With almost two months to go before Will & Grace even returns to our screens, NBC have already renewed for season two of the revival, and added two more episodes to this autumn’s first. Network Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt announced the news yesterday afternoon at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour.
The sitcom, which follows best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), a straight interior designer, enjoyed an eight season original run between 1998-2006. With the outrageous humour of sidekicks Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) and Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes), the show quickly became a favourite among audiences, netting 18.43 million US viewers for the series finale.
Joe Biden described the show as having done “more to educate the American public [on LGBT issues] than almost anybody’s ever done so far“, as well as providing a platform for LGBT issues on TV. It’s easy to see why the show has earned a substantial return.
In January, NBC agreed a new 10-episode revival season, to be executive produced by Hayes alongside creators/executive producers Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. In April, the order was then increased to 12 episodes. Now, four more episodes are added for a 16 episode run. The renewal for season 2 is currently set at 13 episodes, but clearly this could change, too.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good news at the panel. Mutchnick revealed that Rosario Salazar (Shelley Morrison), Karen’s sharp tongued maid, would not be making a return, having retired. On the subject of departures, it was also revealed that the death of Debbie Reynolds, who played Bobbi Adler for 10 episodes, will not be ignored and instead spoken about on the show. Grace’s husband, played by Harry Connick, Jr. will be returning.
The Will & Grace revival premieres September 28 on NBC. Watch a teaser for the series below.
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