Winnipeg-born actor starring in “Frasier” reboot

When Dr. Frasier Crane made his return to the small screen last month, with his signature bon mots and sarcasm, a Winnipeg-born actor was by his side.

Jess Salgueiro, born and bred in Manitoba, is starring alongside veteran actor Kelsey Grammer in the Paramount+ reboot of the iconic sitcom “Frasier.”

“This is genuinely the best cast ever. Everybody is so kind, including Kelsey,” Salgueiro told CTV News Winnipeg in an interview.

Salgueiro first got a call about the audition in December of 2022. She taped a few scenes from her home in Toronto - commonplace since the onset of the pandemic.

She happened to be in Los Angeles for a vacation a month later when she got the news she had landed a callback in person.

She found out she would be auditioning alongside the Seattle psychiatrist himself.

“I see it’s a chemistry read with Kelsey Grammer and I was like ‘Oh, what a way to go back in the room. That’s a lot of pressure,’” she said.

The callback was short and sweet. She had been warned not to expect laughs from the network execs but sure enough, she heard some chuckles.

The laughs proved to be a good omen; she landed the role.

The "Frasier" set is shown in a behind the scenes photo. (Source: Jess Salgueiro/Instagram)

Salgueiro plays Eve, a single mother whose partner dies tragically on the job as a firefighter. Frasier’s son Freddy, a good friend of Eve’s late husband, moves in with her in Boston to help during her time of grief.

When Frasier moves to town to reconnect with his son, Eve becomes a bit of a mediator between the sometimes duelling men.

“Eve’s kind of the buffer between the two, in a similar way that Daphne was a buffer between Frasier and his dad.”

Among the television royalty Salgueiro got to work with was James Burrows, a legendary television director behind dozens of television pilots including “Cheers,” “Friends,” and “Will and Grace.”

The ten-episode season was taped as a multi-camera sitcom in front of a live studio audience, which made it feel like theatre.

It was a process that was very different from her past television work, Salgueiro says, which includes “Workin’ Moms,” “The Boys,” and “Letterkenny.”

“The first episode taping was very intimidating,” she recalled.

“It took a lot of relaxing and just trusting James and trusting the process.”

(Source: Jess Salgueiro/Instagram)

Since the series began airing last month, Salgueiro says she’s been heartened by the support of the series’ original devoted fan base and new viewers, alike.

Next up, Salgueiro is set to appear in the Apple TV+ series “Monarch” and a new MGM+ series called “Beacon 23.”

She’s also hoping to be reunited with her “Frasier” family.

“Fingers crossed, there will be another season of Frasier and hopefully that’s what’s next.”