Cheers facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cheers
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Glen and Les Charles James Burrows
Starring	Ted Danson Shelley Long Nicholas Colasanto Rhea Perlman George Wendt John Ratzenberger Kelsey Grammer Woody Harrelson Kirstie Alley Bebe Neuwirth
Theme music composer	Gary Portnoy Judy Hart Angelo
Opening theme	"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" by Gary Portnoy
Composer(s)	Craig Safan
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	11
No. of episodes	275 (including three double-length episodes and a triple-length finale) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	James Burrows Glen and Les Charles Bill and Cheri Steinkellner Phoef Sutton (season 9–10) Tom Anderson (season 11) Dan O'Shannon (season 11)
Cinematography	John Finger Kenneth Peach (first three episodes)
Camera setup	Film; Multi-camera
Running time	21–25 minutes
Production company(s)	Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions Paramount Network Television
Distributor	CBS Television Distribution
Release
Original network	NBC
Picture format	NTSC
Audio format	Stereo (1982–1987) Dolby Surround (1988–1993)
Original release	September 30, 1982 (1982-09-30) – May 20, 1993 (1993-05-20)
Chronology
Followed by	Frasier
Related shows	The Tortellis Wings Cheers (Spanish version)

Cheers is a popular American sitcom (a funny TV show about everyday life) that aired on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. It had 275 episodes over 11 seasons. The show was created by James Burrows and Glen and Les Charles. It takes place in a bar called Cheers in Boston, where a group of friends and locals meet to relax and socialize.

The main character is Sam Malone, who owns the bar and is the head bartender. He used to be a baseball player for the Boston Red Sox. The show's first main characters included waitresses Diane Chambers and Carla Tortelli, bartender Coach Ernie Pantusso, and regular customers Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin. Later, other important characters like Frasier Crane, Woody Boyd, Lilith Sternin, and Rebecca Howe joined the cast.

When Cheers first started in 1982, it was almost canceled because its ratings were very low. It was 74th out of 77 shows! But the show quickly became very popular in the United States. It was one of the top ten most-watched shows for eight of its 11 seasons, and even reached number one during its ninth season. The show was often part of NBC's popular Thursday night "Must See TV" lineup. The final episode in 1993 was watched by many people, becoming the most-watched single episode of the 1990s. All 275 episodes have been shown again around the world. Cheers was nominated for the Outstanding Comedy Series award every year it was on the air, winning 28 Primetime Emmy Awards from a record 117 nominations.

Cheers is known as one of the most popular TV series ever and received great reviews from beginning to end. In 1997, two episodes, "Thanksgiving Orphans" and "Home Is the Sailor" (from 1987), were ranked among TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. The series finale was watched by about 93 million viewers. In 2002, Cheers was ranked number 18 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America said it was the eighth-best-written TV series. TV Guide also ranked it number 11 on their list of the 60 greatest shows.

Main Characters of Cheers

Before the first episode of Cheers aired in 1982, the show's creators planned for only four employees to be in the bar. Characters like Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin, who became very important regular customers, were added later.

Over the years, some characters changed. Woody Boyd joined the show after Coach's character passed away off-screen in season three (1984–85), following the real-life death of actor Nicholas Colasanto. Frasier Crane started as a character who appeared sometimes and then became a main character. In season six (1987–88), Rebecca Howe was added to the show. Lilith Sternin first appeared in one episode in season four (1985). After appearing a second time in season five, she became a recurring character and then a main character in season 10 (1991–92).

Original Main Characters

Cast of seasons one through three. From left to right: (top) Shelley Long, Ted Danson; (middle) Rhea Perlman, Nicholas Colasanto; (bottom) George Wendt, John Ratzenberger.

• Ted Danson as Sam Malone:

Sam is the owner and a bartender at Cheers. He used to be a baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Sam has a complicated relationship with Diane Chambers for the first five seasons. When they are not together, Sam dates other women. After Diane leaves the show, he tries to start a relationship with Rebecca Howe. At the end of the series, he is still not married.

• Shelley Long as Diane Chambers:

Diane is a smart graduate student from Boston University. In the first episode, her fiancé leaves her, so she needs a job. She becomes a barmaid because she is good at remembering things, which helps with drink orders. She becomes good friends with Coach and has an on-and-off relationship with Sam Malone. When they are not together, Diane dates other men who fit her sophisticated style, like Frasier Crane. In 1987, she moves to Los Angeles to become a writer. Carla is Diane's biggest rival, often insulting her.

• Nicholas Colasanto as Coach Ernie Pantusso:

Coach is a kind co-bartender, a widower, and a retired baseball coach. He is a friend to Sam and a close friend to Diane. Coach is known for listening to people's problems and helping them. Sadly, the actor Nicholas Colasanto passed away, so Coach's character also died off-screen in 1985.

• Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli:

Carla is a sharp and often grumpy cocktail waitress. She is known for being rude to customers. When the show starts, she has five children with her ex-husband. She has three more children during the series. Most of her children are not well-behaved, except for one. She later marries Eddie LeBec, an ice hockey player.

• George Wendt as Norm Peterson:

Norm is a regular customer at the bar and sometimes works as an accountant. A running joke in the show is that everyone at the bar shouts "NORM!" whenever he walks in. He usually gives a funny, sarcastic reply when asked how he is. Norm has occasional accounting jobs and is married to Vera, a character who is never seen but sometimes heard. Later, he becomes a house painter and then gets his dream job: tasting beer at a brewery. Norm was not originally planned to be a main character.

• John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin:

Cliff is a regular customer and a mail carrier who thinks he knows everything. He lives with his mother. At the bar, Cliff often shares strange and sometimes annoying facts, which makes other customers make fun of him. The producers decided to make him a mail carrier because they thought someone in that job would have a lot of random knowledge.

Later Main Characters

Cast of Cheers since season six. From left to right: (top) Perlman, Woody Harrelson, Kelsey Grammer, Bebe Neuwirth; (bottom) Wendt, Kirstie Alley, Danson, Ratzenberger.

• Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane:

Frasier is a psychiatrist and a regular customer. He first appeared as Diane Chambers' boyfriend in the third season (1984–85). After Diane leaves him in Europe, Frasier starts coming to Cheers often and becomes a regular. He later marries Lilith Sternin and they have a son named Frederick. After Cheers ended, Frasier got his own spin-off show called Frasier, where he is divorced from Lilith and lives in Seattle.

• Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd:

Woody is a friendly but not-so-smart bartender. He comes to Boston from his hometown in Indiana to visit Coach, who was his pen pal. When Sam tells Woody that Coach has passed away, Sam hires Woody to work in Coach's place. Woody later marries his girlfriend, Kelly Gaines, who is also kind-hearted but not very bright, and comes from a rich family. In the final season, Woody runs for city council and surprisingly wins.

• Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith Sternin:

Lilith is a psychiatrist and a regular customer. Other people at the bar often tease her about her serious personality and appearance. In her first episode in season four (1986), her date with Frasier does not go well because they argue a lot. In the fifth season, with help from Diane, Lilith and Frasier start a relationship. They eventually marry and have a son, Frederick. In the final season, she leaves Frasier for a short time but later comes back and they get back together. However, in the spin-off show Frasier, they are divorced.

• Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe:

Rebecca starts as a strong manager of the bar when a company buys Cheers from Sam. After Sam gets the bar back, she asks him to let her stay, first as a cocktail waitress and then as manager again. She often has bad luck with relationships, especially with rich men, and becomes more worried and unsure of herself. In the series finale, Rebecca marries a plumber and stops working at the bar. In an episode of Frasier, it is revealed that she is divorced and back at the bar, but not working there.

Character Roles Over the Seasons

The Theme Song

The original version of one of the images used in the opening title sequence.

The famous theme song for Cheers is "Where Everybody Knows Your Name". It was written by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo. Before this song was chosen, the show's producers turned down two other songs by the same songwriters. The songwriters had to rewrite the lyrics several times to fit the show's idea of "likeable losers" in a Boston bar. Once NBC ordered 13 episodes, they created the official theme song we all know. On TV channels that show old episodes of Cheers, the theme song is often made shorter to make room for more commercials.

Cheers Around the World

In September 2011, a Spanish version of Cheers started airing on TV in Spain. It was also called Cheers. This version was set in an Irish pub. The main character, Nicolás "Nico" Arnedo, was like Sam Malone from the original show. It even used the original theme song, but it was sung in Spanish.

In December 2012, there were plans for an Irish-language version of Cheers. This new show was going to be called Teach Seán. It would have a main character who, like Sam Malone, owned a bar and was a retired athlete. But because it was set in Ireland, the bar owner was a former hurling (an Irish sport) star instead of a baseball player. As of August 2019, this Irish remake has not happened.

Cheers: Live on Stage

On September 9, 2016, a stage play based on Cheers opened in Boston. It was called Cheers: Live on Stage. The play used parts of the original TV series and was written by Erik Forrest Jackson. It featured actors like Grayson Powell as Sam Malone and Jillian Louis as Diane Chambers. The play was supposed to tour through 2017, but it was canceled in 2016.

See also

In Spanish: Cheers para niños