All good things come to an end. Twice?
On Thursday, NBC announced that the upcoming season of the Will & Grace revival will be its last. The cancelation appears to have been a unified decision from the show’s creative team.
When the show, created by David Kohan and Max Mutchnik, first premiered in 1998, it marked a new moment in LGBTQ visibility for mainstream audiences. It ran for eight seasons and was revived in 2017 to much acclaim (and even a mention of Queerty in the premiere).
Mutchnik, Kohan and executive producer David Barrows released this statement:
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“We think of the Will & Grace [revival] episodes the way Karen Walker thinks of martinis — 51 is not enough, 53 is too many,’ they said. ‘That is why, after consulting with the cast, we all have decided this will be the final season of Will & Grace.”
Here’s how the cast reacted to the news:
Sean Hayes tweeted:
For all “Will & Grace” fans, I am sharing the news that this is going to be our last and final season (which premieres this winter). To everyone who watched the first run and to everyone that encouraged this reboot, we did it all for you.
Love to you all.
Sean
For all “Will & Grace" fans, I am sharing the news that this is going to be our last and final season (which premieres this winter). To everyone who watched the first run and to everyone that encouraged this reboot, we did it all for you. ??
Love to you all.
Sean pic.twitter.com/VJHCl5P3iW— Sean Hayes (@SeanHayes) July 25, 2019
Debra Messing wrote on Instagram:
ANNOUNCEMENT~ to the best fans IN THE WORLD, W&G fans, we wanted to tell you that this will be the last season of the Reboot. The creative team (pictured) got together and we decided it was the right time. We were so lucky to have the opportunity to reunite and do the show AGAIN. It was only supposed to be 10 episodes, but because of you, the fans, it has turned into 3 YEARS. What a miracle. We are all committed to making this season the best ever, and to wrap up the story of Will, Grace, Jack and Karen in a way that feels meaningful and right. THANK YOU @nbc and @bobgreenblattpics for bringing us all back together. We have been spoiled,once again, by brilliant writers and producers, and the best crew in town. I love you all.
Eric McCormack shared the same photos and wrote:
Well, we’re taking this one out like we brought it in: with love, laughs, gratitude… and on our own terms. Season 3 of #WillandGrace (well, season 11) will be our grand finale… and it’s gonna be fantastic!
Megan Mullally shared a selfie video and wrote:
our little sketch is coming to an end… again! a huge thanks to all the FANS and to everyone at Will & Grace for making these revival seasons a reality. we’re shooting Season 3 right now, and all 18 episodes will begin airing on NBC #january #2020. see you all there and thank you again for supporting #willandgrace
The premiere date for season 11 of Will & Grace has not yet been announced.
funpitt412
The show is so awesome but I hated bringing politics into the story line. This caused people to not watch the show. I hope the last seasons avoids politics then maybe they will consider keeping it on the air.
Itsonlythetruth
They clearly state that the show was coming to an end with the agreement of the stars, producers and staff.
jkthsnk
Politics is what got them a second shot.
ConnorBryant1658
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LukeHill1389
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Gandalf The Grey
The only thing I didn’t like was they made Will and Grace both sellouts to their Democratic values.
TheMarc
Sorry, I have to ask…what does a gay “sellout” to democratic values look like? “Yay, we’re going to support the only party that supported/supports us in our battle for equality and equal rights?” Some of you act like it was an apples to apples choice. As if there were just as many prominent Republicans supporting issues like gay marriage and anti-discrimination laws/ordinances that included the LGBT community as a protected class. There weren’t. In fact, the Republican party for the LONGEST time made it one of their principal causes to DENY us all of that. And now that the train has left the station for a lot of you on “just enough” gay rights, you side with your dad’s party…because hey, at least ya’ll will have that in common, right?
thisisnotreal
Regardless of the quality of the show from season to season this news makes me really sad. I grew up watching shows like the golden girls and will and grace at a time when I was still very much a child in the closet confused and scared about who I was and what it meant for me and the people around me. Will and grace was the first show I ever remember watching with my family that opened my eyes into the world of gay culture and life before I even knew it existed and it also allowed me to gauge how my family felt about those issues as well. It was the first media I ever remember watching that made me realize there really were people out there like me and they were living their lives so openly and unashamed like they were in the show so one day maybe I could too. I’m sure everyone has a defining show or movie that spoke to them during a specific time of their life and this show was that for me, so hearing about it finally ending feels like that chapter is finally closing on my life as well. I’ll always be thankful to that show for what it taught me, cheers to them!
GlobeTrotter
Finally! I tried my best but it was so painful to watch, like watching a car wreck unfold in front of you in slow motion. The crew has long ago lost that lightning quick reaction and timing that made the show so funny and enjoyable during its first 4 seasons. Now they just seem to barely put any effort into mimicking their lines. The energy level was low, the cast seemed lazy and uninterested, Sean Hayes seemed like he would rather be anywhere else but there, Eric McCormack looked like he had a botched face lift, Debra Messing just seems to waddle across the screen. About the only person that seemed barely interested was Megan Mullally, but her talents are woefully underused.
I’ll never understand why Hollywood insists on prolonging some of its best shows well past their sell-by date.
Invalid
Right there with you. I wanted so badly to like the new show, to once again enjoy the ensemble’s company. That’s not the way it turned out. The new show just didn’t have the same spirit.
RnDC
@BlowTrotter, We all want to be as fabulous as you…but we’re not. Thank you for your spirited review! (not) Fun at parties, I betchya are. Thankfully it’s a free country, you were also free to just not watch it but apparently you did.
Invalid
No, actually I didn’t. Just 1 and a half episodes in, I quit.
Chevelter
NBC didn’t cancel the show. The producers and cast say that they decided to end it. I think they realized it went as far as it could go.
prarie pup
I’ll say. This new version of Will and Grace just isn’t funny.
zunelander
I never expected it to last very long. I mean, they just came back in response to their one time political skit, right? No big deal. At least, they came back for a while longer. One of my most loved tv shows. I have the DVDs. Just need their latest episodes on DVD.
PugsBuddy
God, Will is SO hot. (shut up)
michel_banen
Such a brilliant show and I was sad when it cancelled and delighted that the show got a reboot. 3 more hilarious new seasons were added ! Awesome !!! But it got as far as it could go and that’s the perfect time to end it. 11 seasons…. quite a legacy !
dre23222
I loved this show!! I agree with @michael_banen it was brilliant and I definitely looked forward to seeing it this far. I know all good things must come to end, but I wasn’t ready to give up the laughs.
broadshoulder
Forget this and watch the bbc gimme gimme gimme. Far funnier
Invader7
Finally. The show SUCKED. Wasted 2 minutes on a preliminary online preview. Horrible. Too strident and shrill…
Bytemenow
I’m very sad to see this show end again. I lived for it every Thursday night. Watch parties were awesome back in the day. This show was the only show I watched regularly among the 4 traditional major networks. The original was hilarious, and the reboot picked up where it left off. As much as I hate to see them go….again, I do understand. They’re going out on top. Well done!
I have to disagree with BlowTrotter. The only thing he can do is attack the personal appearance of the actors. Newsflash asshole, people change, and we all get older. That goes for you too.
Felecia
For the longest time I wanted ‘Married With Children’ to do a reboot. Then saw the attempt to recapture the funny with “Will & Grace” ; now I am of the opinion that the best shows with stellar ensemble casts belong right where they are…in the archives of the greatest television classics ever made. Perfection deserves to stand alone, resting on it’s laurels and not worrying about keeping up with today’s ratings demands and audience ratios, lol…both comedies will remain in re-run rotations on several networks, to be enjoyed by many generations, I would think. Thank you to both casts for keeping me wonderfully entertained in a way that the shows I grew up with in the 60’s & 70’s just couldn’t do. Yours was gritty, funny, so-NOT-politically-correct and groundbreaking American television, lol…refreshing, at the very least, lol….
Aires the Ram
Well, the very first show of the re-boot, featured political propaganda that insulted 50% of all Americans, if not more. Is it a surprise that the show is ending? Over 50% of the American people do not hold the political opinions, and the hatred of our great country, like the Hollywood idiots do. Do the math.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Brian
That first episode was a nightmare. I can’t stand shows shoving things down my throat, no matter what the angle. I decided to give it another shot, but was gonna bail if the second episode was more of the same, but thankfully they mostly got it out of their system and got back to normal. It’s been enjoyable enough, but I don’t feel like I’m gonna miss it when it’s gone.
I do like this recent trend of shows deciding to wrap it up after a few seasons, instead of just dragging on forever, getting worse every year, until someone mercifully pulls the plug. Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex Girlfriend did it this year, The Good Place is doing it next year. I wish more shows had the balls to do this after 4 or 5 good seasons.
Michael007
Like you Aires, I did my best to endure the political humor but as a conservative it was too much for me. The jokes were ‘preaching’ and not very funny. I can laugh at GOOD humor, no matter who is getting skewered. I kept coming back for other episodes but I found it stilted and didn’t experience any of the rip-roaring laughter I used to do during the original series. One of the creators and producers is David Kohan. I’m a good friend of his father. I know their political persuasions and expected a lot of anti-Trump/Republican jokes. But they just didn’t cut it. David will do fine with whatever project he does next. His sister is creator and head writer for “Weeds” and “Orange is the New Black”. The entire family is super creative.
Mack
I can see that the Trump supporters have had their say spouting the typical BS because not everyone is kissing Trump’s ass like them.You can pretty much dismiss all the negative remarks because they got their feelings hurt with the Trump comments. (Sigh) the Log Cabin Republicans who are royally hated by the Republican Party but just can’t accept it.
I enjoyed the show. At times I felt it was a bit over the top but the original was too.
Jboo
Ignoring those viewpoints and opinions is precisely why the show is ending. 🙂 But do go on.
JaredMacBride
It was a lousy show, but so is just about everything else on network TV.
Jboo
Yeah, I’m not sad about it ending this time around. The hyper-political aspect turned me off after five episodes, and obviously it turned a great many others off as well (hence it’s ending). I don’t think a lot of people understand that when creative ‘decides to end’ a show, it’s frequently an ‘end it or we’ll end it for you’ scenario with the network.
I wanted Will & Grace. I got Will & CNN. And that’s a hard pass for me.
Toofie
It had decent ratings the first year back, but started sliding last season. It probably wouldn’t have gotten a season renewal unless the ratings spiked back up. But fun while it lasted.
Michael1500
I was a big fan of the original series, but after watching only two of the “reboot,” I knew they weren’t going to cut the mustard—- the writing and scripts were HORRIBLE, and the show was too much of a political commentary rather than a comedy. I kept thinking that Megan, Debra, Sean and Eric must have been almost shocked at the unfunny and corny lines they had to deliver.
love tennis
I hope Matt Bomer will be back as well for the last season. He and Will can settle in together, Grace will finally find her special guy on the plane to Italy and then they can end it in true Hollywood happy-ending style.
Brian
I think they should just flash forward 20 years and use the same footage they used in the original finale.
JessPH
The reboot is great and just as funny as the original.
gregj777
Amen TheMarc. Of course we are going to support the party that supports us.