Editing Cheers (section)

==Reception==

===Critical reception===
''Cheers'' was critically acclaimed in its first season, though it landed a disappointing 74th out of 96 shows in that year's ratings.<ref name=groove3>{{cite web|last=Anscher|first=Matthew|title= How NBC Got Its Groove Back, Part III: Brandon at the Bat|url=http://www.tvparty.com/80nbc3.html |publisher= | website = tvparty.com|access-date=July 6, 2012|archive-date=December 22, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222114654/http://tvparty.com/80nbc3.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This critical support, the early success at the [[Primetime Emmy Award]]s, and the support of the president of NBC's entertainment division [[Brandon Tartikoff]], are thought to be the main reasons for the show's survival and eventual success.<ref>{{cite news | work = Variety| date = May 20, 2003 | url= https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117921154?categoryid=1023&cs=1 | title=  Review&nbsp;– ''Cheers''| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20121109013112/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117921154?categoryid=1023&cs=1 |archive-date= November 9, 2012 | accessdate = }}</ref> Tartikoff stated in 1983 that ''Cheers'' was a sophisticated adult comedy and that NBC executives "never for a second doubted" that the show would be renewed.<ref name= Kerr_11_29_1983/> Writer Levine believes that the most important reason was that the network recognized that it did not have other hit shows to help promote ''Cheers''; as he later wrote, "[NBC] had nothing else better to replace it with."<ref name= "levine20120406">{{cite web | url=http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2012/04/how-to-find-writing-partner.html | title=How to find a writing partner | work=...by Ken Levine | date=April 6, 2012 | access-date=April 6, 2012 | author=Levine, Ken | archive-date= December 2, 2021 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211202192201/http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2012/04/how-to-find-writing-partner.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

Writing in 2016, drama critic [[Chris Jones (drama critic)|Chris Jones]] called ''Cheers'' "a hinge sitcom – one foot in classic bits and [[shtick]] not far removed from [[Mel Brooks]] and another in ambitious, ''[[Seinfeld]]''-like [[surreal humour|absurdism]]."<ref name= liveChicagoTribune/> In 2013, ''[[GQ]]'' magazine held an online competition to find the best TV comedy. ''Cheers'' was voted the greatest comedy show of all time.<ref name= "gqraftery201210" /> In 2017, James Charisma of ''[[Paste (magazine)|''Paste'']]'' magazine ranked the show's opening sequence No. 5 on a list of ''The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time''.<ref name="Paste">{{cite magazine |author=Charisma, James|date= January 4, 2017|title=The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/01/the-75-best-tv-title-sequences-of-all-time.html|magazine=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|access-date=January 16, 2017|archive-date=October 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191011233626/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/01/the-75-best-tv-title-sequences-of-all-time.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked ''Cheers'' as the eighth-greatest TV show of all time.<ref name="Sepinwall"/> In 2023, ''Variety'' ranked ''Cheers'' #11 on its list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time.<ref name="Variety"/>

===Ratings===
Ratings improved for the summer reruns after the first season.<ref name= "gqraftery201210">{{cite news | url= https://www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201210/cheers-oral-history-extended?printable=true | title=The Best TV Show That's Ever Been | work=GQ | date=October 2012 | access-date= September 27, 2012 | author=Raftery, Brian | archive-date=May 23, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523105859/http://www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201210/cheers-oral-history-extended?printable=true | url-status=live }}</ref> The cast went on various talk shows to try to further promote the series after its first season. By the second season ''Cheers'' was competitive with CBS's top-rated show ''[[Simon & Simon]]''.<ref name=Kerr_11_29_1983/> With the growing popularity of ''[[Family Ties]]'', which ran in the slot ahead of ''Cheers'' from January 1984 until ''Family Ties'' was moved to Sundays in 1987, and the placement of ''[[The Cosby Show]]'' in front of both at the start of their third season (1984), the line-up became a runaway ratings success that NBC eventually dubbed "[[Must See TV|Must See Thursday]]". The next season, ''Cheers'' ratings increased dramatically after Woody Boyd became a regular character as well. The fifth season earned the series [[Top-rated United States television programs of 1986–87|the highest rating for the year]] that it would ever achieve. Although ratings mostly declined each year after that, the show retained a competitive advantage and [[Top-rated United States television programs of 1990–91|rose to rank number one for the year]] for its first and only time in the ninth season. Although [[Top-rated United States television programs of 1992–93|ratings and ranking both lost ground]] in the last two seasons, it still performed well, as it was the only show on NBC during those seasons to be in the top 10. By the end of its final season, the show had a run of eight consecutive seasons in the top ten of the [[Nielsen ratings]]; seven of them were in the top five.<ref name=B16>Bjorklund, p. 16.</ref>

NBC dedicated a whole night to the [[One for the Road (Cheers)|final episode of ''Cheers'']], following the [[The Pilot (Seinfeld)|one-hour season finale]] of ''[[Seinfeld]]'' (which was its lead-in). The show began with a "pregame" show hosted by [[Bob Costas]], followed by the final 98-minute episode itself. NBC affiliates then aired tributes to ''Cheers'' during their local newscasts, and the night concluded with a special ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno|Tonight Show]]'' broadcast live from the Bull & Finch Pub. Although the episode fell short of its hyped ratings predictions to become the [[List of most-watched television broadcasts|most-watched television episode]], it was the most watched show that year, bringing in 93&nbsp;million viewers<ref name=":0" /> (64 percent of all viewers that night), almost 40% of the US population at the time, and ranked 11th all time in entertainment programming. The 1993 final broadcast of ''Cheers'' also emerged as the highest rated broadcast of NBC to date, as well as the most watched single episode from any television series throughout the decade 1990s on U.S. television.<ref name="NYT">{{Cite news |date=1993-05-22 |title=A Repeat of 'Cheers' Finale |language=en-US |work= The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/22/arts/a-repeat-of-cheers-finale.html |access-date=2023-11-24 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Tampa Bay">Stevenson, Jennifer L. "Cheers LAST CALL! Series: ENTERTAINMENT." ''[[Tampa Bay Times]]'' May 20, 1993: 8B.</ref><ref name= Newsday>{{cite news | title = Tops on TV| work = [[Newsday]]| location = Long Island, New York| date= May 26, 1993| edition= Nassau and Suffolk| page= 58}}</ref>{{efn|The article, "''Cheers'' Finale Most-Watched Show of Season," from May 22, 1993, edition of ''[[Rocky Mountain News]]'' said that the share of viewing audience was 62. The 2009 article, "[https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2009/02/01/the-gang-gathers-for-one-last-round/ The gang gathers for one last round]," by Hal Boedeker, claims that the finale drew over 80 million viewers in 1993.}}

The episode originally aired in the usual ''Cheers'' spot of Thursday night, and was then rebroadcast on Sunday. While the original broadcast did not outperform the [[Goodbye, Farewell and Amen|''M*A*S*H'' finale]], the combined non-repeating audiences for the Thursday and Sunday showings did. Television had greatly changed between the two finales, leaving ''Cheers'' with a broader array of competition for ratings.<ref name= B17>Bjorklund, p. 17.</ref>

NBC timeslots:
* Season 1 Episodes 1–12: Thursday at 9:00&nbsp;pm
* Season 1 Episode 13 – Season 2 Episode 10: Thursday at 9:30&nbsp;pm
* Season 2 Episode 11 – Season 11 Episode 28: Thursday at 9:00&nbsp;pm

===Serialized storylines===
Although not the first sitcom to do it, ''Cheers'' employed the use of end-of-season cliffhangers and, starting with the third season, the show's storylines became more serialized. The show's success helped make such multi-episode story arcs popular on sitcoms, which Les Charles regrets.
<blockquote>[W]e may have been partly responsible for what's going on now, where if you miss the first episode or two, you are lost. You have to wait until you can get the whole thing on DVD and catch up with it. If that blood is on our hands, I feel kind of badly about it. It can be very frustrating."{{r|gqraftery201210}}</blockquote>

''Cheers'' began with a limited five-character ensemble consisting of Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, Nicholas Colasanto and George Wendt. ''Cheers'' was able to gradually phase in characters such as Cliff, Frasier, Lilith, Rebecca, and Woody. By the time season 10 began, the show had eight front characters in its roster.

===Awards and honors===
{{main list|List of awards and nominations received by Cheers}}
Over its eleven-season run, the ''Cheers'' cast and crew earned many awards. The show garnered a record 111 [[Primetime Emmy Award]] nominations, with a total of 28 wins. In addition, ''Cheers'' earned 31 [[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globe]] nominations, with a total of six wins. Danson, Long, Alley, Perlman, Wendt, Ratzenberger, Harrelson, Grammer, Neuwirth, and Colasanto all received Emmy nominations for their roles. ''Cheers'' won the Golden Globe Award for "Best TV-Series&nbsp;– Comedy/Musical" in 1991 and the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series]] in 1983, 1984, 1989, and 1991. The series was presented with the "Legend Award" at the 2006 [[TV Land Award]]s, with many of the surviving cast members attending the event.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TV Land Honors 'Cheers', 'Dallas', 'Good Times' & 'Batman' at 2006 TV Land Awards; Fox-Owned UPN Stations Get New Mini-Network |url=http://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2006/02/tv-land-honors-cheers-dallas-good.html| website = sitcomsonline.com |access-date= 2022-10-13 |language=en |archive-date=October 16, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221016053032/https://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2006/02/tv-land-honors-cheers-dallas-good.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The following are awards that have been earned by the ''Cheers'' cast and crew over its 11-season run:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! rowspan="2" | Winner
! colspan="4" | Award
|-
! Emmy
! Year
! Golden Globe
! Year
|-
| Kirstie Alley
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
| 1991
| Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series&nbsp;– Comedy/Musical
| 1991
|-
| Ted Danson
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
| 1990 <br/> 1993
| Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series&nbsp;– Comedy/Musical
| 1990 <br/> 1991
|-
| Woody Harrelson
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
| 1989
|colspan="2" {{n/a}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| Shelley Long
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
| 1983
| Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series&nbsp;– Comedy/Musical
| 1985
|-
| colspan="2" {{n/a}}
| Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for TV
| 1983
|-
| Bebe Neuwirth
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
| 1990 <br/> 1991
| colspan="2" rowspan="10" {{n/a}}
|-
| Rhea Perlman
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
| 1984 <br/> 1985 <br/> 1986 <br/> 1989
|-
| John Cleese
| Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
| 1987
|-
| rowspan="7" | '''''Production Awards'''''
| Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
| 1983 <br/> 1991
|-
| Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
| 1983 1984
|-
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Graphic Design and Title Sequences
| 1983
|-
| Outstanding Film Editing for a Series
| 1984
|-
| Outstanding Editing for a Series&nbsp;– Multi-Camera Production
| 1988 <br/> 1993
|-
| Outstanding Live and Tape Sound Mixing and Sound Effects for a Series
| 1985
|-
| Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or Special
| 1986 <br/> 1987 <br/> 1990
|}