As the 11th and final season of the Will & Grace reboot marches on, speculation over why the series is ending (again) has officially ventured into gossip territory.
Rumors of a feud between Debra Messing (Grace) and Megan Mullally (Karen) have made their way up to NBC’s top brass, entertainment chairman Paul Telegdy, who unsurprisingly implied they’re totally unfounded.
When asked about the conflict by TV Line, Telegdy said: “Some things come to a natural end. [Series creators] Max [Mutchnick] and David [Kohan] told the story they wanted to tell. Just wait for the finale. It’s epic; it ties together so many threads.”
The comment echoes what Eric McCormack (Will) told US Weekly last year about the “feud” and the show’s end: “It seems crazy. It is crazy! I think people worried about that entirely too much. The four of us get along like a house on fire, we always have.”
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“We want to make sure that it ends up properly, that we go out on top, that it never gets sort of lost in the shuffle. So it’s going to go big. It’s going to go out in a way that I’m really going to be proud of.”
The rumors started last year when fans noticed Mullally and Messing had unfollowed one another on social media. Then it was announced that Mullally was taking a leave of absence from the show and would not appear in two episodes.
Whatever the reason, the 11th and final season premiered on October 24 and will run for 18 episodes, welcoming guest stars like Gus Kenworthy, Matt Bomer, Patton Oswalt, Chris Parnell, Joel McHale, Ryan Phillippe, Billie Lourd, Vanessa Bayer, Aileen Quinn and Demi Lovato.
Will & Grace airs Thursday nights on NBC.
ShiningSex
The show was always JUST OK.
Jack. Rosario, and Karen’s characters made the show. Will & Grace were a total bore.
Hillers
But we sort of needed them as the dry toast center of the show so that spicy avocado dip stars like Karen and Jack could shine all the brighter in their scenes.
With that said, I would be glued to the set for a “Jack & Karen” spin off.
JED08
Team Karen forever.
billygfa
I think they ALL made the show. Each one played a part. Its never been my favorite show but I have enjoyed it!
Joshooeerr
Megan Mullally was supposedly suspended for several episodes, not merely “absent”. That doesn’t sound like nothing.
glennmcbride
I liked the original series but the reboot just didn’t work. The fact that they just picked up where the original left off and 20 years later they are still living in the same apartment with the same relationships, just was not credible. Things change in 20 years and they didn’t.
Miel
They didn’t just pick up where the original left off. Stanley and Beverley Leslie died in the original show, but they brought them back in the reboot without explanation. Rosario and Karen remained together into old age, but Rosario actually passed away and they incorporated this in the reboot. Lastly, Will & Grace had kids that went to college; this was obviously scrapped as well… I agree with the rest of your statement.
rustyiam
Messing called for a blacklist of those SHE deemed to be unacceptable people , as a Jew you’d think she’d know better than to call for such a stunt! I’m sure she lost a lot of friends and allies over that! Not to mention her bizarre attacks on an elderly women the great Susan Sarandon!
Wicked Dickie
Should not have come back anyway. I barley cracked a laugh watching the reboot. Became too political and you would think after 10 years, Will would have a personality change. He’s still the same shallow closet case with his fag-hag wife.
Grandolphrz
Will wasn’t a closet case. He was out.
j41005
I agree that it was too political and not in a funny/humorous way….just stale jokes.
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
I wouldn’t be shocked if a reboot of Noah’s Ark is on the drawing board only this time it will hit primetime CBS, not Logo. What else is there to resurrect that featured gay characters and since its clear that gays are in this season and they relate to old, stale sitcoms (Rosanne Barr, Will and Grace..) why not? If not this season I’m sure they’ll get a shot at a summer run around gay pride weekend in June. Be patient.
Kangol2
Bob/Bertha, I have to agree with you. Noah’s Arc also should have gotten more seasons but such are the vagaries of the people running TV stations and controlling programming. Rather than a reboot, a new show with a similar focus and themes set in 2020 would be great, and they could bring back many of the Noah’s Arc actors, like Darryl Stephens, Jensen Atwood, Wilson Cruz, Rodney Kieth, and Keith Hamilton Cobb, in walk-on roles.
Toofie
It’s ratings cooled after the first season back. But kudos for squeezing another 3 seasons.
GlobeTrotter
The reboot ended because it just wasn’t funny – it shouldn’t have been green-lighted in the first place. Stale jokes, lazy tempo, characters just going through their lines with hardly any enthusiasm, I can’t count the amount of times I fell asleep during last season’s episodes. Furthermore the plots are tired and unbelievable. W&G might have been funny 10 years ago when it was the first successful gay hit sitcom but those days are long gone.
CityguyUSA
It was funny in the ’90s but it’s just the same thing in a different year with the same humor. The show needed to grow but it’s just a remake of what we already saw.
jasentylar
The ratings over the past two seasons were pretty bad. And it hasn’t been funny since the end of the revival’s first season.
j41005
You’re absolutely correct.
j41005
The reboot was a farce from the start. They tried too hard to be the same people they were 20 years back. The original had such a great ending and then they totally dismissed it all for this remake.
The last few episodes were not even funny, even Karen (my favorite) was boring.
Jim
Watched Will & Grace last night. No Karen. Interesting.
What brought the show to an end. Banal, redundant and trite writing.
LilMesican
I don’t think anyone expected it to go for long. It came back to give us an ending that the fans would be happier with. Although I liked the first ending. I wanted more for the characters.
I think it’s cool that the fans feel so attached and passionate about not just the characters but the actual actors.
I saw myself as Will.
felixthegato
Last season was a slap in the face when Karen came out as “straight” after years of hinting she was bi and even dating Samira Wiley’s character. Also, team Debra here. The outspoken are always the unpopular with the sheep.
felizuu
Debra Messing’s reputation for being an insufferable c-rag has been around forever. There’s a reason why her career outside of Will & Grace has been a dud.