Ted Danson Recalls “Cheers” Being 'Dead Last' in Ratings, Says It Would've Been Canceled but Network Didn't Have a Replacement
- - Ted Danson Recalls “Cheers” Being 'Dead Last' in Ratings, Says It Would've Been Canceled but Network Didn't Have a Replacement
Tereza ShkurtajFebruary 15, 2026 at 7:00 AM
0
'Cheers' cast.
Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Cheers initially premiered in 1982 to low ratings despite strong support from critics
Led by Ted Danson, the cast included Woody Harrelson, Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt, John Ratzenberger and, later, Kelsey Grammer
Over time, ratings improved dramatically, turning the once-last-place sitcom into one of television’s most successful and enduring comedies
Some TV shows are instant hits, but Cheers took the long way around – and that slow start is a big reason it’s aged so well. What began as a ratings underdog has since become a beloved classic, proving that great television doesn’t always win right away.
In a recent appearance on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s On Me podcast, Ted Danson revealed just how uncertain those early days felt.
“Critics loved us. Everyone around us…the writers, everybody was so positive. 'Don’t pay attention, just keep doing it' kind of feedback, which was lovely, but we were dead last one week in the ratings,” Danson told Ferguson over a cup of coffee. “We were like... Jimmy [Burrows] likes to say we were 75th outta 70. There were only 70 shows.”
Danson, 78, revealed he was later told that the network "would have" scrapped the show, but "they had nothing to replace Cheers with."
Woody Harrelson and Ted Danson in 'Cheers.'
NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
After that shaky beginning, Cheers slowly found its audience and grew into one of the most iconic sitcoms at the time. The show premiered on NBC in September 1982 and was set almost entirely inside a neighborhood Boston bar.
At its core, Cheers was about a group of very different people coming together, episode after episode, to talk, argue, fall in love and support one another – usually over a drink.
Danson led the cast as Sam Malone, a former professional baseball player who owns and bartends at Cheers while Shelley Long played Diane Chambers, the intelligent and idealistic waitress whose complicated romance with Sam became a major storyline until her departure after season 5.
The bar was also home to some of television’s most memorable supporting characters. Rhea Perlman played Carla Tortelli, a tough, sarcastic waitress and mother to eight children who never held back her opinions.
George Wendt’s Norm Peterson was the beloved regular whose entrances were always greeted with a cheerful shout of his name. John Ratzenberger portrayed mailman Cliff Clavin, the bar’s resident know-it-all who delighted in sharing useless facts. Woody Harrelson, meanwhile, played Woody Boyd, a kindhearted bartender whose small-town innocence made him a fan favorite.
Later in the series, Kelsey Grammer joined the cast as Frasier Crane, a psychiatrist who added a fresh dynamic to the show and eventually led to his own successful spin-off.
Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger, and George Wendt.
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
As word spread and viewers caught on, Cheers transformed from a ratings long shot into an awards powerhouse. Over its 11-season run, the series won six Golden Globe Awards and 28 Primetime Emmy Awards.
Some of the iconic cast was even invited on stage for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards for a legendary reunion. Anthony Anderson, the host at the time, told PEOPLE: “We are paying tribute to iconic shows that have changed the scope of television and entertainment by being on the air."
“We're going to be paying homage to them, having a lot of cast members come back as themselves, as these characters, and there's going to be a little interchange between me and them on the sets of their shows," he added.
What once struggled to survive its first season is now remembered as a timeless comedy – proof that sometimes the shows that take the longest to catch on are the ones that stay with us the longest.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
