Frasier Crane, Jennifer Melfi and more TV shrinks
Kelsey Grammer, left, as Frasier Crane, and David Hyde Pierce, as his brother Niles Crane, on "Frasier" on Nov. 9, 1999. Credit: NBC
“The Alienist,” which debuts Monday, Jan. 22, focuses on the title character, the late-19th century equivalent of what today we’d call a psychologist. So perhaps we might even consider Daniel Brühl’s Dr. Laszlo Kreizler as TV’s first headshrinker. Here are five more recent examples:
DR. JENNIFER MELFI (Lorraine Bracco, “The Sopranos,” 1999-2007) She bravely guided Tony Soprano through his therapy sessions.
DR. BOB HARTLEY (Bob Newhart, “The Bob Newhart Show,” 1972-78) Newhart brought his button-down humor to Chicago, where he had to deal with his nutty patients, friends and co-workers.
TOBIAS FUNKE (David Cross, “Arrested Development,” 2003-06, 2013) He was the chief resident of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital until he lost his license for giving CPR to a man who was not actually having a heart attack.
FRASIER CRANE (Kelsey Grammer, “Cheers,” 1984-93, and “Frasier,” 1993-2004) Before he became a radio host, Frasier was a Freudian (and his younger brother, Niles, was a Jungian).
DR. KATZ (Voiced by Jonathan Katz, “Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist,” 1995-2002) Animated series about a therapist whose patients are famous comedians and actors.
Andy Edelstein, Newsday's entertainment editor, supervises coverage of TV, celebrities, movies and pop music. He has written three books on popular culture, including "The Brady Bunch Book."
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