Will & Grace

Will & Grace
The intertitle used in the show's 2017 revival
GenreSitcom
Created by
  • David Kohan
  • Max Mutchnick
Showrunners
  • David Kohan
  • Max Mutchnick
Directed by
  • James Burrows[a]
Starring
Theme music composerJonathan Wolff
ComposersJonathan Wolff (seasons 1—7)
Jonathan Wolff & Paul Buckley (season 8)
Scott Icenogle & Lior Rosner (seasons 9—11)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons11
No. of episodes246 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Max Mutchnick
  • David Kohan
  • James Burrows
  • Jhoni Marchinko
  • Jeff Greenstein
  • Alex Herschlag
  • Dave Flebotte
  • Jon Kinnally
  • Tracy Poust
  • Gary Janetti
  • Greg Malins
  • Bill Wrubel
  • John Quaintance
  • Suzanne Martin
  • Adam Barr
CinematographyTony Askins
Gary Baum
EditorsPeter Chakos
Peter D. Beyt
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
  • KoMut Entertainment
  • 3 Sisters Entertainment
    (1998–2006)
  • 3 Princesses and a P Productions
    (2017–2020)
  • NBC Studios
    (1998–2004)
  • NBCUniversal Television Studio
    (2004–2006)
  • Universal Television
    (2017–2020)
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 21, 1998 (1998-09-21) –
May 18, 2006 (2006-05-18)
ReleaseSeptember 28, 2017 (2017-09-28) –
April 23, 2020 (2020-04-23)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

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.[1]

Despite initial criticism for its stereotypical portrayal of gay characters, it 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.[2]

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".[3] 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.[4]

During its original run, Will & Grace was filmed in front of a live studio audience (most episodes and scenes) on Tuesday nights,[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] After its success, NBC announced that the network was exploring the idea of putting Will & Grace back into production.[8] In January 2017, NBC confirmed the series' return for a ninth season, for the 2017–2018 television season,[9][10] which was eventually expanded to 16 episodes.[11] This was followed by renewals for 18-episode tenth and eleventh seasons.[12] On July 25, 2019, it was announced that the eleventh season would be the final season of the series[13] which premiered on October 24, 2019,[14] and concluded on April 23, 2020.[15]


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  1. ^ Cooper, Evan (December 1, 2003). "Decoding Will and Grace: Mass Audience Reception of a Popular Network Situation Comedy". Sociological Perspectives. 46 (4). California State University: 513–533. doi:10.1525/sop.2003.46.4.513. S2CID 7838353. Retrieved December 13, 2015. The television situation comedy Will and Grace is notable as the first successful network prime-time series to feature gay characters in a gay milieu.
  2. ^ Team, The Deadline (June 3, 2013). "'101 Best Written TV Series Of All Time' From WGA/TV Guide: Complete List". Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  3. ^ Eldridge, David (May 6, 2012). "Biden 'comfortable' with gay marriage, cites 'Will & Grace'". The Washington Times. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  4. ^ Zongker, Brett (August 19, 2014). "Smithsonian Adds LGBT History to Museum Collection". Associated Press. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  5. ^ "Goodnight, Gracie: 'Will & Grace' ends landmark run". SignOnSanDiego. May 9, 2006. Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  6. ^ Hennessy, Christopher (September 2008). "New spaces open on campus include additional study carrels". Emerson College Today. Emerson College. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  7. ^ McKenzie, Joi-Marie. "Debra Messing Says 'Will & Grace' Reunion Wasn't For Hillary Clinton". ABC News. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  8. ^ Ausiello, Michael (October 27, 2016). "Will & Grace Revival Eyed at NBC". TVLine. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  9. ^ Holloway, Daniel (January 18, 2017). "Will & Grace Revival Given 10-Episode Order by NBC". Variety. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  10. ^ Ausiello, Michael (January 18, 2017). "Will & Grace Returns: NBC Officially Orders 10-Episode Revival". TVLine. United States. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  11. ^ Webb Mitovich, Matt (August 3, 2017). "'Will & Grace' Revival Already Renewed for Season 10". TVLine. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  12. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 17, 2018). "'Will & Grace' Revival Renewed For Season 3 By NBC, Season 2 Expanded". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  13. ^ Petski, Denise; Andreeva, Nellie (July 25, 2019). "'Will & Grace' Revival To End With Upcoming 2020 Season On NBC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 15, 2019). "'Sunnyside' Pulled From NBC Schedule To Finish Run Online, Replaced By Final Season Of 'Will & Grace'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  15. ^ Pedersen, Erik (March 26, 2020). "'Will & Grace' Series Finale Date Set; NBC Also Will Air Retrospective Special". Deadline.
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