Posted in: TV | Tagged: cheers, ted danson

Cheers: Ted Danson Originally Thought Sam/Diane Pairing was "Bad Idea"

Cheers star Ted Danson revealed he had some early doubts about Sam Malone being paired with Shelley Long's Diane Chambers on the NBC sitcom.

Before Cheers, the only time Ted Danson was a regular on episodic television was on the NBC medical drama The Doctors, appearing for 19 episodes across two seasons in 1977 and 1979. In 1982, he struck sitcom gold as the lead in Glen and Les Charles and James Burrows-created series as Sam Malone, the former baseball player-turned-bar owner of the popular Boston hangout of Cheers. Joining him are "Coach" Ernie Pantusso (the late Nicholas Colasanto) as co-bartender, barmaid Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman); and Diane Chambers (Shelley Long), a well-to-do graduate student attending Boston University, who finds herself as a barmaid after her divorce. Favorite regulars from season one were accountant Norm Peterson (George Wendt) and mailman Cliff Claven (John Ratzenberger). During Long's years on Cheers from 1982-1987, the series occasionally paired her with Sam in an on-and-off relationship before teasing again in the series finale in 1993. Danson didn't think much of it initially, given the character's womanizing ways, speaking on the SmartLess podcast.

Cheers: Why Ted Danson Didn't Initially Like Sam/Diane Pairing

"It was great," Danson said of working with Long on the Sept. 9 episode podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett. "I am always always the worst. My first reaction to Shelley while we were auditioning was, 'Oh, no. No. That's a bad, bad idea. I just, I don't know. We were so, we're so different. Our styles, our approach, our everything is really different, which is why I think it worked because it was, like, this fair fight."

At the season five finale, "I Do, Adieu," Diane leaves Cheers to pursue a writing career in California as Long wanted to pursue films and focus on her family. "It was hard for us sometimes to be in a room together, but when we started working, it was just fantastic," Danson said of his relationship with Long off-camera. "Because you'd smack her, and she'd smack you back harder. She was brilliant." The late Kirstie Alley joined the series the following season as bar manager Rebecca Howe for the remainder of the series. Danson currently hosts a series-themed podcast with co-star Woody Harrelson called Where Everybody Knows Your Name. For more, including why Danson credits Long on his Emmy success in 1990 and 1993, you can check out the entire interview.

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