Grammer's latest sitcom just might be his last

PASADENA, Calif. — Kelsey Grammer had better hope that his new ABC sitcom, "Hank," is a success, because he pretty much eliminated the possibility of returning to Fox or going to CBS.

And, of course, no one in their right mind wants to be on NBC these days.

Kelsey essentially blamed the president of Fox Entertainment for the failure of his most recent sitcom. And he made some rather impolitic comments about the chairman of CBS.

It may not have been smart, but it sure was fun to listen to.

The one-time "Frasier" star told TV critics that he thought his 2007-08 sitcom "Back to You" was a "good show." And that he "enjoyed" working with Patricia Heaton "enormously."

"I thought we had a really great chemistry, and I thought we actually were onto something pretty good," Grammer said. "Then Fox hired, what's his name? Reilly?"

Well, yes, that would be Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly. Who came aboard after a stint as NBC Entertainment president.

Reilly "actually hadn't bought the show. We had pitched it to him at NBC," Grammer said. "So I had bad feelings about that.

"Then we had the writers' strike. ... There was very little ability, especially on Fox anyway, to kind of have a sense of continuity about the show and a sense of commitment. Because that's just kind of the way they work with shows. It's their thing. And we were at sea pretty much once '(American) Idol' came on.

"And finally, there was some friction between the guy that never wanted the show in the first place, who was now running Fox, and our writers. And off we went."

So, he's not going back to Fox anytime soon. Particularly because Grammer ignored one little thing.

"Back to You" wasn't good. It was, at best, mediocre. Which was why Reilly didn't buy it when he was at NBC.

And then there's "Medium," which Grammer's company, Gramnet, produces in association with CBS Productions. A show that has gone through no small amount of turmoil in recent months as NBC pondered its future; then NBC dropped it; then CBS picked it up.

It is "a show I love, a show I'm very proud of," Grammer said. "We sold it to NBC originally. And it was just at the same time that CBS and Viacom became sort of connected."

Actually, Viacom and CBS merged in 1999, five years before "Medium" was picked up by NBC. Although Grammer's memory of what happened next is pretty accurate.