Cheers

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Cheers is the name of a long-running sitcom made by Charles-Burrows-Charles Productions in association with Paramount Television for NBC. The show premiered on September 30, 1982 and had its widely-watched series finale on May 20, 1993, followed by a long and ongoing run in syndication. In eleven seasons, there were 270 episodes.

  • Format: Sitcom
  • Run time: approx. 0:30 (per episode)
  • Creators: James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles

[edit] Actors

  • Ted Danson
  • Shelley Long
  • Kirstie Alley
  • Nicholas Colasanto
  • Rhea Perlman
  • John Ratzenberger
  • Woody Harrelson
  • Kelsey Grammer
  • Bebe Neuwirth
  • George Wendt

[edit] Setting and characters

The show was set in a Boston bar, where a group of locals would come to sit, drink, complain, and practical jokes on a rival bar in town. The show also created the character Frasier Crane. Frasier got his own show (Frasier) the season after Cheers ended.

The show's main theme in its early seasons was the romance between Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) and ex-baseball pitcher and bar owner Sam Malone (Ted Danson). Long's departure from the show in 1987 shifted the emphasis to Sam's relationship with a new character, Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley). Diane returned for the finale.

The producers, not wanting the show to be construed as promoting drinking, had Sam's character written as a recovering alcoholic. Most of the early episodes took place entirely within the confines of the bar. When the series became a hit, the characters started leaving the bar, first to other sets and eventually to the occasional exterior location.

The outer shots of the bar were actually the Bull and Finch pub, north of Boston Common, which has become a tourist attraction because of its association with the series. It is said to be the bar that the series creators saw and wanted to model the bar in their show after. It has now been renamed as Cheers on Beacon Hill, though its interior is quite different from the TV bar.

The show was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles. It was nearly cancelled during its first season (in which it ranked dead last among 63 shows), but eventually became one of the most popular shows on TV, earning a top-ten rating during seven of its eleven seasons. The show earned 26 Emmy Awards, out of a total of 111 nominations.

[edit] Other meanings

"Cheers!" is a common phrase used before sharing a drink with someone.

In British English, it is also commonly used to say "thank you".

Cheers is also a 2003 album by rapper Obie Trice.