TV show remakes have been proving to be a popular concept in recent years. Entries have ranged from “Gilmore Girls,” “MacGyver,” “Fuller House,” to “24: Legacy” and “Prison Break. One other show revival that has been generating a great deal of hype and media buzz is the NBC sitcom “Will & Grace,” chronicling the lives of two roommates – the gay Will (Eric McCormack) and the straight Grace (Debra Messing) – and their friends Karen (Megan Mullally) and Jack (Sean Hayes).

Airing from 1998 to 2006, “Will & Grace” was utterly beloved by Tv audiences, which makes its impending return in the fourth quarter of the year to be highly anticipated.

Just the right time

The announcement of this sitcom returning to NBC had been such a surprise that even its main cast were caught off guard at first. Debra Messing, who played Grace Adler, said in an interview that she never imagined the possibility that “Will & Grace” would come back on the air. All the same, she’s “giddy” with the thought.

While present at the 2017 GLAAD Media Awards in New York last Saturday, May 6, Messing – who had been presented the “Excellence in Media” award for her impact within the LGBT community – stated her opinion that the show returning this year was quite appropriate given the current political climate. In her words, “Will & Grace” and 2017 culture and politics would be the “perfect marriage.”

NBC made its initial announcement of the show’s return back in January and last week released its first teaser poster depicting the stars (Mullally, McCormack, Messing and Hayes) sitting on studio chairs with their character names (Karen, Will, Grace and Jack) on them, but with their backs to the camera.

A Twitter post by Megan Mullaly showing the poster was captioned with a very Karen-esque line: "Here we go again, honey."

Groundbreaking programming

When “Will & Grace” started on NBC in 1998, its story content was the first time that a show shone a spotlight on how LGBT persons lived and interacted with their straight neighbors.

The gay characters of Will and Jack were pioneers in the show that became a platform for LGBT character depiction in scripted TV shows.

Throughout its eight-season run, the NBC sitcom won 16 Emmy Awards, including one for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2000. Even former Vice President Joe Biden made the observation that “’Will & Grace’ did more to educate the American public [about the LGBT community]”.

The show’s final episode had ended with a “flash-forward” to Will, Grace, Karen and Jack’s future lives, so it’s a mystery how the show revival will continue from where it left off. Shooting for “Will & Grace” is set to start this August.
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