The ridiculous 'dead seal' episode of Frasier actually happened in real life

Some of the wildest Frasier scenes actually happened in real life (Picture: NBC)

Ask any Frasier viewer and they’ll say that a huge part of why the sitcom works so well is watching the characters find themselves trapped in unthinkably ridiculous scenarios – but it turns out some of their wildest moments actually came from real-life stories.

The original series, which served as a spin-off of Cheers, premiered in September, 1993 and ran for 11 seasons, with Kelsey Grammer starring as the stuffy radio psychiatrist beside John Mahoney, David Hyde Pierce, Jane Leeves and Peri Gilpin.

Last year, Kelsey reprised his iconic role for a revival on Paramount+, with a second season currently filming.

A massive trope of the original program was following Frasier and Niles attempt to impress the Seattle elite by throwing countless dinner parties, including one unforgettable evening on a beach where they were upstaged by a dead seal.

While we couldn’t imagine our fancy dinner being interrupted by an animal washing up on the shore, executive producer Joe Keenan – who joined the fold in season two – told Metro.co.uk that the plot wasn’t actually that farfetched…

‘Believe it or not, The Seal Who Came To Dinner – the one with a dead seal – that was based on an actual story,’ he said. ‘Chris Lloyd [writer and executive producer] had a house on the beach in Carpinteria, and a dead seal washed up.

Kelsey Grammer played the stuffy psychiatrist to perfection (Picture: NBC)

‘It smelled so bad that nobody wanted to be on the beach, and they dragged it out and it washed right back up.

‘That idea of having to deal with a dead seal, and Niles giving this elegant dinner party and he can’t step outside without rotting seal flesh assaulting his nostrils.’

That isn’t the only real-life moment that the writers drew from while making the show – in fact, the episode where the brothers were throwing yet another dinner party and deciding on a guest list wasn’t that far away from reality.

Of course, this sent them spiraling as they debated who exactly ‘that other one’ was – a dispute that still lives on today.

However, Joe refused to be drawn on it, adding: ‘Who is the other one? You’re asking me? Ask the friend, we don’t know!’

We’ll just have to make our own minds up…

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