Frasier's Writers Immortalized Themselves In The Show & You May Have Missed It

David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee are influential names in the sitcom world. After finding success as collaborators on shows like "Wings" and "Cheers," the trio scored another massive hit with "Frasier," which tells the story of radio psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) and his family as they navigate life, love, and careers in Seattle. However, did you know the station Dr. Crane works at is a nod to the show's creators?

The station is called KACL 780, and it's home to some of the funniest moments in "Frasier." For example, fans will fondly remember the "Ham Radio" episode, which sees Frasier attempt to host a radio drama to celebrate a milestone work anniversary. Given that the station is synonymous with hilarity, it might be easy to overlook the fact that KACL includes the first letter of the creators' surnames. Vanity Fair confirmed this detail is an intentional nod to Agnell, Casey, and Lee, ensuring their names are forever immortalized in the show's fictional world. Meanwhile, the K is a real-life radio show call sign highlighting stations located to the west of the Mississippi River.

This is a fun detail about the radio station eagle-eyed viewers will appreciate. That said, KACL almost played a more substantial role on "Frasier," but it was ultimately rejected due to similarities with another show.

"Frasier" combines elements of family sitcoms and workplace comedies to create something original. However, as Vanity Fair documents, David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee initially set out to make a more workplace-centric show about Frasier Crane and the KACL employees. Ultimately, the creators resisted this idea, as they feared their series would be too similar to "WKRP in Cincinnati," a 1970s sitcom about staff working at a rock radio station.

Furthermore, Lee's father had a stroke while "Frasier" was being developed, but the situation was a lightbulb moment for the show's creators. "It became clear to baby boomer, only-child me that I was going to have to take care of my parents," Lee told Vanity Fair. "I remember thinking, what if that happened to Frasier?"

This idea paved the way for a story about the title character moving home to assist his father, Martin Crane (John Mahoney), and "Frasier" became a sitcom about a family whose members keep butting heads. The rest is, as they say, history.