Which corporation owned Cheers when Rebecca Howe first managed it?

The Lillian Corporation owned Cheers when Rebecca Howe first managed it.

At the end of Cheers’ fifth season, Sam Malone sells the bar to the Lillian Corporation before leaving Boston to sail around the world. When he returns in the sixth-season premiere, “Home is the Sailor,” he finds Rebecca Howe installed as the new corporate manager and asks to be rehired as a bartender.

Rebecca is presented as a capable, ambitious businesswoman whose assignment reflects her position within the corporation. Her management style initially contrasts with the bar’s informal culture, but the pressure of running Cheers gradually exposes her insecurities and comic neuroses. The corporation remains an important part of her story through several seasons, including her relationship with executive Evan Drake and the fallout from Robin Colcord’s financial crimes.

The ownership does not last forever. After Sam helps expose Colcord’s insider trading, Lillian sells Cheers back to him for 85 cents and fires Rebecca. Sam then keeps Rebecca connected to the bar in a different role. Thus, Lillian Corporation is the answer for Rebecca’s first management period, not Sam’s later ownership or the separate business interests surrounding Melville’s.