Nepo Baby of the Week: ‘Frasier’ Just Became a Nepo Scramble
Kelsey Grammer’s acting dynasty just got stronger. Greer Grammer has apparently heard the blues a-callin’ and will join Paramount+’s Frasier reboot in Season 2. According to Variety, she’s playing Roz’s daughter who might or might not wind up dating Grammer’s fictional son, Freddy. Let’s all take a moment to pour a glass of sherry and process that, shall we?
We don’t know for sure that Grammer’s real daughter and fictional son are about to hook up, but her character description sure seems to want us to think as much: “Now in her late twenties, friendly, outgoing Alice has inherited more than some of her mother Roz’s free-spirited ways. Having just moved to Providence to study architecture, Alice is eager to catch up with Frasier’s son Freddy—and complicate whatever romantic plans he may have.”
Providence and Boston are less than an hour apart by Amtrak, so a fling certainly seems possible, even if it lasts for only one or two episodes. That said, I can only imagine the billable hours Frasier’s therapist is about to bank from this hook-up. Sure, he loves Roz as a friend, but the idea that they could become in-laws just might tip him over the edge. If anyone’s looking for a good drinking game, take a shot every time Frasier cries out, “Oh, dear God!”
Given that Daddy Grammer is an executive producer on the Frasier reboot, the nepo call-outs are as predictable as they are understandable. I mean, how does one even audition for their father’s show? Is there an audition at all, or do you just kind of whisper your name into the ether and immediately receive your tossed salad and scrambled eggs on a silver platter? Alas, most of us will never know.
Speaking with Variety, Grammer said he never intentionally pushed any of his seven kids into showbiz. Nevertheless, a few of them are moving in that direction anyway. In addition to Greer, Grammer’s daughter Spencer is best known for playing Summer in Rick and Morty and also starred alongside him in the Lifetime movie The 12 Days of Christmas Eve. According to Kelsey, the rise of “nepo baby” discourse—and especially New York magazine’s 2022 editorial package on the subject—“upset” his daughter.
“She said, ‘I spent 25 years trying to be known for somebody other than your daughter,’” Grammer told Today last year. “And then the first thing we do together, she gets hit for it.” To employ a cliché that Santa himself might like, I’m sorry my dear, but sometimes, that’s just how the free cookie crumbles.
Greer is perhaps best known for playing Lissa in the MTV series Awkward, and in 2021, she starred in and produced the Netflix erotic thriller Deadly Illusions. Most relevant for this column, however, is that she also served as 2015’s Miss Golden Globes—an ambassador position that’s long served as a haven for Hollywood nepo babies.
Beyond Greer and her sister, the Grammer Entertainment Empire might one day grow even bigger. Kelsey’s 11-year-old daughter Faith is “interested in animation,” Variety reports, and 7-year-old James has apparently started storyboarding his favorite films, which include Jaws and Ghostbusters. And then there’s 9-year-old Gabriel, whom the trade magazine reports auditioned for Stranger Things but did not land a role. Maybe he can star in the inevitable prequel, sequel, or other franchise off-shoot that Netflix will launch when the series finally ends?
Speaking with Variety about watching his progeny follow in his footsteps, Grammar said it’s “a bit of a mixed blessing to have my last name. People take it out on you. You get some attention maybe because of it. And there’s a split as to whether or not it’s good or bad.”
That might be true, but if we’re being real, the benefits far outweigh the costs. Usually, people with power—say, casting directors—love to hear a famous last name. The “bad” reactions tend to come from Reddit commenters and exhausted entertainment journalists who, speaking from experience, tend to have far less clout. Anyway, the hypothetical haters don’t seem likely to stop the Grammer offspring any time soon. Bet against them—or any nepo baby, for that matter—and you might just wind up with egg all over your face.
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