History Trivia / Cheers

** There were rumours that Creator/ShelleyLong didn't get along with her co-stars, which have since been confirmed by most of the show's cast and crew in retrospect. She often kept to herself between takes and was also perceived as seeing herself "above" those with whom she worked on the show. She did get on with Creator/NicholasColasanto. His tragic death during the filming of season 3 not only demoralized the cast, but it left her without an ally among them, and this likely contributed to her decision to leave the show after season 5.

** In "Mr. Otis Regrets," everyone jokes about Lilith's lack of singing ability when she takes lessons so she can sing to her baby, until the ending, when Lilith sings a beautiful lullaby. In RealLife Creator/BebeNeuwirth was (and is) an excellent stage singer who was famous for playing Velma Kelly in ''Theatre/{{Chicago}}'' long before she was cast on ''Cheers''.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Shares many similarities to a short-lived sitcom produced locally by Boston's {{Creator/ABC}} affiliate [=WCVB=] called ''[[https://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2018/03/20/cheers-conspiracy-park-st-under/ Park Street Under]]'', such as being a basement bar near the Boston Common.

* MissingEpisode: One special episode was filmed, but never aired on television, called [[https://vimeo.com/35709277 "Uncle Sam Malone"]], in which the gang tries to convince Diane that U.S. Savings Bonds are a good investment. This is a special episode produced for the U.S. Treasury to be used during savings bonds drives. It was written by Ralph Phillips (who was a sitcom writer but never wrote a "real" episode of ''Cheers'') and directed by James Burrows, and was about half the length of a normal episode. It had a standard ColdOpen followed by the theme song, but the rest of the episode was basically a ten-minute ad for savings bonds (and the payroll savings plan for small business owners like Sam - or the potential viewer).[[note]]This is not to be confused with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PzCkSVxXE4 an ad]] Creator/KelseyGrammer, David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney and Mooze (or Enzo) did as their respective ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' characters, also promoting U.S. Savings Bonds.[[/note]]

** Cliff was originally to be a Police Officer, but producers felt that his being a Mail Man would give him more access to information regarding his trademark "Little Known Facts". Many of Cliff's "Little Known Facts" were ad libbed by John Ratzenberger with scripts written simply to cue him in to the lines relating to his facts.

** Creator/LucilleBall was a fan of the series and met with the producers about possibly playing Diane's mother, Mrs. Helen Chambers. But she backed out because she felt that viewers would not accept her as a character that was different then her "Lucy" characters. Instead, Diane's mother ended up being played by Creator/GlynisJohns.

** Frasiers last name was initially Nigh, but was changed because Creator/KelseyGrammer felt it didn't fit

** When ''Cheers'' finally went off the air on May 20, 1993, Creator/{{NBC}} dedicated most of the night to the show's final episode.[[note]]''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' aired its own two-part fourth season finale, "The Pilot", at 8:00 PM to kick off the night, having been moved from its usual 9:30 PM timeslot. It would replace ''Cheers'' in the 9:00 berth starting in the 1993-94 season, where it would remain for the rest of its run.[[/note]] It began at 9:00 with a "pregame" show hosted by NBC Sports commentator Creator/BobCostas, followed by the final 98-minute episode itself. NBC stations, O&Os and affiliates alike, then aired tributes to ''Cheers'' during their local newscasts, and the night concluded with a special edition of ''Series/TheTonightShow'' broadcast live from the Bull & Finch Pub, with the cast and crew of the show in attendance (and, notoriously, quite inebriated).

** When ''Cheers'' finally went off the air on May 20, 1993, Creator/{{NBC}} dedicated most of the night to the show's final episode.[[note]]''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' aired its own two-part fourth season finale, "The Pilot", at 8:00 PM to kick off the night, having been moved from its usual 9:30 PM timeslot. It would replace ''Cheers'' in the 9:00 berth starting in the 1993-94 season, where it would remain for the rest of its run.[[/note]] It began at 9:00 with a "pregame" show hosted by NBC Sports commentator Bob Costas, followed by the final 98-minute episode itself. NBC stations, O&Os and affiliates alike, then aired tributes to ''Cheers'' during their local newscasts, and the night concluded with a special edition of ''Series/TheTonightShow'' broadcast live from the Bull & Finch Pub, with the cast and crew of the show in attendance (and, notoriously, quite inebriated).

* AbilityOverAppearance: Sam Malone was originally written to be a retired NFL New England Patriots player. But Creator/TedDanson wasn't bulky enough to be a football player, so his character was changed to a retired Boston Red Sox baseball player instead.

* TheWikiRule: The [[http://cheers.wikia.com/wiki/Cheers_Wiki Cheers Wiki]].

!Trivia tropes
* TropeNamer: For WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame (as a SnowClone of its ThemeTune).

* ExecutiveMeddling: Early in the show's run, Paramount attempted to encourage the producers to cut costs by switching from film to videotape. They made it as far as recording a test scene on tape.

* CreatorBacklash: Everyone involved prefers to forget about the infamous live ''Cheers''-themed special episode of ''Series/TheTonightShowWithJayLeno'' that aired immediately after the series finale.[[note]]With a half hour break in between for local news[[/note]] For context, Leno was at the much-publicized watch party at the Bull & Finch Pub with the cast to commemorate the series finale, but it was a shit show from the start. First, Kirstie Alley and Shelley Long were not there due to prior commitments, though Alley made a brief videotaped appearance to give her regards to the fans and her cast mates (who booed her as she appeared on screen). Second, since the rest of the cast had been partying at the bar since early afternoon, by the time 11:30PM rolled around they were too intoxicated to participate in any of the skits, sketches and games Leno had planned. Leno acknowledged this during his opening monologue and he instead dedicated the first half of the show to simply giving viewers a tour of the bar and riffing with all the notable (and also heavily intoxicated) Boston-area figures who were there that night, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr and then-Senator John Kerry. Leno then tried to do a Q&A and a trivia game with the cast which amounted to nothing[[note]]Aside from George Wendt possibly admitting that he and Rhea Perlman have had sex[[/note]] to Leno's visible frustration. The show then ended with Leno leading the cast back out onto the sidewalk to do a singalong of the ''Cheers'' theme, which they also failed to properly do. Creator/JayLeno publicly referred to the show as a "disaster" immediately afterwards and quickly buried it in the archives. Ted Danson made a subsequent appearance on ''The Tonight Show'' the week afterwards to apologize to Leno. Leno has since only acknowledged the special as the worst episode of ''The Tonight Show'' he ever did and to cite it as the reason why he never did a live episode again. Subsequent ''Cheers'' retrospectives or any retrospectives that aired as Leno wrapped up his tenure hosting ''The Tonight Show'' have also disowned the live ''Cheers'' special.

* OldShame: The infamous live episode of ''Series/TheTonightShowWithJayLeno'' that aired immediately after the series finale.[[note]]With a half hour break in between for local news[[/note]]. For context, Leno was at the much-publicized watch party at the Bull & Finch Pub to do a live ''Cheers'' themed ''Tonight Show'' with the cast to commemorate the series finale, but it was a complete shit show from the start. First, Kirstie Alley and Shelley Long were not there due to prior commitments, though Alley made a brief videotaped appearance to give her regards to the fans and her cast mates (who booed her as she appeared on screen). Second, since the rest of the cast had been partying at the bar since early afternoon, by the time 11:30PM rolled around they were too intoxicated to participate in any of the skits, sketches and games Leno had planned. Leno acknowledged this during his opening monologue and he instead dedicated the first half of the show to simply giving viewers a tour of the bar and riffing with all the notable (and also heavily intoxicated) Boston-area figures who were there that night, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr and then-Senator John Kerry. Leno then tried to do a Q&A and a trivia game with the cast which amounted to nothing[[note]]Aside from George Wendt possibly admitting that he and Rhea Perlman have had sex[[/note]], to Leno's visible frustration. The show then ended with Leno leading the cast back out onto the sidewalk to do a singalong of the show's theme song, which they also failed to do properly. Creator/JayLeno publicly referred to the show as a "disaster" immediately afterwards and quickly buried it in the archives, where neither side has acknowledged it since, neither in subsequent ''Cheers'' retrospectives or in any retrospectives that aired as Leno wrapped up his tenure hosting ''The Tonight Show''.

* DevelopmentGag: Former NFL star Fred Dryer (later of ''Series/{{Hunter}}'') was up for the part of Sam Malone and Julia Duffy (later of ''Series/{{Newhart}}'') was up for the part of Diane Chambers. Both later guest-starred on the show, Dryer as Sam's crasser, dumber sportscaster friend, Dave Richards, and Duffy as Diane's snootier and more pretentious best friend, Rebecca Prout. In addition, Robert Prosky (later of ''Series/HillStreetBlues'') was up for the role of Coach, and would later make a late run guest appearance as Rebecca's tough as nails father, Captain Franklin E. Howe, USN.

** Creator/KelseyGrammer's daughter Spencer had an uncredited role in "One Hugs, the Other Doesn't."

** Danson said later that he struggled initially with the characterization of Sam, as he was nothing like him in real life (eg, he had no interest in sports, was a mild mannered, college educated family man opposed to a womanizing book dumb bachelor, etc). Runner up Fred Dryer, who appeared in a recurring role as Dave Richards, Sam's old buddy and teammate, actually nailed the characterization better so in his early appearances (but lacked the acting chops that got Danson the role), Danson was told to follow his lead.