Well, well, well, it appears Leslie Jordan was right after all. NBC made the official announcement during the Television Critics Association press tour on Wednesday that the beloved sitcom Will and Grace is coming back! After teasing us with a 10-minute mini-reunion on YouTube in September, the peacock network has ordered 10 episodes of the series with stars Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally all reprising their roles. To say the actors might be a little excited about the news may be a slight understatement, if their social media posts are any indication.
IT'S OFFICIAL !!!🎉🎉THE GANG IS GETTING BACK TOGETHER on @NBC!! 🎉🎉https://t.co/sxP30wvCfn #WillandGrace
— Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) January 18, 2017
Hey…can I carpool with one of you guys to work? @DebraMessing @EricMcCormack @MeganOMullally #WillAndGrace pic.twitter.com/rQC7f2IIlk
— Sean Hayes (@SeanHayes) January 18, 2017
WE'RE BAACK…!! https://t.co/4mxoDt8yrc 🙌🏽🌈😽 pic.twitter.com/1sz2CgdWY4
— Megan Mullally (@MeganOMullally) January 18, 2017
NBC execs are also seemingly excited about the show’s return:
“We’re thrilled that one of the smartest, funniest, and most defining comedies in NBC history is coming back,” said NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt. “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.”
“We started talking with [show creators] [Max] Mutchnick and [David] Kohan about producing new episodes right after they shot the secret reunion show back in September, and the fact that all four of the original stars were excited about getting back into production is a testament to the joyful experience they had doing nearly 200 episodes for eight seasons,” NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke said. “Few things cut through the clutter these days, especially in comedy, and ‘Will and Grace’ is one of the best.”
In addition to the returning cast members and the show’s creators, James Burrows will be back in the director’s chair for the abbreviated season.
The original series ran from 1998–2006, and fans are already wondering how the new series will address what happened in the 2006 series finale. The original series ended with a segment set in the year 2026, when Will and Grace reunite after not seeing each other for 18 years, while helping move their kids into their college dorms. Somehow I think the fans can just imagine that, à la Community, what transpired during the finale was just a glimpse at the “darkest timeline.” All I know is that I can’t wait to see Will, Grace, Jack and Karen on my TV again.
Photo credit: Getty Images, WENN.com, Fame Flynet
I would love a series with just Jack and Karen. I would watch that!
Will and Grace are so so boring!
+1
I’m waiting for the Jack & Karen, the only reason I watched it as a teenager (and rewatched it as an adult) was for them! Everyone on the show was self involved but Will and Grace were dull as well as self involved. There a few things more boring than self involved, dull people.
+ Rosario
I´ll drink to that!
@DotDotDot how could I forget about Rosario? The actress had brilliant comedic timing.
Rosariooooo !!!!!!!!!! <3
I was coming here to say the same thing. I love Karen and Jack!
I couldn’t care less about Will and Grace.
I’m here for Karen exclusively aswell.
Came here to say just that. Grace is so tiring and absurd.
Throw in Beverly Leslie and I’m SO THERE.
Yes, I agree about Beverly Leslie, that frosted mini-wheat!- but didn’t he fly off Karen’s balcony (presumably to his death) during a windstorm?! No, seriously: Karen & Jack, Rosario, Beverly Leslie, reprise Woody Harrelson – the best of Grace’s boyfriends…. I get that Will is self-absorbed and Grace is so annoyingly needy and desperate – (perhaps best played out when she tried to get with an old high school friend who was doing time in prison….hilarious!), but that was part of the whole point of it. I think the show could still work.
If the reboot captures the fun of the original series, yay. If it becomes a thinly veiled political harangue every week, not so much. But by all means, wipe away that hideous, contrived series finale!
I’m looking forward to it. But I totally forgot that’s how it ended! Hopefully they can fix it.
Maybe Megan’s husband will make an appearance!
I like the unseen characters in these sitcoms. They are always wonderfully written even though we never see them.
Hopefully she means Megan’s husband as in Ron Swanson.
Hope it’s better than the full house one
Hopefully this is the idea for the reboot: Will has become a billionaire, but has died( he passed away from shock when a young guy he met on Grindr. Says to him ” I have always had a thing for guys my grandfather’s age”)
Grace, Jack and Karen( has now lost her money and is now working at Starbucks) gather for the reading of the will. It stipulates that all three must share a house ( one bathroom)for one year. Who ever moves out does not get any money. At the start of the episode a video message from Will is shown and he instructions the three friends to do a good deed that day. So kinda of like Big Brother but for more laughs
This will only really work if they pretend that the last season did not happen at all. They did a time jump of about 18 years to when Will and Grace had kids. That plot was so damn dumb.
In fact, pretend everything that happened after Grace met Leo did not happen. Leo was the worst of all Grace’s partners. She became more obnoxious and needy and just completely unbearable towards the end of the series.
I also don’t know if Karen’s racism and all her other -isms is going to fly in our current climate. I love Karen and know she was the joke, but they are going to have to tow a very fine line when they write for her. Same thing with Jack and Beverly Leslie.
totally agree with everything you said… I actually liked Woody Harrelson for her the best
I think he was the best as well. He was supportive but did not enable her craziness. I did not always like his crassness but he fit well into the group. This role was the first time I realized that Woody Harrelson had good comedic timing.
The scene with Will, Jack, him, and eventually Karen, getting drunk was hilarious.
“I also don’t know if Karen’s racism and all her other -isms is going to fly in our current climate.”
Yeeeeah, I’d say “let’s hope the writing has evolved”, but that brief reunion thing was more of the same.
Can’t make it through reruns anymore because the cruelty (mostly rooted in racism, classism, sexism, homophobia) just isn’t funny to me. I get that the bigoted characters (mostly Karen) are supposed to be the punchlines, but no WAY that show would’ve been so popular in the late 90s/early 00s if millions of people weren’t laughing right along with Karen (and, similarly, laughing AT Jack).
Not sure if it’s today’s climate, or the fact that I was an adolescent when it aired and I’m almost 30 now, with more experience and sensitivity. But I do still remember how powerful it was. Hell, my mom actually decided we were leaving our church because the pastor based a sermon on LGBT “evil”, and basically yelled at the congregation to never watch Will & Grace because it promoted an evil agenda. She loved the show and had gay friends, and we haven’t been to a church since. Because of this, when I came out a few years later, I knew my mom would be supportive.
@Aiobhan, have you seen Cheers? Woody Harrelson has always had great comedic timing. I agree with everything you said. I just don’t see this show working, but who knows…
Yessss I loved Nathan! Leo started out OK but got annoying after a while. Grace was always the most annoying character. If she were a real person, I couldn’t stand to be around her.
Yay – loved Jack & Karen..
Now if they will only get back the show called “step by step”… I loved that show as well.
YASSS!!!
I enjoyed the show back in the day but I’m honestly skeptical about dredging the characters and format back up. Not sure I’ll bother to check it out.
I always wanted a Jack and Karen spin-off. I found Will and Grace to be whiny and self-righteous. They were occasionally funny, but I was never NOT laughing at Jack and Karen.
I finally watched the ten minute bit from this election period and it really made me miss them. So this news comes at a perfect time – I’d love to see them back on the air. And I hope they give the Orange One a hard time!
THIS is the best news I have had yet today! Thank Heaven we got this announcement, at least there will be some craaaaazy episodes re: baby fists cheeto pres.
I love me some Karen and Jack too, and Deb Messing is so fab.
They had some very good guest stars, Michael Douglas was great, and the one with Matt Damon pretending to be gay so he could join a gay choir (“what’s your boyfriend’s name?”….”Ben…”) was terrific. It varied in quality like most shows but overall I was a fan.
Not to mention Debbie Reynolds as Grace’s mother.
YES because Karen Walker is my Patron-us.
I prefer Anastasia Beaverhausen…
@Annetommy-either way,baby!!
Just burn it with fire and kill it. I saw the show again some months ago and it’s awful. It was funny 20 years ago when I was 20 years younger and when the world was 20 years younger, but now it’s just awful.
I never liked the show. Will and Grace annoyed me but Jack and Karen even more so. They were like two little yappy terriers.
Never did get why this show was so popular. Not a Debra Messing fan. Definitely won’t be watching.
Yawn. Debra Messing isn’t worth my time to watch.
No.
YAAAAAASSS!
#BringBackFrasier
Excited? No. Why this sitcom? I don’t get it.