley played Diane Chambers, a graduate student who becomes a barmaid on the titular Boston bar and has an on-again off-again dating with bartender Sam Malone, played via Ted Danson.

Diane left Sam in Boston on the end of Season Five to pursue a writing career. Shelley, who won an Emmy and two Golden Globes for the efficiency, reprised the position on Cheers simply all over again, within the sequence finale six seasons later.

Why did Shelley Long leave ‘Cheers’?

Shelley exited Cheers to pursue a movie occupation and to spend extra time along with her daughter, Juliana, in step with TIME, which declared her departure “probably some of the largest career stumbles in show-business history.”

She starred in a few well-earning films, like 1987’s Outrageous Fortune and 1995’s The Brady Bunch Movie. But others, including 1989’s Troop Beverly Hills, 1990’s Don’t Tell Her It’s Me, and 1992’s Frozen Assets, weren’t monetary successes.

Shelley returned to television as a celebrity of the 1993 CBS sitcom Good Advice and the 1998 WB sitcom Kelly Kelly, although neither exhibit lasted long.

Since then, Shelley has been a frequent visitor star on TV, showing in episodes of Joan of Arcadia, Boston Legal, Switched at Birth, and Modern Family.

Shelley also wanted to “let cross” of her Diane Chambers persona, she mentioned.

Shelley had stress with Ted and Kelsey and evolved a nasty reputation at the Cheers set, consistent with Entertainment Weekly.

“Diane used to be … a ache in the butt … and I think the folk of Cheers were given me confused with that,” she mentioned in 1993, according to EW. “Maybe I did too, which satisfied me it used to be time to let pass of that persona.”

Even so, Shelley’s Cheers colleagues didn’t want to see her move. “I assume … they felt that I deserted them,” she added.

But Cheers persisted for years, and with Kristie Alley in position as Shelley’s substitute, the reveal hit No. 1 in the rankings in Season 9. “Shelley’s leaving reenergized the bar,” director James Burrows once observed, in step with EW.

In an interview on Australian TV, Shelley stated that she wasn’t sorry she left, pronouncing that she “didn’t wish to stay doing the similar episode over and over and the similar story. It had been such a recent and vital experience for me. I didn’t need it to transform old and off.”

Shelley did leave out her Cheers colleagues, however. “I overlooked them very much,” she said. “You know, operating at Cheers was once a dream come true. It in reality was once. And it used to be one of the most enjoyable reports of my existence. So yes, I overlooked it, however I by no means regretted that decision.”

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