The show's ensemble cast introduced in the pilot episode are waitresses Diane Chambers and Carla Tortelli, second bartender Coach Ernie Pantusso, and regular customers Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin.

During its run, Cheers became one of the most popular series in history and received critical acclaim from its start to its end and is frequently cited as one of the greatest television shows of all time.

Notable repeat guests included Dan Hedaya as Nick Tortelli and Jean Kasem as Loretta Tortelli (who were the main characters in the first spin-off, The Tortellis), Fred Dryer as Dave Richards, Annie Golden as Margaret O'Keefe, Derek McGrath as Andy Schroeder (also referred to as Andy Andy), interchangeably Joel Polis and Robert Desiderio as rival bar owner Gary, Jay Thomas as Eddie LeBec, Roger Rees as Robin Colcord, Tom Skerritt as Evan Drake, Frances Sternhagen as Esther Clavin, Richard Doyle as Walter Gaines, Keene Curtis as John Allen Hill, Anthony Cistaro as Henri, Michael McGuire as Professor Sumner Sloan, and Harry Anderson as Harry "The Hat" Gittes.

Thomas Babson played "Tom", a law student often mocked by Cliff Clavin, for continually failing to pass the Massachusetts bar exam.

[22] Some television stars also made guest appearances as themselves such as Alex Trebek, Arsenio Hall, Dick Cavett, Robert Urich, George McFarland and Johnny Carson.

Various political figures even made appearances on Cheers such as then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral William J. Crowe, former Colorado Senator Gary Hart, then-Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, then-Senator John Kerry, then-Governor Michael Dukakis, Ethel Kennedy (widow of Robert F. Kennedy), and then-Mayor of Boston Raymond Flynn, the last five of whom all represented Cheers' home state and city.

In an episode that aired in 1992, Celeste Holm – who had previously played Ted Danson's mother in "Three Men and a Baby" – appeared as Kelly's jokester of a paternal grandmother.

The show's main theme in its early seasons is the romance between intellectual waitress Diane Chambers and the bar's owner, Sam Malone, a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and recovering alcoholic.

[27] After Shelley Long (Diane) left the show, the focus shifted to Sam's new relationship with Rebecca Howe, a neurotic corporate ladder climber.

[29] Feminism and the role of women were also recurring themes throughout the show, with some critics seeing each of the major female characters portraying an aspect as a flawed feminist in her own way.

The biggest storyline surrounding the ownership of Cheers begins in the fifth-season finale, "I Do, Adieu", when Sam and Diane part ways, due to Shelley Long's departure from the series.

One is with Gary's Olde Towne Tavern, trying to beat them at some activity or another but always failing, except for one episode when Diane helps Cheers win the bowling trophy, and extending to the practical jokes they play on each other.

Some believe that the show is a rehashing of Boston's ABC affiliate WCVB's locally produced 1979 sitcom Park Street Under featuring Steve Sweeney and American Repertory Theater founder Karen MacDonald.

[35] An early concept revolved around a woman becoming the new owner of the bar and the animosity created between her and the regulars, an idea that was used later in Season 6 when the character of Rebecca Howe is introduced.

[39] Among the show's other directors were Andy Ackerman, Thomas Lofaro, Tim Berry, Tom Moore, Rick Beren, as well as cast members John Ratzenberger and George Wendt.

"[43] Before the final decision was made, three pairs of actors were tested in front of the producers and network executives for Sam and Diane: Danson and Long, Fred Dryer and Julia Duffy, and William Devane and Lisa Eichhorn.

Most Cheers episodes were, as a voiceover stated at the start of each, "filmed before a live studio audience" on Paramount Stage 25 in Hollywood, generally on Tuesday nights.

[33] 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.

"[55] Writing in 2016, 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 absurdism.

NBC affiliates then aired tributes to Cheers during their local newscasts, and the night concluded with a special Tonight Show broadcast live from the Bull & Finch Pub.

"[57]Cheers began with a limited five-character ensemble consisting of Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, Nicholas Colasanto and George Wendt.

The show featured Carla's ex-husband Nick Tortelli and his wife Loretta, but was canceled after 13 episodes and drew protests for its stereotypical depictions of Italian Americans.

[citation needed] A similar scene aired in the Super Bowl XVII Pregame Show on NBC, in which the characters briefly discuss the upcoming game.

[citation needed] In 2019, members of the Cheers cast, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt, John Ratzenberger and Kirstie Alley reprised their characters in an episode of The Goldbergs where they play customers of Geoff's short-lived food delivery business.

All televisions in that world simply play an animated rendition of Cheers reruns on every channel, and the characters sometimes sing the theme song in difficult moments.

[85] In the seventh episode of the second season of How I Met Your Mother, a coffee shop barista mistakenly hears Barney's name as "Swarley" and writes it on his cup.

It includes two dead bodies sitting at the end of the bar, with one of them wearing a mail carrier's uniform, a direct reference to regular barfly Cliff Clavin.

Set at an Irish pub, it starred Alberto San Juan as Nicolás "Nico" Arnedo, the equivalent of Sam Malone on the original series.

The new show, tentatively titled Teach Seán, would air on Ireland's TG4 and features a main character who, like Sam Malone, is a bar owner, a retired athlete, and a recovering alcoholic.

It starred Grayson Powell as Sam Malone, Jillian Louis as Diane Chambers, Barry Pearl as Ernie "Coach" Pantusso, Sarah Sirotta as Carla Tortelli, Paul Vogt as Norm Peterson, and Buzz Roddy as Cliff Clavin.