Why Woody Harrelson didn't attend the 'Cheers' reunion at the Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards were filled with special reunions, including the cast of "Cheers."
Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, Kelsey Grammer, John Ratzenberger and George Wendt were on hand during the 75th annual awards ceremony on Jan. 15 to present an award. During their bit on stage, they sat around a re-created Bull & Finch Pub as they spoke about their "long overdue class reunion."
Noticeably absent from the reunion was Woody Harrelson. In a post-Emmys interview with The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Jesse Collins explained Harrelson's absence.
“Woody Harrelson couldn’t make ‘Cheers’ because he’s in a play (‘Ulster American’ in London),” Collins said. “So there were a few people where there were just logistical challenges. But we were lucky to get so many people who were willing to participate.”
Harrelson played Woody Boyd, making his debut during the show's fourth season.
Collins did not comment on another prominent actor missing from the reunion: Shelley Long. Meanwhile, the late Kirstie Alley died in 2022 at the age of 71. She was honored in the emotional in memoriam segment, along with Norman Lear, Matthew Perry and others.
“Cheers” aired on NBC from 1982 to 1993, spanning 11 seasons.
Grammer would go on and star in his spinoff series, "Frasier," which also ran for 11 seasons from 1993 to 2004. Last year, the actor starred in a revival of the series for Paramount+.
Last year, several "Cheers" cast members reunited at the ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas, to take a walk down memory lane and honor Alley.
“She’s not here. It’s very strange,” Danson said, getting emotional, per Variety. “She came in like a ball of fire… She was making her entrance into the table read and she put on a Shelley Long, blonde wig. We’re like, ‘OK, you’ll do great.’”
Co-creator James Burrows also spoke about how special the show is to him, saying, “Of all the shows I’ve done — and I’ve done a lot — this will always be my fifth child.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
