Wexler: Baseball on ‘Cheers,’ 25 years later
From SABR member Sarah Wexler at The Hardball Times on May 18, 2018:
On May 20, 1993, Cheers ended its 11-season run. The series still holds the record for the most Emmy nominations for a comedy series with 117. It won a total of 28 awards. It received nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series in each of its 11 seasons; it won the award four times. It launched the careers of Ted Danson, Woody Harrelson and Kelsey Grammer, among others. The series influenced countless shows that came after it, as Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place creator Michael Schur attests. The final episode of Cheers, entitled “One for the Road,” was the second-most watched series finale ever (behind only the M*A*S*H finale), making it one of the most-viewed non-Super Bowl events in television history. There is little doubt it is one of the most successful and influential sitcoms of all time.
The May 24, 1993 edition of Sports Illustrated featured the Steve Rushin piece “Everybody Knows His Name,” a reference to the Cheers theme song. It’s an extensive, entertaining profile of the protagonist of Cheers, Sam “Mayday” Malone, portrayed by the incomparable Danson.
Sam Malone is one of the great leads in sitcom history, an essential connector between members of a beloved ensemble. He’s by no means a perfectly drawn character; he is, in some ways, a product of his times — his womanizing, played for laughs, often comes across as rather dated to the modern viewer.
Read the full article here: https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/baseball-on-cheers-25-years-later/
Originally published: May 25, 2018. Last Updated: May 25, 2018.