By Meaghan Daly
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Hot in Cleveland may seem like one of the last places you’d expect to see any Frasier cast reunions. With its predominantly female cast and a setting over 2,000 miles away from Seattle, the show bears few similarities to Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce’s zany high-class world. In fact, it’s usually compared to Golden Girls.
However, against, Hot in Cleveland hosted many impromptu cast reunions for the turn-of-the-millennium psychological sitcom. Behind the scenes, it was written by Suzanne Martin, who contributed to multiple episodes of Frasier, and on-screen, it has some familiar faces as well. Jane Levees, best known for playing Daphne Moon in Frasier, is part of the series’ lead cast. Wendie Malick, who portrayed Martin’s (played by John Mahoney) girlfriend, is also part of the primary lineup. And they’re joined by many other well-known personalities as the show progresses.
Hot in Cleveland
- Betty White wasn’t meant to star in the show after its pilot, but her characteristically marvelous performance prompted producers to ask her to join the permanent cast.
- Hot in Cleveland was TV Land’s first original sitcom. Until its debut, all the network’s sitcoms were syndicated reruns.
- Liz Feldman, who served as Hot in Cleveland’s Season One producer, made her television debut on Nickelodeon’s All That.
In many ways, Hot in Cleveland is a continuation of the zany sitcoms of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Its varied plots and antics revolve around a cast of four. Melanie Moretti (Valerie Bertinelli) is a writer and mother. Rejoyla “Joy” Scroggs (Jane Levees) is a quirky British beautician. Victoria Chase (Wendie Malick) is a serial divorcée actress. Finally, there’s Elka Ostrovsky (Betty White), an elderly but resilient Polish housekeeper.
Whereas many sitcoms tie their disparate characters together with blood bonds, Hot in Cleveland used friendship as its narrative glue. Despite their differences, Melanie, Joy, and Victoria are long-time friends and former Los Angeles residents. Seeking a refuge from the shallowness of Hollywood, the trio inexplicably boards a plane for Paris. However, an emergency diverts their flight to Cleveland, Ohio, and they move in with Elka.
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What follows is, indeed, very Golden Girls-esque. The cast of “older” women support each other through life’s ups and downs. They frequently find themselves caught in bizarre situations and over-the-top chaos. Of course, being sitcom characters, they also rub elbows with plenty of bizarre celebrity cameos. In Season Two, their misadventures even bring them face-to-face with Storage Wars’ Dan and Laura Dotson.
The show’s comedic punch lines differ from one episode to the next. Like other popular sitcoms of the era, including Frasier, it’s both chronological and episodic. The characters grow and evolve, but most of the episodes are self-contained. While the crew’s zany antics generally don’t carry any long-term implications, their interpersonal dynamics slowly change.
Whereas Frasier’s dilemmas often arose from coworker squabbles and familial shenanigans, Hot in Cleveland revolves around more feminine concerns. Between their small-scale bumblings, the cast tackles romantic follies, wayward children of former marriages, and pregnancies. Again, it’s a far cry from the high-class (and usually failed) pomp and circumstance Frasier fans are accustomed to, and Elka certainly isn’t a gruff former cop.
Hot in Cleveland’s Many Frasier Reunions

- Among the show’s multiple cross-overs was a unique collaboration with All My Children.
- Hot in Cleveland spawned Cedric the Entertainer’s spin-off series The Soul Man.
- Joe Jonas is part of the show’s recurring cast, portraying Melanie’s son, Will Moretti.
So, how can these opposing series have any connection? Aside from the hilarious behind-the-scenes writing from Suzanne Martin, Frasier fans will enjoy the constant interactions between the sharp-tongued Wendie Malick and the ever-witty Jane Levees. And it’s worth pausing here to elaborate on Malick’s role. Levees is instantly recognizable as Daphne. After all, her inimitable quirkiness often stole the show.
However, Malick’s role may be less obvious. Unlike Levees, whose role was set in stone since the first season, Malick joined Frasier in its final hour, appearing in the eleventh season as former babysitter Ronee Lawrence. In his characteristically strange and somewhat offputting way, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) ends up competing with his father for (and losing) Ronee’s affection.
Ultimately, Malick’s late addition to the Frasier crew limited her time with Daphne. Nonetheless, the pair’s limited interactions were enjoyable. Hot in Cleveland doesn’t exactly copy and paste Levee and Malick’s former roles into its plot, but it still allows the duo to show off their splendid on-screen chemistry. And that’s just one reunion. Hot in Cleveland actually has three more for Frasier fans to enjoy.
The Cranes’ lovably gruff father, Martin, also makes a cameo. Or, rather, John Mahoney gets some screentime. More specifically, he appears twice in Hot in Cleveland’s lineup — once in Season Two (“Unseparated at Birth”) and again in Season Three (“Funeral Crashers”). Both times, he adds his remarkable wit and charm as Roy Miller, Elka’s hopeful suitor. His appearances may lack Martin’s usual rough edges, but they invariably bleed the same warmth and character as Mahoney’s former role. Even if Roy isn’t Martin, he’s still got that smooth-talking swagger.
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A less prominent Frasier cameo drops again in “I Love Lucci (Part 1),” the first half of the trio’s Season Two Los Angeles special. Her role is brief, but Peri Gilpin is still part of the Hot in Cleveland canon. Of course, she’s more famous for her role as Frasier’s snarky radio sidekick, Roz. Unfortunately for fans, Gilpin’s Hot in Cleveland role is quite small. Her “blick-or-you’ll-miss-it” appearance casts her as the trio’s old friend, Taylor. The group is seen eating lunch at the beginning of the episode, but Gilpin doesn’t do much afterward.
So, that’s three reunions. The fourth Frasier convention is another brief but satisfying cameo by Tom McGowan. In Frasier, McGowan portrayed Kenny Daly, one of Frasier’s eccentric radio station co-workers. However, for Hot in Cleveland, McGowan takes on a different production role. This time, he stars as a casting director and Joy’s former coworker. Like Gilpin, his appearance is brief. He pops up in Season Two’s “Love The Neighbor” and is credited as Robert, but he doesn’t do much in the role.
In some ways, the many Frasier tie-ins make sense. As a former Frasier writer, Suzanne Martin enjoyed reconvening with old friends, as did the rest of the cast. Despite their differences, both shows also firmly fall in that hard-to-master sitcom sweet spot between snarky and heartwarming.
Hot in Cleveland certainly isn’t a Frasier clone. Its plot bears little in common with its forerunner, and its familiar faces assume entirely different roles. Nonetheless, it’s worth a watch. Suzanne Martin’s contributions to the Frasier Continuity were nothing to sneeze at, and her comedic skills shine bright in Hot in Cleveland. It’s a show with a lot of heart and wit, and it’s the perfect pick for anyone trying to fill a Frasier-shaped hole in their life.
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Frasier
TV-PG
Comedy
A renowned radio psychiatrist, Dr. Frasier Crane, relocates to Seattle to rebuild his life and career. Living with his retired police officer father and assisted by his quirky physical therapist, Frasier navigates the ups and downs of family dynamics, professional challenges, and romantic pursuits.
- Release Date
- September 16, 1993
- Cast
- Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, John Mahoney, Jack Cutmore-Scott, Anders Keith, Jess Salgueiro, Toks Olagundoye, Nicholas Lyndhurst
- Directors
- David Lee, Kelsey Grammer, James Burrows, Pamela Fryman
-
Hot in Cleveland
TV-PG
Comedy
Hot in Cleveland: Three entertainment industry veterans from Los Angeles experience a new lease on life in Cleveland, Ohio, after their plane makes an emergency landing. They rent a home with a sassy caretaker, who becomes an integral part of their lives, prompting humorous and heartfelt experiences.
- Release Date
- June 16, 2010
- Cast
- Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, Betty White, Georgia Engel, Dave Foley, Jay Harrington, Alan Dale, Carl Reiner, John Mahoney, Craig Ferguson, Michael McMillian, David Starzyk, Jon Lovitz, Kelly Schumann, Tim Daly, Susan Lucci, Huey Lewis
- Directors
- David Trainer, Andy Cadiff, Shelley Jensen, John Whitesell, Michael Lembeck
- TV
- Hot in Cleveland
- Frasier
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