It seems NBC wants to insert a little Frasier magic into Craig Robinson’s forthcoming comedy, as Variety reports that Peri Gilpin has replaced Jean Smart as a series regular on Mr. Robinson. Robinson, most recently seen causing trouble over on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, stars as the titular musician/substitute teacher who shakes up a strict middle school. (And yes, it does sound an awful lot like School Of Rock.) Gilpin plays the tough, but secretly heartbroken school principal, Catherine Taylor, who gives Robinson a hard time, because Mr. Robinson doesn’t like playing by your rules, man. Smart, who played the role in the pilot, left the show after it switched from single camera to multi-cam.
In a casting coincidence, Spencer Grammer—aka Kelsey Grammer’s daughter, aka “the nice Grammer”—is one of Gilpin’s co-stars. The nice Grammer plays the role of a math teacher who also moonlights as an exotic dancer. Mr. Robinson is slated to premiere sometime in midseason 2015.