'Frasier' on the Move

By Stephen M. Silverman

09/17/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

The generously remunerated cast of "Friends" may be keeping its Thursday night slot, but "Frasier" won't. NBC announced Monday that it is moving the Kelsey Grammer sitcom to 9 p.m. Tuesdays (right back where it started from), while "Will & Grace" will slip into the current Thursday "Frasier" slot. NBC also confirmed the cancellations of "Suddenly Susan" with Brooke Shields, "Veronica's Closet" with Kirstie Alley, "Jesse" with Christina Applegate, and "Stark Raving Mad" with Neil Patrick Harris. "Dateline" will be cut back from five nights to three, though the news magazine could be reinstated any night should a new program falter. As for new stuff, "The Michael Richards Show" (Tuesdays at 8) will star the "Seinfeld" alum as a bumbling detective (with better coiffed hair than he had last time out). NBC also confirmed that a new three-hour version of "Today" with Katie Couric and Matt Lauer will take to the air on Sept. 15.