Nicholas Colasanto, Rhea Perlman and George Wendt rounded out the original main cast as “Coach” Ernie Pantusso, Carla Tortelli and Norm Peterson, respectively. I know there were a lot of people that were disappointed and were just kind of hoping for that fairytale ending of Sam and Diane riding off into the sunset happily ever after, but the decision was ultimately made for them to be apart, and I have to say that I agree with that decision.”ĭespite the lead characters’ undeniable chemistry, Cheers was first and foremost an ensemble show. Series writer Ken Levine added: “Of course, there’s the debate that’s still raging as to whether or not Sam and Diane should’ve gotten together at the end or not. But she was an incredible trooper about it.”
“I think it was one of those things where people thought, ‘Well, the only thing we can do is ask.’ You can’t get a ‘yes’ until you ask a question. To have the show end the right way, you kind of needed to get some closure on that relationship,” Cheers co-executive producer Rob Long told Variety in May 2018.
