Video: 'Cheers first scene HD'

(Thursday, September 30, 1982, 9:00 p.m. EDT) — Cheers, an American sitcom television series set in the Cheers bar (named for the toast “Cheers”) in Boston, Massachusetts, where a group of locals meet to drink, relax, chat and have fun, debuted tonight on NBC.

Video: 'Cheers (1982) Season 1 - Opening Theme'

At the center of the show was the bar’s owner and head bartender, Sam Malone, who was a womanizing former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

Video: 'Cheers Season 1 Episode 1-Give Me a Ring Sometime Edit'

The show’s ensemble cast introduced in the pilot episode were waitresses Diane Chambers and Carla Tortelli, second bartender Coach Ernie Pantusso, and regular customers Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin.

Later main characters of the show also included Frasier Crane, Woody Boyd, Lilith Sternin, and Rebecca Howe.

Video: 'Cheers best bits | Season One' (28 clips)

Created by the team of James Burrows and Glen and Les Charles, the series stars Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Nicholas Colasanto, Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger, and George Wendt.

Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson, Kirstie Alley, and Bebe Neuwirth would join the cast in later years.