Hamptons.com caught up with Kelsey Grammer, who was kind enough to share details about his Faith American Beer, his new Frasier TV show, and the 8th Annual North Fork T.V. Festival. The festival’s opening night happy hour was at Sound View Greenport and featured the Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor Kelsey Grammer as a special guest bartender. He literally served over four hundred beers with his daughter, Greer Grammer, at his side. The event was in partnership with Grammer’s Faith American Brewery.
Mr. Grammer dressed casually for his night of bartending and was joyous and forthcoming. Posing behind the bar, taking a few hundred selfies, and conversing with everyone who waited on a very long line, Grammer was amazingly skillful behind the bar, as I did not see one bad pour from the taps. His daughter, Faith, at his side, had him smiling as they seemed to have the best of times.
Talking about his beer, “Faith American,” he said, “We are here for the beer, which is a new pet project of mine. It’s a few years old.” The beer has been on shelves for two and a half years already. He continued, “The beer has been a labor of love for me, and it’s about this property that I come from upstate New York and to help the community (he visited often as a boy) in the Catskills area. We have Faith American Ale, Faith American beer products, Faith American Brewery, and it’s named after my daughter (Greer) and also after my love for America.”
About his new show, Grammer confessed, “The show is my other labor of love. We were trying to hatch an idea for a new show for quite some time when we finally got a go-ahead from the folks at Paramount+.” He added, “…and it looks like we have found the right combination. The show is titled “Frasier.” It had been almost twenty years (2004) since Grammer last portrayed “Frasier” for the TV screen, and he explained, “(The role of) Frasier was easy to slip back into. Frasier is a wonderfully fleshed-out character, and I am the flesh; it’s like putting on a suit of cloth.” He explained it was nine years between the multi-award-winning show “Cheers” and the original “Frasier.” He proudly said, “I did eleven years as Frasier,” and now after a 19-year pause, he is obviously totally excited about the new show. Fans and critics alike love it.
Kelsey Grammer won the North Fork T.V. Festival Canopy Award back in 2019. The Canopy Award honors a member of the New York television community and “champions the creative ambitions of diverse storytelling through their persistence, integrity, and inclusive nature,” according to the festival. When asked about his history and support of Noah Doyle, the Founder of the North Fork TV Festival, Grammer said, “I always love participating in celebrating the industry I am in. I take it seriously. I enjoy the sense of gathering, collaboration, and I will do anything I can to make it better.”
On Saturday, November 18th, there was a “Brunch Screening of Paramount+ Series Frasier,” followed by a conversation with Executive Producer Tom Russo. Moderated by Variety’s Jennifer Maas, “Frasier” Emmy-nominated executive producer Tom Russo participated in a Q & A about the Emmy-winning series’ return to television this fall. The event also took place at Sound View Greenport. Kelsey Grammer, his daughter actress Greer Grammer, Stephen Moyer, Jenn Lyon, Michael Emerson, and 2023 Canopy Award recipient Carrie Preston were all in attendance.
Throughout Saturday, the North Fork TV Festival hosted a series of in-person screenings and conversations to honor this year’s Independent Script and TV Pilot Competition winners at Borghese Vineyard. This year’s competition received 300 submissions, the most in the festival’s history. The competition program was organized by Grace O’Doherty, the festival’s Producer.
During the festival’s closing session, Carrie Preston was honored with the 2023 Canopy Award at Borghese Vineyard in Cutchogue, NY. Preston was introduced by her husband and Emmy Award-winning actor Michael Emerson and participated in a Q&A moderated by actress Jenn Lyon, highlighting her impressive career and her upcoming CBS series Elsbeth.
