Ted Danson wanted to stop being a liar after Cheers

Ted Danson wanted 8216stop being a liar as Cheers wrapped in 1993, telling his podcast he had so badly messed up his personal life he barely noticed the sitcom ending. The 78-year-old said he sought emotional maturity and change in the show’s final year.

Key Takeaways

• On Where Everybody Knows Your Name, Danson said he “f–ked up” his life so much he did not realize Cheers was over.
• He told guest Charlie Day the transition was easy because he “blew [his] personal life up so badly.”
• In the sitcom’s last year he wanted to “stop being a liar” and become “emotionally mature.”
• He left after 11 seasons and all 273 episodes; he now stars in Netflix’s Man on the Inside.

What did Ted Danson say about the end of Cheers?

During a recent episode of his podcast, Where Everybody Knows Your Name, Danson reflected on life when the NBC hit ended in 1993. As reported by Page Six, people asked what he did when the series finished.

“I had f–ked up my life so much that I didn’t even realize ‘Cheers’ was over,” he said.

Asked by Charlie Day whether he feared typecasting, Danson said the transition was easy because he “blew [his] personal life up so badly,” and he did not realize the show had ended for a few months while dealing with personal matters. Follow more celebrity breaking news as stars revisit career turning points.

Why did Danson want to change as Cheers ended?

Elsewhere in the conversation, Danson admitted he “barely knew myself” and took a “postgrad grow-up class fast” in his final year on the show. He described driving to Long Beach to see a mentor he called “amazing,” who offered “a whole different kind of therapy spirituality kind of thing.”

“I wanted to stop being a liar,” he said. “I wanted to be emotionally mature. I wanted to change.”

He had previously discussed the end of the series on an August 2025 episode of the same podcast, also reflecting on his personal life at the time.

Why did Ted Danson leave Cheers, and what came next?

Danson starred as Sam Malone from 1982 to 1993 and was one of the few cast members in all 273 episodes. Cheers ended after 11 seasons when he wanted other acting opportunities, and executives decided the show should not continue without him.

“I was changing for the better and working really hard at that, so I thought, ‘Might as well jump completely off the cliff,’” he said, adding there was also a sense that if he did not leave then, he might never know whether he could do other work.

After Cheers, Danson starred in Becker, Curb Your Enthusiasm, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and The Good Place. He is currently starring in the Netflix series Man on the Inside as a retired professor working undercover in a nursing home.