This year marks the 30th anniversary of "The Matchmaker," a Season 2 episode of *Frasier* widely regarded as one of the sitcom's finest and most influential instalments. The episode sees Frasier set up his housekeeper Daphne with his new station manager Tom, unaware that Tom is gay and believes Frasier's invitation to dinner is a romantic advance himself; the resulting farce of crossed wires, rather than reliance on stereotypes, is credited with helping define the show's comic voice and pushing later seasons towards similarly mistaken-identity plots.

Written by Joe Keenan and directed by co-creator David Lee, the episode won a GLAAD award as well as Writers Guild and Directors Guild honours, and Keenan went on to become the show's final-season showrunner and co-writer of its series finale. It also influenced later fan-favourite episodes built on misunderstanding, such as "The Two Mrs. Cranes," and gave guest star Eric Lutes, who played Tom, a career boost that led to a lead role in NBC's *Caroline in the City*. *Frasier* is currently available to stream on Paramount+.