There are plenty of sitcoms out there—and so, unsurprisingly, there are plenty of famous female sitcom characters that have seeped out of the pop culture bubble and into the makeup of our very souls.
Think about it: How many Friends fans do you know who described themselves as “such a Monica”? Or Big Bang Theory addicts who plan to align themselves with Penny forever and ever, until the end of time? Or Brooklyn Nine-Nine aficionados who will basically fight to the death for Detective Rosa Diaz? Or Parks And Recreation fans who have the metaphorical equivalent of Leslie Knope’s ever-smiling face inked onto their bicep?
You get the picture. Sitcoms hold a very special place in our hearts, so it makes sense that their characters become so much more than just characters. They become a part of us, helping to inspire and steer us through our day-to-days (or, you know, offer up a “how not to do things” guide, in the case of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s Dee). But there is one such character who is often criminally overlooked and undervalued: Frasier’s Roz Doyle.
In fact, we’d go so far as to say that Roz—who was played to absolute perfection by Peri Gilpin over the course of Frasier’s 11-season run—is actually one of the most progressive women to grace a classic sitcom. Ever.
To that end, then, we call to order the very first meeting of the Roz Doyle Appreciation Society. We hope you’re sitting comfortably, because we have a lot to get through.
Now, there’s no denying that our girl started out as something of a bit character: She was Frasier’s producer at his KACL radio show, tasked with keeping Kelsey Grammer’s psychiatrist in line (and of interest to his burgeoning bevy of listeners). It wasn’t long, though, before her dry sense of humor began to steal the spotlight and she earned a place as a fully-fledged part of the group, too, becoming Frasier’s best friend, Niles’ sparring partner, Martin’s equal, and Daphne’s confidante. (Hell, she was even going to be the physiotherapist’s maid of honor, until she and Niles eloped and ruined our dreams of a big white wedding.)
So, how did Roz go from Frasier’s colleague–and a reluctant colleague at that (she was always trying to find a job on another show)—to an integral part of this beloved sitcom? Well, her appeal isn’t just down to her wicked sense of humor: It also has a lot to do with her gloriously independent and sex-positive approach to life. Much like Frasier, we see Roz enjoy a number of passionate, no-strings-attached encounters with a stream of pleasant and attractive—albeit largely forgettable—men. While Niles often jokes about her love life, though, Roz never lets anyone slut-shame her, which means that, in turn, she is never treated by the writers as the butt of the joke. Instead, her pragmatic approach to matters of the heart (and loins) is held up as a shining example of womanhood—as something to be celebrated, in fact, whether she’s throwing caution to the wind and pursuing Roger the garbage man, enjoying a spot of hate-sex with Bulldog, briefly considering a reconciliation with her ex, nursing a broken heart, or leaping into bed with (obviously it was bound to happen at some point) Frasier himself.
Roz, you see, absolutely doesn’t need a man to complete her. The traditional happily ever after—love and marriage and a baby carriage—held up by society as the so-called norm just isn’t part of her game plan. And that’s because she isn’t willing to settle for anything less than perfection when it comes to a relationship. She may go into each one hoping to have found The One (despite appearances, our girl is a hopeless romantic), but she’s always willing to call time when it doesn’t feel right. Even with Roger, when the chemistry starts fading. Even with Rick, the cute (and much younger) coffee shop guy who proposes when he finds out she’s pregnant with his baby.
Yeah, that’s right: About halfway through the series, Roz discovers that she’s pregnant by accident—despite doing everything right in terms of birth control— which results in one of the funniest episodes of Frasier. (Seriously, put on season five’s third episode, “Halloween,” if you don’t believe us.) Dressed in an outstanding S&M-style outfit as O from the French erotic novel Story Of O, Roz doesn’t look the part of a traditional sitcom mother, nor is she ever reduced to a stereotype—even when she’s got muffin in her hair and two very different boots on due to a sleep-deprived wardrobe malfunction. Instead, Roz embraces motherhood like the total boss bitch she is, seeking advice and support from her friends as she prepares for the birth of her daughter, Alice, and long after, too. All of her warmth, kindness, and determination is summed up by her relationship with that little girl; and, while becoming a mum is of course an important part of Roz’s journey, it isn’t the thing that solely defines her. If anything, it only serves to throw into sharp relief all of the other amazing aspects of her life. Her brilliant skills as a producer, for example, drive her to do and be the very best she can be at work. Her never-ending quest to have fun, too, whenever and wherever possible. Her dogged determination to find a man who’s truly her equal, no matter how many notches in her bedpost it takes. Her unerring ability to treat her friends like the chosen family she considers them to be, even when she’s running on empty and they’re annoying the hell out of her.
Because here’s the thing: Roz might get teased and berated by the Crane brothers, but she’s the one who threatens everyone in Cafe Nervoso to forget every damn thing they saw on the day that Niles lost his mind a teeny bit and stripped naked in the middle of the busy coffee shop. She’s the one who’s sat holding Daphne’s hand when they’re waiting to hear how Niles’ heart bypass surgery has gone. And she’s the only one, too, who A.) attends Martin’s poker games, B.) calls him Marty, and C.) lets him be a part of her Dalmatian puppy’s life (without letting him tell her how to look after the dog, of course) when she realizes just how much the retired cop enjoys spending time with the pooch.
Come the end of the series, it would have been so easy for showrunners to tie Roz’s story up with a neat little bow, to give her the romantic happily ever after that so many suspected she would get. But our girl defies the odds and, instead of riding into that overrated sunset with some random guy they wrote in for her at the last second, concludes her story with a huge promotion. She’s happy, she’s single, and she’s proof that loving yourself wholeheartedly is the true romance we should all aspire to.
God bless you, Roz Doyle. We can’t wait for your guest appearance in the Frasier reboot.