Will and Grace (TV series)
"Will and Grace" is a groundbreaking sitcom that aired on NBC, featuring the lives of Will Truman, a gay male lawyer, and Grace Adler, a straight Jewish female interior designer. The show debuted amid initial hesitation from the network regarding its gay representation but quickly became a cultural phenomenon, known for its humor and portrayal of friendships and relationships. Over its original eight-season run, "Will and Grace" garnered significant acclaim, winning 16 Emmy Awards and remaining a favorite among audiences, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community, even receiving multiple GLAAD Media Awards.
The series revolves around the dynamic between Will and Grace, alongside their colorful friends, including the flamboyant Jack McFarland and the sharp-witted Karen Walker. With a host of celebrity guest stars, the show explored themes of identity, friendship, and the challenges of modern life in New York City. After concluding in 2006, the cast reunited for a political get-out-the-vote special in 2016, leading to a reboot in 2017 that addressed contemporary social issues while maintaining the original's charm. Though the revival was well-received, the series faced criticism for reinforcing stereotypes and lacking diversity in its representation of queer identities. Overall, "Will and Grace" is credited with paving the way for more inclusive portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters in media.
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Will and Grace (TV series)
Creators David Kohan (b. 1964) and Max Mutchnick (b. 1965)
Date Aired from September 21, 1998, to May 18, 2006
This television series was one of the first to feature homosexual lead characters. It used quick wit and a sharp sense of humor to depict the lives of gay men as well as the platonic relationship between a man and a woman.
Although the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) was initially hesitant to air a television show in which the title characters included a gay male lawyer, Will Truman (Eric McCormack), and a straight Jewish female interior designer, Grace Adler (Debra Messing), the network took that risk, and a groundbreaking sitcom was born. The show was popular from the beginning and was one of television’s highest-rated comedies throughout its initial eight-season run. Over those eight years, the series was nominated for eighty-three Emmys and won sixteen. For its first four years, it was the second-highest-rated sitcom, never quite reaching the popularity of Friends. Furthermore, Will and Grace was popular within the gay community and won numerous Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Awards. Nevertheless, some critics of the series claimed that the show reinforced, rather than subverted, stereotypes of homosexual people.
Based in New York City, Will and Grace explores the daily lives of the title characters in their work, recreation, and relationships. From the moment when Will first realizes he is gay and comes out to the moment that Grace gets married, the bond between the two never falters. Also included in many of their adventures are Will’s flamboyantly gay friend Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes), who loves theater, cabaret, singing, dancing, and short-term relationships, and Grace’s personal assistant at her interior design studio, Karen Walker (Megan Mullally), a wealthy socialite who is fond of alcohol, prescription medication, and marrying rich men.
Will and Grace featured appearances by a number of famous guest stars, including Cher, Elton John, Matt Damon, Woody Harrelson, Harry Connick Jr., Rosie O’Donnell, Glenn Close, Gene Wilder, Kevin Bacon, Ellen DeGeneres, Patrick Dempsey, Sydney Pollack, Debbie Reynolds, Barry Manilow, and Michael Douglas.
A decade after Will and Grace went off the air, the cast reunited for a ten-minute-long get-out-the-vote special ahead of the 2016 presidential election. At the behest of Mullally, showrunners Kohan and Mutchnick then revived the show in 2017, with the same core cast. The story essentially picked up from where it had left off and employed a classic reboot plot technique to explain away the original series finale. The relaunched show was more overtly political than the original, replete with references to the Trump administration and contemporary issues such as sexual harassment and immigration, and indicates a self-awareness of the passage of time. Extended for another two seasons, the series became the top-rated NBC sitcom by mid-season 2018.
Impact
Will and Grace demonstrated the acceptability of homosexuality and paved the way for other gay-themed shows and films that portrayed queer characters positively and in more nuanced ways than ever before. It was also criticized, however, for its potential to reinforce stereotypes and its lack of lesbian and transgender representation or racial diversity. Its sharp writing and superb cast nonetheless helped to make it one of the most successful sitcoms of the 1990s.
The success of the Will and Grace relaunch inspired the revival of other popular 1990s-era series, such as Murphy Brown and Roseanne.
Bibliography
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Colucci, Jim. Will and Grace: Fabulously Uncensored. New York: Time Home Entertainment, 2004.
Fottrell, Quentin. "Scoring 10.2 Million Viewers, ‘Will & Grace’ Reboot Takes Aim at Trump’s White House." Marketwatch, 2 Oct. 2017, www.marketwatch.com/story/how-america-has-changed-for-gay-people-since-will-grace-first-aired-2017-09-28. Accessed 15 May 2019.
Framke, Caroline. "Will & Grace Is Back, and So Is the Debate over Its Place in LGBTQ History." Vox, 29 Sept. 2017, www.vox.com/fall-tv/2017/9/29/16360962/will-and-grace-history-controversy. Accessed 15 May 2019.
Paskin, Willa. "Will & Grace Is Still a Show America Needs." Slate, 28 Sept. 2017, slate.com/culture/2017/09/the-return-of-will-grace-reviewed.html. Accessed 15 May 2019.
Silber, Maia. "'Will & Grace' Reboot: Here's Everything We've Learned So Far." Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2017, www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-will-and-grace-reboot-20170805-story.html. Accessed 15 May 2019.
Tropiano, Stephen. The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV. New York: Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2002.