Will & Grace is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), a straight interior designer. The show was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998, to May 18, 2006, for a total of eight seasons, before returning to NBC on September 28, 2017, and permanently ending on April 23, 2020. Will & Grace has been one of the most successful television series with gay principal characters.
Despite initial criticism for its stereotypical portrayal of gay characters, the show went on to become a staple of NBC's Must See TV Thursday night lineup and was met with continued critical acclaim. It was ensconced in the Nielsen top 20 for half of its 1998–2006 network run. The show was the highest-rated sitcom among adults 18–49 from 2001 to 2005. Will & Grace earned 18 Primetime Emmy Awards and 96 nominations. Each main actor received an Emmy Award throughout the series. In 2014, the Writers Guild of America placed the sitcom at number 94 in their list of the 101 best-written TV series of all time.
Since the final episode of the 1998–2006 run aired, the sitcom has been credited with helping and improving public opinion of the LGBT community, with then U.S. Vice President Joe Biden commenting that the show "probably did more to educate the American public" on LGBT issues "than almost anything anybody has ever done so far". In 2014, the Smithsonian Institution added an LGBT history collection to their museum which included items from Will & Grace. Curator Dwight Blocker Bowers stated that the sitcom used "comedy to familiarize a mainstream audience with gay culture" in a way that was "daring and broke ground" in American media.
During its original run, Will & Grace was filmed in front of a live studio audience (most episodes and scenes) on Tuesday nights, at Stage 17 in CBS Studio Center. A long-running legal battle between both the original executive producers and creators and NBC took place between 2003 and 2007. Will and Grace's apartment was put on display at the Emerson College Library, donated by series creator Max Mutchnick. When the set was removed in 2014, rumors came up about a cast reunion, but the actors involved denied that such a reunion was planned, explaining it was merely being moved.
In September 2016, the cast reunited for a 10-minute special (released online), urging Americans to vote in the 2016 presidential election. After its success, NBC announced that the network was exploring the idea of putting Will & Grace back into production. In January 2017, NBC confirmed the series' return for a ninth season, for the 2017–2018 television season, which was eventually expanded to 16 episodes. This was followed by renewals for 18-episode tenth and eleventh seasons. On July 25, 2019, it was announced that the eleventh season would be the final season of the series which premiered on October 24, 2019, and concluded on April 23, 2020.
Premise Will & Grace is set in New York City and focuses on the relationship between Will Truman, a gay lawyer, and his best friend Grace Adler, a Jewish woman who owns an interior design firm. Alongside them are their friends Karen Walker, a demonically alcoholic socialite, and Jack McFarland, a gay actor. The interplay of relationships features the trials and tribulations of dating, marriage, divorce, and casual sex; as well as comical key stereotypes of gay and Jewish culture.
Cast and characters
Main
Eric McCormack as Will Truman: The male titular protagonist in the show, Will is a gay man who is a successful corporate lawyer who studied at Columbia University, where he met Grace as a freshman; they have been best friends ever since. He is very precise and obsessive when it comes to certain tasks, especially cleaning, dressing, and decorating. However, Will does have a very patient and compassionate nature towards those close to him, often to a fault. Will has a less expressive personality than Jack and has at times chosen not to announce his sexual orientation to people. Several characters commented that his relationship with Grace is more like that of a married couple than two friends; at one point Will even considered having a baby with Grace. Debra Messing as Grace Adler: The female titular protagonist in the show, Grace is a straight interior decorator with a fondness for food and a sometimes selfish attitude. She has been Will's best friend since college and roommate throughout most of the show. Grace is Jewish but does not practice her religion staunchly. She plays as a neurotic foil for Will's more everyman character. Grace tends to rely heavily on Will for moral and emotional support, especially after a break-up. Megan Mullally as Karen Walker: Karen "works" as Grace's assistant, making "Grace Adler Designs" popular among her socialite acquaintances. She is married to the wealthy (but unseen) Stanley Walker. Because of her husband's wealth, Karen does not actually need a job and it is shown in the pilot episode that she had not been cashing her paychecks, preferring to "collect" them instead. She mentions at one point that she only took the job to get herself "away from Stan and the kids". Karen is also known for casually downing alcohol and prescription medication, as well as her venomous personality. She is very close to Jack, secretly adores Grace, and throughout the show's run, warms up to Will. Even though she seems to be devoid of manners and social graces, Karen inconsistently shows bouts of intelligence: having a working knowledge of business/real estate market economics, a moderate understanding of computers, and a flair for interior design. She is also a certified public notary and an aficionado of various liquors and prescription drugs. Despite this, she is often unaware of her rudeness and thoughtless conduct toward the working and middle classes, often criticizing and mocking what she fails to understand. Sean Hayes as Jack McFarland: Will's close friend since college. Jack is flamboyant, gay, confident, and free-spirited, having been so from a young age. He drifts from man to man and changes occupations often, being very fickle when it comes to both. He has worked as a struggling actor, an acting instructor, a back-up dancer for Jennifer Lopez and Janet Jackson, a sales associate at Banana Republic and Barneys New York, a cater-waiter, a student nurse, Junior VP for Out TV, and host of his own Out TV talk show, called Jack Talk. Jack made four one-man shows (called Just Jack, Jack 2000, Jack 2001, and Jack 2002) to showcase his singing/dancing/acting abilities; all attempts having only marginal success. Early on in the show he establishes a close friendship with Karen; the pair often spend time together and orchestrate various pranks. Throughout the series, Jack relies on Will and Karen for financial support, but in the finale of the original series, he inherits Beverley Leslie's money and becomes very rich. He idolizes Cher. Gary Grubbs as Harlin Polk (regular season 1; guest season 2): A major client of Will's in season one who ultimately fires him. Shelley Morrison as Rosario Salazar (regular seasons 3–8; recurring seasons 1–2): Karen's maid, and later Jack's wife then ex-wife because of a green card marriage. Morrison was invited to reprise her role when the series was revived, but declined, having retired from acting. Michael Angarano as Elliot (regular season 4; recurring seasons 3, 5–6, 8; special guest season 9): Jack's son. Shortly after learning of his biological father's death, Jack meets Elliot, his biological son created from sperm Jack donated at the age of 17.
Supporting + Supporting characters on Will & Grace Main characters Will Truman Grace Adler Jack McFarland Karen Walker Spouses Vince D'Angelo McCoy Whitman Marvin "Leo" Markus Rosario Salazar Estéfan Gloria Stanley Walker Lyle Finster Family George Truman Marilyn Truman Sam Truman Paul Truman Bobbi Adler Martin Adler Janet Adler Joyce Adler Fiona Adler Eleanor Markus Judith McFarland Elliot Daniel McFarland Skip Lois Whitley Gin Barry Lorraine Finster Marion Finster Sumner Davis Ben Truman , Lila Markus Friends Karen Walker , Jack McFarland , Rob , Ellen , Joe , Larry , Steve Will Truman , Grace Adler , Karen Walker , Zandra Zoggin Will Truman , Grace Adler , Jack McFarland , Candice Bergen , Smitty Neighbors Val Bassett , Mr. Zamir , Nathan , Mrs. Timmer Love interests Michael Scott Sender Matthew James Hanson Vince D'Angelo McCoy Whitman Ben Doucette Danny Josh Nathan Nick Tom Cassidy Marvin "Leo" Markus Noah Broader Stuart Lamarack Kevin Bacon Lionel Banks Malcolm Widmark Nikki Rivals Kevin Wolchek Val Bassett Artemis Johnson Owen Jimmy Helena Barnes Beverley Leslie Lorraine Finster Scott Woolley Candy Pruitt Val Bassett Candice Bergen Bosses Ben Doucette Mr. Stein Margot Malcolm Widmark Jamie Tim Dorleen Grace Adler Employees / Subordinates Mrs. Freeman Connie Karen Walker Gillian Tony Dave Rosario Salazar Friday Clients Harlin Polk Stanley Walker Joanne Russell Co-workers Gary Others Tina , Benji , Nurse Sheila , Diedre , Monet , Cher , Jenny
Episodes
Production
Conception Creators of Will & Grace and real-life friends Max Mutchnick and David Kohan modeled the show after Mutchnick's relationship with childhood friend Janet Eisenberg, a New York City voice-over casting agent. Mutchnick, who is gay, met Eisenberg while rehearsing a play at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, California, when aged 13. He was the main star of the Hebrew school musical, while she was a student in the drama department. About three years later, she introduced him to Kohan, the son of comedy writer Alan Kohan, in the drama department at Beverly Hills High School. "Max and Janet seemed to have a lovely rapport, but the romantic element confused me, and it confused them as well", Kohan later recalled. "They went out for a couple of years, then they went off to different colleges. And Max comes out of the closet, springs it on her—and she was stunned. It was a shocking revelation for her, so I kind of functioned as a liaison between the two of them, because they both still really loved each other."
While Kohan practiced his shuttle diplomacy, he and Mutchnick began developing sitcom ideas, which prompted the pair to start writing as a duo. They eventually landed staff jobs on HBO's adult-themed sitcom Dream On and executive produced the NBC sitcom Boston Common. In 1997, they developed an ensemble comedy about six friends, two of them based on Mutchnick and Eisenberg. At the same time, Warren Littlefield, the then-president of NBC Entertainment, was seeking another relationship comedy for the network as Mad About You was going off the air. When Kohan and Mutchnick pitched their idea, which centered on three couples, one of which was a gay man living with a straight woman, Littlefield was not excited about the first two couples, but wanted to learn more about the gay and straight couple, so Mutchnick and Kohan were sent to create a pilot script centering on those two characters. While Kohan and Mutchnick elaborated on the pilot script, they spent four tense months faxing Littlefield the box office grosses from hit films with gay characters such as The Birdcage and My Best Friend's Wedding.