Ted Danson Turns Quinta Brunson’s Compliment About Shelley Long Into Stinging Insult

In the manner of most celebrity podcasts, Ted Danson’s conversation with Quinta Brunson on this week’s Where Everybody Knows Your Name quickly devolved into a fawning, mutual lovefest. But despite Danson’s gushing praise for all things comedy and Abbott Elementary, he managed to twist Brunson’s love for Shelley Long into a backhanded slap of his old Cheers co-star.

Brunson explained that her family was made up of Cheers superfans. She remembered watching as a young kid, but really appreciating its craft during reruns when she was a teen. More than most TV comedies, Cheers “felt like a play. Everyone was very grounded,” she told Danson. “I remember thinking that Diane was so grounded. I almost felt like she wasn’t acting.”

That got a laugh from Danson. “I felt the same way being with her sometimes.”

Oof. The comment flew past Brunson but it jibes with Danson’s comments to the Smartless guys on an earlier podcast. “It was hard for us sometimes to be in the room together,” he confessed. “We’re so different. Our styles, our approach, our everything is really different.”

So when Brunson said she felt like Long wasn’t acting? A gleeful Danson couldn’t have agreed more.  

The unintentional sideswipe at Long aside, Brunson said that Cheers was a tremendous influence on Abbott Elementary. “Human grounded performances, human presentation, knowing where the laugh is and the humor is,” she explained. “Building it out of a genuine connection with your castmates. We have very good relationships on our show so it’s fun to actually act off of each other instead of wait for the laugh. We’re constantly able to react.”

One of Brunson’s earlier comments — that comedy was her religion — struck a chord with Danson. “If I had a guiding thing that I think is important for Ted to do in life,” he said, referring to himself in the third person, “that is, ‘Be kind.’ That's the one thing I can really say, ‘This is something that I should do.’ I’m not always (kind), but this is something I will shoot for.”

Except, of course, when the subject is Shelley Long.

Danson argued that comedy is a kindness “because if you get people laughing in a real genuine way, not just the joke but at humanity, then you also are being kind because you’re reflecting things that need to be looked at or appreciated.”

Sure, whatever. But the ultimate kindness for listeners of Where Everybody Knows Your Name? That would be booking Long as a guest. Come on, Ted! If you’re going to keep taking shots every few episodes, the nicest thing would be to once again share a room with Long and let the comedy sparks fly.