Well, it’s official: As of Wednesday, NBC has ordered ten new episodes of Will & Grace that will reunite series stars Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes, and Megan Mullally. As Entertainment Weekly reports, they’ll each be airing during their 2017-2018 TV season.
The new comes following lots of speculation, and some hemming and hawing from Messing, who said “nothing beyond talks” after Leslie Jordan said the project was indeed moving forward, which indeed it is.
Mat Mutchnick and David Kohan, the original series creators, will be the showrunners and executive producers. Legendary director James Burrows will direct every episode, as he did during the show’s original 8-season run. He’ll also executive produce.
Related: Do We Really Need A “Will & Grace” Revival?
According to NBC entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt:
“We’re thrilled that one of the smartest, funniest, and most defining comedies in NBC history is coming back. This groundbreaking series for everything from gay rights to social and political commentary — all disguised as a high-speed train of witty pop culture — is coming back where it belongs.”
According to Mutchnick, “Dave and I are absolutely thrilled about the opportunity to write what Will, Grace, Jack and Karen are thinking about in 2017.”
What are your thoughts on the revival? A feverish joy that makes you violently itch? An icy ambivalence you wear with palpable relish? “How is this LGBTQ news?”
Let it all out in the comments section below.
Xzamilloh
Ohhh, I don’t know how to feel about this. Just don’t mess it up, because I am so watching it when it comes out.
Chipper327
This is the best news I’ve heard all day!!! There is so much material to mine with the current political situation.
Please update story for correct spelling of series creator….. Max
JerseyMike
YEA!!!
Captain Obvious
Only character to watch was Karen and sometimes Jack. Never got the big deal surrounding this show.
Would rather they try a show that is up to date with more lively leads but congrats to the fans.
Texan78730
Along with “Frasier” two of the finest shows on television. I never cottoned to Messing, however. We can only hope the adage “Sequels never equal” shall not apply here.
I am wild with anticipation!
jacksjoo
A lifeline of humor and pushback in the Trump era
ridgelineranger
Looking forward to the re-boot. I would love to see the Obomas and/or Hillary as guest stars, even as a cameo.
He BGB
Just hope the magic is still there. Karen Jack and Beverly stole the show though.
Brian
Oh, look, another show about glamorous women using gay men as crutches. Yawn.
And let’s not forget the gay men who allow women to use them as crutches. Double yawn.
dubstepskater94
Wait!!! Didn’t Beverly die in the series (getting blown out the window by the wind). That’s when Jack got all his $$$ and took care of Karen (like Karen done for Jack… well… pretty much all the time.) Have to say, the only character I REALLY loved was Karen… She was pretty much (to me) why the show lasted… Will and Grace (the characters not the show) was just too annoying for me. And Jack (well I liked Jack (and Rosario) too because they were hilarious and their relationships with Karen were EPIC!!!) Can’t wait!!!
rod815
I never watched it, they totally made it for straight audiences implicating a woman in a gay man’s life, with the question always looming…”Maybe he’ll turn straight”
rod815
@Brian: couldn’t agree more!
Captain Obvious
@rod815: That was my problem with the show. Grace was the center of the universe and everyone else was revolving around her.
Can’t have a show about a gay man without a female attachment who’s practically his wife but they just don’t sleep together.
John
-eh. First year or two it was good then -eh. Novelty and relevance wore off and -eh. They represented our community so well.
lauraspencer
Grace and Karen were my favorites. Never cared for Will or Jack. I don’t see the need for a reboot.
Greg
I’m happy the show is coming back. There’s nothing good on TV. I loved the show and I loved the characters. As Grace’s mother would say, “Just don’t cock it up”.
@Brian: triple yawn
@rod815: If you never watched it then how would you know? Besides, you’re WRONG. “Maybe he’ll turn straight” was never a thing on the show.
@Captain Obvious: Wrong. Grace wasn’t the center of the universe.
Jack Meoff
I agree with others who have said that Karen & Jack were the real main characters. I always hoped they would get their own spin off. I have never liked Messing in anything I have seen her in and the Will character was the most ineffectual namby pamby gay character ever to grace the screen.
Karlis
I just loved Will & Grace in the first incarnation. For younguns (apparently younguns) who feel that Will was “the most ineffectual namby pamby gay character ever to grace the screen,” first of all, such younguns are clearly unaware of the vast oeuvre of characters such as Franklin Pangborn back in the day and, second of all, Will & Grace debuted in 1998, back during the Clinton Administration, when television was not at all teeming with positive gay characters, to put it very, very mildly. I adored the little skit that the four of them did in advance of the Trump disaster, and I will very much look forward to the new ones!
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
I hope they’re ballsy enough to mine the rich seams of absurdities coming from on ALL sides of the current sociopolitical/cultural climate
Jack Meoff
^^ Or it could end up like the gay version of the Golden Girls.
JessPH
I guess it would be following what happened during the series finale (prior to the scene set in the future). Grace and Leo are back together with a baby girl. Will and Vince are living together with a baby boy. Will and Grace have reconciled but are not anymore as close as they used to be.
Wow. It would be a totally interesting and different Will & Grace. Anyway, i can hardly wait for this. 2017 has officially become better than 2016.
oz1967
Finally a little ray of hope in the time of Trump, perfect timing for this show to continue what it did best make you laugh while making a point.
Sluggo2007
Well, since all their solo careers failed, I guess the producer picked up on it and decided to revive the show.
gary69mike
I’m with you, don’t screw it up!
gary69mike
Should be interesting to see how they do this. Bring back Seinfeld too!!!!
Xzamilloh
@gary69mike: That’s not gonna happen. Jerry Seinfeld is raking it in with syndication, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus has arguably had a better career since the show aired. And I think Michael Richards is getting ready for a position in Trump’s cabinet after Trump saw the comedy club video.
Josh447
I’d like to see Alec Baldwin on as Trump for a guest spot. What a hoot. Huge rating on that if it happens.
Dansktex
I don’t remember what was happening at the end of the series. Maybe I wasn’t watching it by then. But I hope it is updated to modern times. I would like to see Jack and/or Will be married. It would be nice for one of the couples to have an adopted child of a different race. Maybe the other couple could have a child of a similar age who is born from the sperm of one of the fathers. It would be interesting to introduce a Lesbian somehow–maybe the mother of the child one of the guys fathered. If one of the guys is unmarried, maybe the group dynamics could be threatened by the partner pulling the long-time member away from the others socially and let it become more of a threat with a pending decision to get married. Maybe Karen could be married to far-right Republican as a result of adoring each other, but it causes tension at times related to her relationship with her gay friends. If it’s just two gay friends, a woman their age who is a best friend of a guy she wishes was straight, and an wild older fag hag as it was years ago, it won’t fit too well in today’s society.