The show was created and produced by director James Burrows and writers Glen and Les Charles, who previously worked on Taxi, another sitcom.

The concept and production design of the show were inspired by a public house in Boston, the Bull & Finch, which is now called Cheers Beacon Hill.

Carla attacks Big Eddie (Ron Karabatsos) for insulting the Boston Red Sox, including Sam.

When Big Eddie next encounters Carla in the bar, he is both frustrated and impressed by her self-control, and ultimately drops the lawsuit against Sam and Cheers.

However, Carla still apparently carries anger when she rudely throws the beer mug to a customer from the pool table room.

Diane taunts Carla by repeatedly making "boom-boom" sounds from The Tell-Tale Heart, a short story by Edgar Allan Poe.

When their dates leave, Sam admits his actions and clears up the misunderstandings and tells Diane that she may be a perfect match for him.

Although the fortune is gone, Helen's chauffeur Boggs (Duncan Ross) reveals he has been embezzling from the Chambers family for years.

Other NBC shows Remington Steele, Taxi, and The A-Team also produced sketches for that year's Super Bowl pre-game.

[43] The "athletic element" was added to the bar because the show's creators, Burrows and Charles brothers (Glen and Les) were sports fans.

[45] In the pilot episode's original script, there were only four principal characters: Sam Malone, Diane Chambers, Carla Tortelli, and Ernie "Coach" Pantusso.

"[46][47] Wendt was cast as George, who evolved into Norm Peterson,[48] while a know-it-all character Cliff Clavin was added at Ratzenberger's suggestion.

[50] Sam Malone was supposed to be an ex-wide receiver for the New England Patriots football team,[51] but Danson's casting led the program's writers to change Sam's former sporting role into a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox baseball team, as Danson's build did not resemble that of a typical football player.

[2] Perlman had previously appeared in Taxi as the girlfriend (ex-girlfriend during the show's final season) of Louie de Palma, played by her husband Danny DeVito.

[59] NBC praised the show when the network was given test experiments and ordered initial thirteen episodes to be produced.

One episode was experimentally shot on videotape to lower production costs, but the producers were not satisfied with the results and continued to shoot the show on film.

[38] After efforts to improve the ratings failed, NBC approved production of nine more episodes,[60] and renewed the series for the next season.

When Portnoy and Hart Angelo heard that NBC had commissioned thirteen episodes, they created "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", and rewrote the lyrics.

[67] Despite low ratings and unsuccessful attempts to improve them, NBC renewed Cheers for a second season, which it announced in March 1983.

Jason Bovberg from DVD Talk praised season 1's writing quality above its "odd assortment of [characters]" and gave its content four and a half stars out of five.

[81] Steve Butts from IGN called this season "some of the best comedy writing and acting seen on television", praised the cast's performances, and gave it nine out of ten points.

[83] Stephen Tropiano from PopMatters called it "fresh and very funny", even for a very old show, but said that some situations seem "forced", especially for customers with no connections to main characters.

He also wrote that the show has "witty dialogue, talented ensemble, and a premise reminiscent of 1930s screwball comedies", which compared with the most popular sitcoms of the 1970s—Three’s Company, Laverne and Shirley, and The Love Boat—"Cheers was a welcome change of pace.".

[84] Michael Speier from Variety magazine called it "clever and touching" with "fresh" stories and praised chemistry between Ted Danson and Shelley Long.

[85] Jonathan Boudreaux from the website TVDVDReviews.com wrote, "[w]hile the episodes are often outrageously funny, the show's humor is character-based.

"[87] Matt Brighton from Blu-ray Authority called the season's writing and directing "clever" and was "impressed at how this show has stood the test of time.

Glen and Les Charles won an Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series award for the pilot episode "Give Me a Ring Sometime".

James Castle and Bruce Bryant won an Outstanding Individual Achievement of Graphic Design and Title Sequences for "Showdown, Part One".

[96] James Burrows won the Comedy Series category of the 36th Annual Directors Guild of America Award (DGA) for "Showdown, Part Two" in 1984;[97] he was DGA-nominated for "Sam at Eleven" but did not win in 1983.

Below sources originated from Los Angeles Times, republished in microfilm copies, which may be located in your local library.