Frasier: Diane Chambers is a fictional character in the American television situation comedy show Cheers, portrayed by Shelley Long and created by Glen and Les Charles.

After that, they added her permanent replacement Rebecca Howe, a businesswoman played by Kirstie Alley, in the sixth season.

Producers decided to give Long the role primarily for her scenes with Ted Danson as Sam.

Diane Chambers premiered in Cheers in 1982 as a former teaching assistant and graduate student who works as a cocktail waitress.

In the 1982 series pilot "Give Me a Ring Sometime", Diane arrived with her fiancé Professor Sumner Sloane (Michael McGuire).

[1] Her mother Helen (Glynis Johns) appeared in one episode, "Someone Single, Someone Blue" (1983), and the narrative indicated that her father, Spencer, had died.

She was known for intellectually-minded, long-winded commentaries and academic interests (particularly poetry, psychology) which created tensions with her co-workers and in the bar culture, opening up many comedic possibilities.

[3] Diane had on-and-off relationships with womanizing bartender Sam Malone, a former professional athlete and a foil to her intellectual persona.

She appeared as a dream figure from Frasier's mind in "Adventures In Paradise (Part 2)" (1994) and later again in "Don Juan In Hell" (2001).

She also lost her friends, boyfriend, beach house, and financial support for her upcoming play, and traveled to Seattle to ask Frasier for help.

After the rehearsal, Diane reconciled with Frasier about abandoning him in Europe and then decided to postpone the play and to move back to Los Angeles.

"[10] Before the final decision was made, the list of actresses was narrowed down to three: Long, Lisa Eichhorn, and Julia Duffy.

[23][24] Her decision was so surprising that it became national news and greatly worried the show's cast and crew, who believed that the Sam-Diane relationship was fundamental to Cheers' success.

[26] In February 1987, the creators decided to find a female lead replacement who did not resemble Shelley Long.

When you've been that busy for so long with the show that's so demanding on your time, energy, and concentration on Cheers, the rhythms of your life change totally when you let it go.

[28]Long's replacement Kirstie Alley debuted as businesswoman Rebecca Howe in the sixth season and became a main cast member thereafter.

[34] In 1993, John Carman from San Francisco Chronicle said Long's guest appearance in the series finale was neither well-performed nor well-aged.