Ted Danson looks back on “Cheers”' slow start: 'We were dead last one week in the ratings'
Ted Danson looks back on “Cheers”' slow start: 'We were dead last one week in the ratings'
Shania RussellSun, February 15, 2026 at 11:43 PM UTC
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George Wendt, Shelley Long, John Ratzenberger, Rhea Perlman, Nicholas Colasanto, Ted Danson on 'Cheers'
Paramount TV/ Courtesy Everett Colleciton
Cheers may be a TV classic, but Ted Danson says it took a minute before everybody knew the show's name.
While reflecting on the sitcom's legacy recently, the actor admitted that the early days of the show were plagued by uncertainty.
"Critics loved us. Everyone around us… the writers, everybody was so positive," Danson told Jesse Tyler Ferguson on his Dinner’s On Me podcast. "Don’t pay attention, just keep doing it' kind of feedback, which was lovely."
Despite the positivity, Danson said there came a week when the show was "dead last" in ratings, which caused concern about their fate.
"[Co-creator] Jimmy [Burrows] likes to say we were 75th outta 70," Danson joked. "There were only 70 shows.”
Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson on 'Cheers'
NBC / Courtesy Everett Collection
The actor said that weeks later, he was told that the network indeed "would have" canceled the show, but decided against it only because "they had nothing to replace Cheers with" on the schedule. In the end, NBC couldn't have made a better move. Though the show struggled ratings-wise, those who watched were hooked. Critics raved about the series, which was then bolstered by big wins at the Primetime Emmy Awards. By its second season, Cheers was a top-rated show.
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Spanning 11 seasons, Cheers saw Danson serve up drinks as Red Sox relief pitcher-turned-bartender Sam Malone. There, he worked alongside his famed love interest Diane (Shelley Long) and the cynical Carla (Rhea Perlman), catering to barflies Norm (George Wendt) and Cliff (John Ratzenberger) as the tight-knit crew navigated life. Later seasons welcomed the likes of Woody Harrelson, Kelsey Grammer, and Kirstie Alley, as the show's success continued.
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Ted Danson on 'Cheers'
Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
After finding its audience, Cheers cemented itself as one of the most influential comedies of all time, winning six Golden Globe Awards and 28 Primetime Emmy Awards across its run.
Danson told Ferguson that the show was so successful that even his parents checked it out.
"My father always thought I should get a teaching degree in case it didn't work out. My mom was just thrilled. She was a grand appreciator," he recalled of their reactions to the show. "So they were happy, and then they bought their first TV so they could watch Cheers."
He joked, "They got hooked. They got suckered into it, you know. So they bought one of those huge TVs that's like a piece of furniture."
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When Cheers came to a close in 1993, the finale was watched by over 80 million people. Years later, Burros told Entertainment Weekly that the decision to say goodbye came from Danson's desire to move on.
"If Ted had wanted to stay, we would have kept going," Burrows told EW in 2001. "The [cast] had the best jobs in the world. We were still on top. Regardless, they were all wonderful characters who could carry their own show."
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
