Cheers

The character of Sam Malone was originally intended to be a retired football player and was slated to be played by Fred Dryer, but Danson was chosen in part because he was younger and had more acting experience than Dryer.

Bill Cosby was also considered early in the casting process for the role of Sam, after having been recommended by the network.

When she did read for the part, according to Glen Charles, "that was it, we knew that we wanted her." 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.

Ted Danson was sent to bartending school to prepare him for the part and according to Burrows, had to learn "how to pretend that he knew a lot about sports" since Danson was not a sports fan in real life and had never been to a baseball game.

The character of Cliff Clavin was created for John Ratzenberger after he auditioned for the role of Norm Peterson, which eventually went to George Wendt.

Alley joined the cast when Shelley Long left, and Woody Harrelson joined when Nicholas Colasanto died.