FULL OF GRACE
As reboots and revivals go, Will&
Grace has certainly been one of the most successful on TV. We sit down with its star Debra Messing to find out what makes the beloved series so special.
Whathasbeenthe biggest reward incoming backtoWill&Grace?
The response we’ve had from the fans. Having people say, “Thank you so much for coming back so I can sit down on my couch for a half-hour every week, and have a reprieve from the news and laugh out loud.” That’s the most rewarding thing to hear – that it’s helping people in that way.
Theshowhas already been picked up for a third season. Did you think it would be thissuccessful?
It was only supposed to be 10 episodes, then it was 13 episodes, then it was 16 and then all of a sudden, it was three seasons! So it was a lot of change very quickly that I don’t think any of us ever saw coming.
Howimportantis it to support gay rights ontheshow?
It certainly feels dire right now. It was very important when we first began because the LGBT community wasn’t even part of the conversation within television. Now we have gay marriage and much more equality, which is obviously the goal. But now it feels even more consequential because the community’s rights are under siege in the US, with attempts to roll back advances that have been made over the past 20 years.
Whywasit important to you that the characters aren’ t afraid to discussageing?
Ageing is part of life. We’ve had this opportunity to come back as middleaged people, with these very beloved characters, and discuss the things that happen. Things breaking down, things starting to sag – it’s a source of comedy! But it’s also talking about things that for some reason are not talked about very often on primetime television because it’s not considered sexy.