Rebecca Howe was a character in the long-running NBC sitcom, Cheers, played by Kirstie Alley. Rebecca was introduced to the show after Shelley Long, who played overeducated barmaid Diane Chambers, left to pursue an ill-fated career in movies. Much of the show's humor had been based around the interaction and sexual tension between the womanizing, working-class main character, bartender Sam Malone, and the high-class, snobby Diane. Rebecca was intended to fill the gap as Sam's new female foil, but never became quite as popular with audiences.
Rebecca Howe came into the Cheers crowd as the manager sent by the bar's new corporate owner, eager to please and move up the corporate ladder, though being stuck in the insane atmosphere of the Cheers bar was like purgatory to her. She was initially presented as a tough, no-nonsense corporate type, but her facade soon dropped, revealing her neurotic and clumsy tendencies.
Rebecca was constantly throwing herself at the feet of wealthy men, but finally came to see something in the rough-hewn Sam who was constantly throwing advances at her.
