How Trump brought back Will & Grace
Last year’s American election spurred a return to TV after more than a decade
In 2012, vice-president Joe Biden said he was “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex marriage and cited a single television show as a reason.
“I think Will & Grace did more to educate the American public than almost anything anybody has ever done,” he said.
Former president Barack Obama gave his own statement of support a few days later and the Supreme Court did the same in 2013.
Four years later, Will & Grace will return for a 16-episode reunion series on Sept. 28 on NBC and Global TV.
At a panel at the Television Critics Association summer press tour last week, the cast and creative team discussed their vision for the rebooted series. Here’s what we learned: It’s already been renewed for a second season. Yes, that’s right. Megan Mullally had the idea. The inspiration to revive the show came, the team said, after the cast came together to film a viral video poking fun at Donald Trump before the 2016 presidential election.
“I emailed Max and I said, ‘Why can’t we do the show again?’ ” said Mullally, referring to one of the show’s creators, Max Mutchnick, as reported in Entertainment Weekly. “And he emailed right back saying, ‘We can!’ ” It will ignore the series finale. The 2006 series finale ended with a time-jump showing Will and Grace 20 years into the future, dropping their children off at college. But the revival will show Will and Grace single and living together, due to circumstances that, Mutchnick said, the first episodes of the season will explain. While the dynamics among the show’s four main characters won’t change, the show’s creators say the series will show them responding to contemporary challenges.
“These four friends are experiencing life in America in a very similar way to other people in the country,” Mutchnick said in a video clip posted by Entertainment Weekly. It will probably get political, but not too political. Mullally joked that her character, revealed in the pre-election video to be a friend of “Donny and Melania” and a Trump supporter, may seek a role in the White House.
“Oh my god, could be the new Sean Spicer,” she told reporters, according to Entertainment Weekly. “Karen doesn’t have a problem with being unethical in any way, shape or form, so it’s a perfect fit. And it’s a 10-day job.”
That said, the creators and cast say that the show will continue to focus mainly on the characters and their personal relationships, not the news.
“This show isn’t about Trump or Clinton, it’s about us,” said cast member Sean Hayes, in a video clip posted by Entertainment Weekly.
The show, the cast hopes, will provide viewers with a much-needed break from the 24-hour news cycle.
“I want to make other people laugh right now,” said star Debra Messing, as reported by Entertainment Tonight. “That’s the reason I wanted to come back.” It might get more diverse. The cast and creative team also answered questions about how they would address aspects of the show that may seem dated in 2017. Will & Grace has been criticized for its mostly white cast and jokes at the expense of transgender people.
“When we started it was revolutionary to have two gay characters,” Messing said, according to Vox. “We were ‘LGB,’ but we stopped at B. My hope is we can now finish the alphabet.”
Creators were vague when asked whether they would introduce more characters of colour to the series. Characters “will be involved in situations that will necessarily mean a more diverse cast,” said co-creator David Kohan, according to Paste. Some big players won’t be there. The show will also lose two characters who were fan favourites. Shelley Morrison, who played Karen’s maid, Rosario, will not reprise her role in the revival.
“Shelley has decided to retire,” said Mutchnick, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “We really wanted Shelley to be part of the series, so we find ourselves having to figure that out moving forward.”
The writers will also address the absence of Grace’s mom, played by Debbie Reynolds, who died in December. Reynolds earned an Emmy nomination for Best Guest Actress for her role in the series in 2000. But it will be similar to the show you loved. In May, NBC released an extended trailer for the revival, showing Messing and her co-star, Eric McCormack, hanging out on the old set in NBC’s studios. Messing expresses hesitancy about reviving the show.
“What if something fundamental has changed?” she asks McCormack.
Mullally jumps up from the prop couch, where she has been taking a “disco nap.”
“Nothing’s changed,” McCormack assures her.