Will & Grace (TV series)

Will & Grace is an American 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), an interior designer. The show was broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998, to May 18, 2006, for a total of eight seasons, and returned to NBC on September 28, 2017. Will & Grace has been one of the most successful television series with gay principal characters.[2]

Despite initial criticism for its stereotypical portrayal of homosexual 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 83 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.[3] 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 former 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".[4] In 2014, the Smithsonian Institution added an LGBT history collection to their museum which included items from Will & Grace. The 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.[5]

During its original run, Will & Grace was filmed in front of a live studio audience (most episodes and scenes) on Tuesday nights,[6] at Stage 17 in CBS Studio Center. Will and Grace's apartment was put on display at the Emerson CollegeLibrary, donated by series creator Max Mutchnick.[7] 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. A long-running legal battle between both the original executive producers and creators and NBC took place between 2003 and 2007.

In September 2016, the cast reunited for a 10-minute special (released online), urging Americans to vote in the 2016 presidential election.[8] After its success, NBC announced that the network was exploring the idea of putting Will & Graceback into production.[9] In January 2017, NBC confirmed the series' return for a ninth season, for the 2017–18 television season,[10][11] which was eventually expanded to 16 episodes.[12] This was followed by renewals for 18-episode tenth and eleventh seasons.[13]

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. Also featured are their friends Karen Walker, an alcoholic socialite, and Jack McFarland, a flamboyantly 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.

Main

 * Eric McCormack as Will Truman: The first 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. Even though Will is gay, he sometimes tries to pass as straight; he has at times avoided admitting 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. Will is the more mature and tolerant character of the duo and serves as Grace's rock most times.
 * Debra Messing as Grace Adler: The other titular protagonist in the show, Grace is a straight interior decorator with a fondness for food. 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 counterbalance 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 the wife of the wealthy (but mostly unseen) Stanley Walker. Karen is also known for casually downing alcohol and prescription medication and can be uncaring. However, she is very close to Jack, is friends with Grace, and throughout the show's run warms to Will. Even though she is silly at times, Karen has shown 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 notaryand an aficionado of various liquors and prescription drugs. Despite this, she is often unaware of or ambivalent toward habits of 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 flamboyantly 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. His idol is Cher.
 * Shelley Morrison as Rosario Salazar (recurring seasons 1–2; regular seasons 3–8): Karen's maid, and later Jack's wife, then ex-wife. Morrison was offered to reprise her role when the series was revived, but declined, having retired from acting.

Grace's family

 * Dr. Marvin "Leo" Markus, portrayed by actor and singer Harry Connick, Jr., is a Jewish doctor and Grace's husband from the fifth season. Leo meets Grace Adler in Central Park while she is on her way to be artificially inseminated with gay best friend Will's baby. After Will finds out that Leo and Grace are dating, they have their biggest fight of the entire series, in which Will tells Grace to move out. Thanks to Jack and Karen's meddling, they forgive each other and Will accepts Grace's relationship. In November, 2002, Grace and Leo are married at a spontaneous group ceremony in Central Park, which was supposed to be broadcast on The Today Show. It was later revealed in the storyline that the ceremony was not legal, but the two officially marry at a ceremony soon after. Leo and Grace's relationship was a constant source of tension between Will and Grace, although they eventually achieved a certain accord with each other – Leo even commenting to Will at one point that he considered himself essentially married to both of them due to his ability to accept their close relationship. Leo's true first name is Marvin, as revealed by his mother at their wedding reception. According to The Nation Magazine, this was the first time in television history that a Jewish protagonist character had married inside the faith.[1] Grace immediately realizes she does not know as much about Leo as she expected. Their marriage fails after less than two years, when Leo reveals that he had a one-night stand while working in Cambodia for Doctors Without Borders. Leo admits his affair to Will first. Will then refuses to help Leo break the news to Grace. After Leo comes clean about his affair, Grace briefly considers continuing their marriage, but quickly decides she wants a divorce. Leo reappears during season eight, a little over a year after the divorce in the storyline, in the episode "Love Is in the Airplane." In the episode, he and Grace have a sexual encounter on an airplane after coincidentally ending up on the same flight to London, though Leo was to continue to Thailand. The result is Grace's pregnancy, as discovered in the season eight episode "The Definition of Marriage". A couple of months later Grace meets Leo, with the intention of telling him that she is pregnant with his baby, but he informs her that he is engaged to another woman, Kate. Consequently, Grace decides not to tell Leo about the pregnancy. In the series finale (May 2006) Leo tells a heavily pregnant Grace that he loves her. Leo has a job as a hospital researcher in Rome, Italy, and this is where Grace gives birth. After one year in Rome, Leo and Grace move back to Brooklyn, New York, where they raise their daughter, Lila, together. 11 years later in season 9 it was revealed that this was part of Karen’s dream.
 * Bobbi Adler, Grace's mother, was played by Debbie Reynolds. Bobbi is an actress and singer, although her performances are generally with the Schenectady Players and involve gender changing roles, in plays such as "Death of a Salesperson", "The Music Person" and "Queen Lear". She has a constant desire to meddle in the love lives of her daughters, is the creator of the Adler family "Told you so" dance, and can always be relied upon to have a song for every occasion. She has, in the past, shown a perfect willingness for Will and Grace to get married. It is mentioned in Season 9 episode "Rosario's Quinceañera" that she died.
 * Martin Adler, Grace's father, played by Alan Arkin and Robert Klein in Season 9[2]. Portrayed by his family as the stereotypical Jewish patriarch, Martin shows genuine affection for Grace, although remarks he has made suggest Joyce is his favorite. He has been known to pinpoint Grace's flaws without looking up from his Kojak and Baretta reruns.
 * Janet Adler, Grace's older sister, is played by Geena Davis and Mary McCormack in Season 9. Janet lives in a van and designs jewelry. Her nickname for Grace is "Smudge". It is once implied that she has difficulties with her mother. In the episode "Lows in the Mid-Eighties", Will asks if Grace has another sister named Janet, to which Bobbi, Joyce, and Grace quickly answer "No!"
 * Joyce Adler, Grace's younger sister, is played by Sara Rue. It is suggested that Grace and Joyce had a not too friendly relationship growing up, and that Joyce was formerly a binge eater. She is often hostile to Grace, but one word from Will and she tends to giggle and act girlishly; it appears that she, like Grace before her, has a crush on Will.
 * Lila Markus, Grace and Leo's daughter, is played by Maria Thayer. Lila was conceived by Leo and Grace on an aircraft, during a period where her parents were divorced. She was going to be raised by Will and Grace, but her parents remarried shortly before her birth. She appears on screen only during the series finale.
 * Warren, played by Jesse Fremont Allis, is the imaginary son of Grace and Leo in a dream that Grace has during the last episode of season 8. Grace and Will raise 'their' son together.

Will's family

 * Vince D'Angelo, played by Bobby Cannavale. An Italian-American police officer, Vince first met Will after giving Karen a ticket for speeding and they started dating after the subsequent hearing. Vince was friends with Joe and Larry and began Will's first long-term relationship in the series' run. Vince broke up with Will, requesting time alone after repeatedly losing his job. He re-encountered Will in season 8 and, during the funeral of Will's father, they acknowledged their mutual feelings, thus rekindling their romance. In the finale, Will and Vince are shown to raise a son, Ben, together. 11 years later in season 9 it was revealed that this was part of Karen’s dream. He also got remarried in season 9 with Will struggling with Vince moving on.
 * Marilyn Truman, Will's mother, is played by Blythe Danner. A typical WASP, Marilyn regularly drinks, collects Lladró statues and treats them as if they were her children, and put up with her husband's regular affairs until their ultimate separation. She is not a fan of musical theater – once claiming that Les Misérables was unrealistic because "poor people don't sing that much" – but was impressed with Mamma Mia!. She does not like the jokes Grace and Karen make about Will's sexuality, saying, "Is that a gay joke? I don't like that."
 * George Truman, Will's father, is played by Sydney Pollack. While he and Will have a close loving relationship, of which both Jack and Grace are envious, it is eventually revealed that he had trouble dealing with telling others of his son's sexuality, initially telling his friends Will was married to Grace. He dies in season 8, only days after having a fight with Will in which he admitted he would rather that Will was not gay.
 * Sam Truman, Will's brother, is played by John Slattery in season one and Steven Weber in season 8. He had a falling-out with Will over comments Will made about his wife, but reconciled after he had a one-night stand with Grace. He eventually divorced his wife and gained full custody of their two children.
 * Paul Truman, Will's brother, is played by Jon Tenney. Paul never really came to terms with his brother's sexuality and often behaved like a childish bully, belittling and insulting Will.
 * Peggy Truman, Paul's wife and Will's sister-in-law, is played by Helen Slater. She was only shown in one episode and came off as waspish and suspicious of Grace's friendly behavior towards her own husband.
 * Tina, George's mistress, is played by Lesley Ann Warren. She began a relationship with George while he was still married to Marilyn, but was dismayed to learn that George was then seeing his ex-wife behind her back. Ultimately she and Marilyn come to an understanding, that they will share George between them without him knowing what is going on. This arrangement apparently ended not long before George's death.
 * Jordy Truman, Sam's son and Will's nephew, is played by Reed Alexander. Flamboyant Jordan incenses Will, since Marilyn is incredibly accepting of him even though she was not at first accepting of Will. His nickname is Jordy. He is perceived to be gay by the other characters, although he is still a child, because of his flamboyant nature, love of show tunes and musicals, along with his general disposition.
 * Casey Truman, Sam's daughter and Will's niece, is played by Kyla Dang. Casey was adopted by Sam and his ex-wife.
 * Ben Truman, Will and Vince's son, is played by Ben Newmark. Appearing only during the series finale, Ben was apparently born from a surrogate mother using Will's sperm.[3] Upon going to college, he meets and later marries Grace's daughter, Lila.

Karen's family

 * Stanley "Stan" Walker, Karen's husband, is a mostly unseen character. Karen is his third wife. He is an obese man, and has worn a toupee since his teens. Stan has two children from a previous marriage to a woman named Kathy. Karen fell in love with him in the 1980s but they didn't marry until 1995. Stan was jailed for tax evasion in season four, and began an affair with a cafeteria worker named Lorraine (played by Minnie Driver), and – after his release in season five – continued the affair, ultimately separating from Karen because of it. He is reported to have died at the end of season five but, at the end of season seven, he reveals to Will that he had faked his own death and is hiding out with the aid of the government. He and Karen reconcile in season 8, but subsequently faced marital difficulties and divorce. Stan's popularity with fast food establishments leads to Pizza Hut taking out a full-page ad in the New York Times to congratulate him on his release from prison; Taco Bell also organize a flyover at his funeral. It is revealed in the series finale that Stan's riches were actually borrowed and that he had no real money of his own, though this and the divorce is disregarded in the 2017 revival as one of Karen's daydreams.
 * Mason Walker, Stan's son, is another unseen character. He is known to Karen as "the fat one". During one episode, Karen visits Mason during a swim try-out. She cheers and applauds and has a conversation with him until, at the end, she realizes she has been conversing with the wrong boy and not Mason after all.
 * Olivia Walker, Stan's daughter, is played by Hallee Hirsh (child) and Aya Cash(adult). Although she has had fun times with Karen, such as sticking food to the floor to see how long Mason will spend trying to eat it, she also has problems with her stepmother.
 * Lois Whitley, Karen's mother, played by Suzanne Pleshette. A con artist who used Karen in her early schemes. They had been estranged for several years when they reconciled in season 4, with the help of Jack.
 * Virginia "Ginny" Delaney, Karen's sister, played by Bernadette Peters. In 1963, as a child, she was injured in a brutal game of Twister played with Karen.
 * Barry, Karen's cousin, is played by Dan Futterman. Originally a gay bookish homebody, Karen had Will and Jack bring him out of his shell to become an attractive person whom both Will and Jack fall for.
 * Sylvia Walker, Karen's mother-in-law, is played by Ellen Albertini Dow. She is a woman that 'strikes fear in her heart-facsimile'. A seemingly kind, but homophobic old woman, Sylvia appears in one episode to accompany Will and Jack to a club. In the beginning neither Will nor Jack wanted to babysit Sylvia, known as "Syl". She had been dumped on them by Karen, who then ditched her. Karen and Syl have a caustic relationship.
 * Sumner, Karen's nephew, is played by Paul Satterfield. Karen tries to keep him from dating Grace in season 3.

Rosario Inez Consuela Yolanda Salazar
Karen Walker's put-upon but faithful maid portrayed by actress Shelley Morrison. In 1985, Rosario met Karen Walker at a club, while working as a cigarette lady, and went to work for her as a maid, which was where she was working when the series began in 1998. Rosario and Karen are very close, but their relationship is love-hate. They are notorious for swapping insults. Rosario is just as feisty as Karen, and is one of the few people who manage to go head-to-head with her. A native of El Salvador, Rosario was a school teacher who received a bachelor's degree in clinical psychology from the University of Texas and who almost got a master's degree. She also attended business school. At some point, she moved to the Bronx, presumably while studying business; however, Karen makes a comment that she bought Rosario from Rosario's parents. While there, she also performed with a then-unknown Jennifer Lopez, including a production of "Tea for Two" at the Shalom Retirement Center. At one point, she was also paid to tape pornographic videos for Tommy Lee. Although she had been mentioned by Karen since the pilot episode, Rosario's first appearance was in the season 1 finale. Due to Karen's patronizing tone, we're made to think that Rosario doesn't speak English well. Rosario actually speaks English fluently, albeit with a thick accent, but is an illegal alien. To keep her in the country, Karen has her marry Jack McFarland, her gay friend, to get a green card. The marriage was later terminated at the end of season 2 when Rosario asked for a divorce in order to pursue other romantic interests. However, she maintained a close relationship with Jack (often echoing hers with Karen) and claimed to still think of him as family. In the series finale, Rosario was shown to have lived with Karen and Jack in the years after the show ended, growing older with them and possibly still working for them despite being in a wheelchair (though she states that she is only in the wheelchair due to a sprained ankle).

In the series reboot in 2017, Rosario died off-camera in Season 9 Episode 6, "Rosario's Quincenera".

Jack's family

 * Judith McFarland, Jack's mother, is played by Veronica Cartwright. Despite the obvious clues, Judith did not learn about Jack's sexuality until he was 30. She was impregnated with Jack while at a swinger's costume and pool party.
 * Daniel McFarland, Jack's stepfather, is played by Beau Bridges. Daniel always had trouble relating to Jack, due to his own athleticism and Jack's lack thereof. Despite Jack's statements to the contrary, Daniel is shown to be a caring man who is at least recently trying to reconnect with Jack.
 * Joe Black, Jack's biological father. Never portrayed on screen, Joe was revealed to have attended a swingers costumed pool party during the 60s, where he was dressed as Richard Nixon. During the party he impregnated Judith, who was dressed as the rear end of a horse. He dies several years before Jack discovers that Daniel McFarland is not his biological father.
 * Elliott, Jack's son, is played by Michael Angarano. Shortly after learning of his biological father's death, Jack meets Elliott – his biological son created from sperm Jack donated at the age of 17. He is described by Will as, "Polite, sweet, and kind" which, he says, is the reason Karen initially dislikes him. His relationship with Jack is shown to be very close – Jack noting in one episode that he wants to avoid being the kind of father he had as he always regretted the fact that they never really connected. However, they have a brief rift when Elliott prepares to leave for college during the last season.
 * Bonnie, Elliott's mother, is played by Rosie O'Donnell. Initially, Bonnie did not want Jack to be included in Elliott's life. Bonnie was a lesbian, but was not open about her sexuality to Elliott. She felt jealous that Jack found it easy to be open with Elliott about his sexuality when she did not feel she could be.

Friends

 * Rob and Ellen, Will and Grace's close friends, are played by Tom Gallop and Leigh-Allyn Baker. Ellen and Grace were best friends since college, as were Rob and Will, and the two couples regularly played charades and other games during dinner parties. Grace also sleeps with Rob in season one when they were both going through break-ups and felt emotionally vulnerable, a fact that didn't come up until Rob and Ellen's wedding some years later. The couple did get married, however, and have since had three children, the youngest named Roman (which is the name of Debra Messing's real-life son, born in 2004). Rob and Ellen want to separate, so that they could begin dating other people, and they announce their separation at a dinner date with Will and Grace. Grace makes them realize that they had worked at their marriage and they should remain together; and also keenly reminded them that no one else would have them. Rob and Ellen decided to give their marriage another chance.
 * Joe and Larry are Will, Jack and Grace's close friends, and are played by Jerry Levine and Tim Bagley. A gay couple, once party animals, Joe and Larry adopted a baby girl called Hannah in season three. Karen occasionally refers to them as "Mo and Mary", with "Mo" being a play on the word "Homo".
 * Val Bassett, a neighbor of Will and Grace, is played by Molly Shannon. Slightly unstable, and alcoholic, Val originally befriends only Will, until Grace eventually discovers some common interests with her. Both of them still consider her unstable, as does Jack, who found her as an uninvited guest in his bedroom. When Grace accidentally attends an AA meeting, she is seen there by Val, who coerces her to stay. Grace pretends to be an alcoholic for the "free food and therapy".
 * Beverley Leslie, played by Leslie Jordan, is an effeminate and very short "frenemy" of Karen's. Having a wealthy spouse, as Karen does, Karen and Beverley routinely find themselves traveling in the same society circle of the wealthy and elite. Their relationship is that of friends and enemies. Beverley's wife's name is Crystal and is considerably older than he is. His marriage seems to be held together purely out of his love of Crystal's money. Karen, Will, Grace, and Jack see Beverley as a closeted gay man. He is often seen with a younger attractive man named Benji who appears to be his lover, but Beverley tries to pass him off as a "business associate". When Beverley appears on screen he often catches the other characters by surprise. Sometimes his appearance comes after a character says something that could be comically associated with him. For instance, whilst discussing a dessert, Jack says, "I want something small and fruity, with ladyfingers," and Beverley enters. Beverley and Karen often trade insults, as Karen enjoys ridiculing him for his height. Whenever he appears on screen he can usually be heard saying 'Well, well, well' in an effeminate way. Crystal later dies and Beverley inherits the fortune. Some years later Karen's husband Stan loses his fortune, putting Karen's extravagant lifestyle in jeopardy. Beverley presumably spends several more years with Benji after Crystal's death, and then begins seeing a reluctant Jack, who only dated Beverley to support Karen's excessive spending habits, as she had done for him for so many years. During the series finale Beverley is swept off a balcony by a strong gust of wind and dies, leaving his estate in his will to Jack. In the 2017 revival, this is retconned as one of Karen's daydreams, as Beverley shows up alive and well in the same hotel room Karen is staying, and with another younger male lover, coincidentally also named Benji. During a morphine-induced stupor, Beverley finally admits to Karen that he is gay and seeks her help coming out to his wife, Crystal, whom it turns out had survived her death, coming back to life during her burial, with Beverley wishing he had cremated her. Karen agrees to help, but is frustrated when Beverley reneges on the deal, claiming to have no memory of his "confession". As payback, Karen subjects Beverley to a night of unwanted torrid lovemaking by Crystal.
 * Rory, Toby, and Josh are friends of Jack who are never seen, but mentioned in various episodes. Early in Season 3 Rory is mentioned as being into Asian men. In Season 4 Josh, Toby and Jack watch a video of Will freezing up on camera talking about Stanley Walker, but Josh and Toby leave before Will gets home.

Grace

 * Nathan, played by Woody Harrelson. Nathan is Grace's neighbor in season 3, who becomes her boyfriend. They appear to be a good match, but early in Season 4 he abruptly proposes to her during sex and she becomes distraught at the unromantic nature of his proposal, forcing him to take it back and ask again in a more romantic way. For several days they are awkward around each other and, fearing that their relationship is over, Grace proposes to Nathan who reluctantly refuses and breaks up with her.
 * Ben Doucette, played by Gregory Hines, is introduced in mid-season 2. Grace sues him after he violates her contract of employment, firing her without reimbursement for expenses she incurred while decorating his house. Although at first he played Grace and Will, who was representing her, he eventually gave her the money voluntarily and hired Will to work at his renowned law firm. Grace and he disliked each other for the rest of the season, until the season finale when Ben showed her his more humane face, when Will invited him to dine with them. They then started a happy, semi-monogamous relationship that lasted for roughly six months, until they broke up early in Season 3 when they realized that they were not in love.
 * Josh, played by Corey Parker. A sweet, romantic New Age-y man whom Grace dates in season 2. Grace often has issues with him being far too affectionate and nice, to the point of being obnoxious. The two broke up because Jack confessed that he had slept with him.
 * Nick, played by Edward Burns. A greetings-card writer who falls for Grace when he meets her one Valentine's Day in season 7, after her divorce from Leo. Nick is the first guy Grace starts dating after her divorce with Leo. They decide to break up when he has to go out of the country to work on a screenplay he wrote.
 * Tom Cassidy, played by Eric Stoltz. An old friend of Grace's, now married, with whom she reunited briefly at the end of season 7. He asks her to help design his and his wife's hotel, yet she still feels chemistry with him and kisses him. She nearly takes it further, but feels guilty and breaks it off with him at the beginning of season 8.
 * Danny, played by Tom Verica, Grace's long-term boyfriend from roughly 1995–1998, whom she nearly marries in the pilot episode. She realizes, after Will advised her against the marriage, that Danny was too immature for her, and practically leaves him at the altar. They reunite at the end of season 1, much to Will's dismay. Yet again Grace decides that she does not love him and, after roughly a week (one episode), Grace breaks up with him off-screen.
 * Mark, played by Ken Marino, is another of Grace's partners in Season 3, "Three's a Crowd, Six is a Freakshow". She dumps him because he has six toes on one foot, although the actual sixth toe was not seen in the episode.

Will

 * Barry, played by Dan Futterman. Karen sets up her hopeless cousin Barry with Will, shortly after he comes out. Will and Jack soon undertake a Pygmalion-esque attempt at turning Barry into a more confident gay man, ending when Will falls for Barry though Barry wants to play around before settling down.
 * James Hanson, played by Taye Diggs. Will meets James at a Manhattantheater and the two have an immediate connection. He later runs into James while on a trip to Los Angeles. James has recently discovered he is going to be deported back to Canada. Grace agreed to marry James so that he can acquire a green card in order to remain in the United States, thus giving James and Will's relationship a chance. However, Will soon discovers James was not who he thought he was, as James began showing himself to be self-centered. Will requests that Grace annul their marriage.
 * Matthew, played by Patrick Dempsey, is a sports reporter Will meets at a Banana Republic store while trying to help Jack woo him. Jack and Matt have little in common and Will instead finds himself in a relationship with him. They date for a while but Matt's refusal to come out leads to their break-up.
 * Scott, played by Branden Williams, is Will's 23-year-old date in two episodes in season 3, and works at a local video rental shop. Although they get along well together, Will feels self-conscious about dating Scott, who is quite a bit younger than he is. Will agrees to break it off with Scott if Grace agrees to dump Nathan. Grace agrees and Will breaks up with Scott, though Grace keeps on seeing Nathan.
 * Diane, played by Mira Sorvino & Lisa Borgnes, is a woman with whom Will has a drunken one-night stand in order to convince himself he was 100% gay after leaving Grace. Diane is also one of Leo's exes. Both of these facts make Grace very jealous. Diane states that Will is much better in bed than Leo. Diane was shown briefly (though she had no lines) in the season 3 episode titled "Lows In the Mid-Eighties", but was played by a writer's assistant, Lisa Borgnes.
 * Claire, played by Megyn Price, is Will's high school friend and girlfriend, the first of the only two women Will has ever dated, the second being Grace. She lives in Paris and asks Will to donate sperm so that she can have a baby, but Will realizes that if he was going to donate sperm he wanted to donate it to Grace.
 * Michael, played by Chris Potter in season 2 and Cheyenne Jackson in season 9, is a mostly unseen character and is Will's lover of seven years. When the sitcom first appeared, he and Michael had recently broken up. Michael appears in the episode "Hey La, Hey La, My Ex-Boyfriend's Back", which aired on March 14, 2000. He is mentioned occasionally by Will and Grace, and more than once Will refers to him as the love of his life. In the early seasons of the show Will has a hard time letting him go. He and Will begin dating again in season 9, but Will ends it when Michael asks for money.

Karen

 * Lyle Finster, played by John Cleese. Lyle is the father of Stan's mistress, Lorraine. He becomes Karen's fourth husband for about 20 minutes until the couple realize how little they had in common outside of the bedroom.
 * Scott Woolley, played by Jeff Goldblum. Wooley is the man who lost to Karen for Student Body President and has spent his life hatching schemes to ruin her. Sadly, his schemes are often poorly thought out and eventually Grace realises that he doesn't hate Karen, he loves her. However, his attempts to woo her are as misguided as his previous ones. Woolley also has a dreadful sense of word-play (i.e. "The Scotty Mammoth", "Beam me up, Woolley"). He also changes his first name when using an alias, whereas most people change their last names.
 * Lionel Banks, played by Rip Torn. Banks is a bachelor who falls for Karen, under her alias Anastasia Beaverhausen, while Stan is in jail and tempts her into having an affair.
 * Malcolm Widmark, played by Alec Baldwin. Widmark is a government agent who helps Stan fake his death. He has a brief relationship with Karen before she reconciles with Stan, and Widmark goes on a government mission to Sri Lanka. Malcolm reappears in the final two episodes of season 9, where it is revealed that he and Karen go on a rendezvous trip every year. However, Malcolm is very tired of having to hide from Stan and pressures Karen into deciding between him and Stan. Though she is reluctant to change their situation and despite both of them being tempted to give in to each other, Karen decides to stay with Stan and she and Malcolm share an awkward goodbye. In the beginning of season 10, Malcolm confesses the affair to Stan in hopes of starting a relationship with Karen again, but when Karen finds out about this, she slaps Malcolm and tells him to leave her alone for good.

Jack

 * Stuart Lamarack, played by Dave Foley, is a client of Will's who becomes Jack's longest relationship, until Jack cheats on him.
 * Drew, played by Ryan Pinkston, is a police officer, Vince’s co-worker and Jack’s boyfriend for the second half of season 9. Jack meets him at Vince D’Angelo’s wedding in “The Wedding”. As Drew is the only cop at the wedding whose favourite show is “This is Us”, Jack concludes he must be gay and sleeps with him. This turns out to be the first gay experience for the formerly straight Drew, who reveals he is married, tells Jack he loves him and then introduces him to his wife Angela. Jack is annoyed at that revelation, but later comes to relish it and he and Drew go at it in the bathroom. In the next episode, Jack and Drew start seeing each other secretly and Jack, nervous about screwing things up too soon, advises a reluctant Drew to hold off on coming out to Angela for the time being. He even supports the alibi of them being just guy friends by having Karen pose as his wife. However, Karen, reminded of her mother’s unhappiness in her marriage, outs both Jack and Drew in front of Angela, who is surprisingly supportive and arranges a coming out party for Drew, much to Jack’s distress. Jack admits to Drew that he fears missing out on other great men in his life, but when Karen reminds him of his fear of being old and lonely, which is even worse, he decides to give Drew another chance. In “One Job”, after two months of dating, Drew breaks up with Jack, admitting he is not ready for a serious commitment at the moment and wants to see other people. Jack is devastated at the breakup, as he realises that he is now ready to settle down with someone.
 * Jack has countless short-term lovers over the course of the series (and presumably long before and after), although most are never mentioned by name, or mentioned at all; it is constantly assumed, and not always stated, that he has multiple boyfriends in every episode. Due to Jack's promiscuity, and his habit of forgetting his boyfriends' names, it would be literally impossible to list all of his love interests over the course of the show. Will jokes that if he was to avoid every man that Jack has ever slept with, "that would leave [him] with women." Grace jokes that if everyone stopped working for every man that broke his heart "the city would shut down." Jack also comments that he goes on thousands of dates a year.

Other supporting characters

 * Lorraine Finster, played by Minnie Driver, is Stan's mistress. She is a slutty prison cafeteria worker (and, it is implied, prostitute) who instantly forms a hatred of Karen. She was Karen's stepdaughter very briefly (for about 20 minutes) when Lyle, her father, marries Karen. Lorraine was unable to attend the wedding due to an aggressive strain of herpes that kept her from flying. According to the episode "The Accidental Tsuris" she was raised as a girl, despite being genetically male or perhaps a hermaphrodite. It is implied she was estranged from her father for several years and may have been born out of wedlock.
 * Harlin Polk, played by Gary Grubbs, is a major client of Will's in season one who ultimately fires him.
 * Mrs. Freeman, played by Jo Marie Payton, is an executive assistant at Doucette & Stein, her most commonly uttered phrase is "Mm-hmm" which is often said with sass.
 * Zandra Zoggin, played by Eileen Brennan, is Jack's crusty acting coach and a chain-smoking former Hollywood star. After Jack takes over her class, Zandra loses her interest in life and ends up in an actor's retirement village.
 * Dr. Jay Markus, played by Tom Skerritt, is Leo's father and Grace's eventual father-in-law. She meets him during brunch, thinking he is one of Leo's "old friends".
 * Eleanor Markus, played by Judith Ivey, is Leo's mother and a noted author of three books on theatre; she meets Grace during brunch alongside her husband. She also is the first to tell her new daughter-in-law her son's actual name, Marvin.
 * Mr. Stein, played by Gene Wilder, is the senior partner at Will's firm, an eccentric man who takes a liking to Will. He refers to Will as "Gay Will," but without at first realising that Will is actually gay. He and Karen are attracted to each other, but nothing comes of it. He is away from the office for some time prior to season 5 due to a mental breakdown and subsequent incarceration in a mental facility; having been referred to in the company letter-head as running "The London Office" in his absence.
 * Margot, played by Lily Tomlin, is a senior partner at Will's firm, who apparently takes over after Mr. Stein. She is also quite eccentric and sarcastic. She promotes Will to partner.
 * Dorleen, played by Parker Posey, is Jack's bitchy, chain-smoking boss during his brief tenure at Barneys New York.
 * Mr. Zamir, played by Marshall Manesh, is an obnoxious tenant in Will and Grace's building, with a tendency to take off his shirt and to steal Will and Grace's newspapers.
 * Benji, played by Brian A. Setzer, is Beverley Leslie's "business associate" and boytoy.
 * Joanne, played by Emily Rutherfurd, is a student of Zandra's acting class who becomes a devoted follower of Jack and his "McFarland method".
 * Russell, played by Jon Fleming, is a handsome, muscular student of Zandra's acting class who is often asked by Jack to take his shirt off when Jack is teaching the "McFarland method".
 * Julius, played by Neil Vipond, is Bobbi Adler's close friend and a pianist.
 * Gary, played by Jamie Kaler, is Will's coworker at Doucette and Stein.
 * Nurse Sheila, played by Laura Kightlinger, is a rather creepy nurse who works at the sperm bank (where Will visits, intending to donate sperm to his high-school friend Claire). She openly admits she is a whore in season 4 (when Will and Grace are planning to have a baby together), and thereafter seems to appear whenever Will goes into a hospital. She is pregnant in season 8 and attends birth-classes alongside Grace. Her brother, a doctor played by guest-star Jack Black (Kightlinger's real-life former boyfriend), claims he would be "tappin' that big time" if they weren't related.
 * Dave, played by Mathew Botuchis, is the only openly straight worker at OutTV, the gay network where Jack works in the last seasons. Jack is unimpressed with his heterosexuality and instead refers to him as Elizabeth.
 * Jamie, played by John Ducey, is the station manager at OutTV.
 * Tim, played by Mark Harelik, is a member of Senior Management at OutTV.
 * Jimmy, played by Sam Pancake, is a colleague of Jack's at OutTV.
 * Smitty, played by Charles C. Stevenson Jr, is a bartender who regularly serves Karen at different establishments. She has been known to call other bartenders "Smitty", even when they tell her it isn't their name. If Karen is depressed Smitty will tell her a tragic story about his own life, which she will laugh at thinking it is a joke.

Guest stars playing one-time characters

 * Shohreh Aghdashloo, as Pam, an incompetent Iranian hired by Grace who she then fires upon realizing Pam is Jewish and thus she 'doesn't owe (her) anything'.
 * Rosanna Arquette, as Julie, a masseuse who lives in the same building as Leo and Grace.
 * Orson Bean, as Professor Joseph Dudley, a gay former literature professor of Will and Grace.
 * Jason Biggs, as Baby Glenn, a former local celebrity and a guest at Will's auction.
 * Roscoe Lee Browne, as Linus, owner of a landmark gay bookstore about to be turned into a gym.
 * Jack Black (uncredited), as Dr. Isaac Hershberg. He examines Karen and is also the brother of the occasionally seen nurse Sheila, played by show writer and Black's girlfriend at the time, Laura Kightlinger.
 * Richard Chamberlain, as Clyde, an elderly man who Will brings to game night, much to Grace's chagrin
 * Glenn Close, as Fannie Lieber (a play on celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz), a noted photographer who takes Will and Grace's picture.
 * Joan Collins, as Helena Barnes, a designer with whom Grace competes for a job, and a nemesis of Karen's.
 * Macaulay Culkin, as Jason Towne, a lawyer representing Karen in her divorce from Stan.
 * Tim Curry, as Marion Finster, Lyle Finster's brother.
 * Matt Damon, as Owen, Jack's heterosexual rival, pretending to be gay to vie for a spot in the Manhattan Gay Men's Chorus.
 * Kristin Davis, as Nadine, Vince's straight female friend – the same as Grace is to Will.
 * Ellen DeGeneres, as Sister Louise, a nun to whom Will sells Grace's uncle's old car.
 * Michael Douglas, as Gavin Hatch, a somewhat closeted gay police detective who becomes attracted to Will and has issues with seeing food stuck in people's teeth.
 * Christine Ebersole, as Candy Pruitt, another of Karen's rivals.
 * Edie Falco, as Deirdre, one of a pair of lesbian real-estate "flippers".
 * Victor Garber, as Peter Bovington, a former actor now working as a doorman.
 * Andy García, as Milo, a restaurateur, and lover of Karen's, who fails to phone Karen after their date and is confronted by Grace.
 * Sara Gilbert, as Cheryl who, like Will, is a Barry Manilow fanatic, a.k.a. "fanilow".
 * Seth Green, as Randall Finn, a former child star.
 * Clark Gregg, as Cameron, Jack's wealthy boyfriend who becomes Grace's client.
 * Neil Patrick Harris, as Bill, the leader of a group of so-called "former" lesbians and gays.
 * Alex Kapp Horner, as Alice Robinson, one of Grace's former classmates.
 * Peter Jacobson, as Paul Budnik, an overbearing guy who Will dates but is more fond of his dog.
 * Kathryn Joosten, as the owner to a cabin Grace finds money in.
 * Stacy Keach, as Wendell Schacter, a former colleague of Jack's who usurps his acting class.
 * Piper Laurie, as Sharon Timmers, the best friend of Professor Joseph Dudley.
 * Michele Lee, as Lucille, one of the lesbians who ended up dancing with both Will & Jack.
 * Hal Linden, as Alan Mills, an elderly gay man who befriends Will and bestows expensive gifts upon him.
 * Natasha Lyonne, as Gillian, Grace's intern who decides to turn into the spitting image of Karen.
 * Madonna, as Liz, Karen's roommate.
 * Lee Majors, as Burt Wolfe, a friend of Grace's father.
 * Camryn Manheim, as Psychic Sue.
 * Jason Marsden, as Kim, a friend of Leo's.
 * Dylan McDermott, as Tom, a boyfriend of Will's who is very closely attached to his elderly mother.
 * Michael McDonald, as a Don, a student in a cooking class Will takes and dates his brother.
 * Julian McMahon, guy in an elevator who Grace flirts with.
 * Demi Moore, as Sissy, Jack's former babysitter.
 * Nick Offerman, as a plumber that Karen has sex with on Thanksgiving when Stan asks her to be sexually active while he is still in jail.
 * Offerman appeared in season 9 as Jackson Boudreaux, a celebrity chef who meets Will and Grace at a cooking class, and begins a sexual relationship with both of them.
 * Sharon Osbourne, as a bartender in No Sex N' in the City.
 * Peter Paige, as a gay Immigration and Naturalization Service officer whom Jack tries to convince his marriage with Rosario is real.
 * Scott Patterson, as Grace's former high school crush in "Das Boob".
 * Sara Paxton, as Melanie, the head cheerleader at Elliot's school.
 * Luke Perry, as Aaron, a "hot gay nerd" bird-watcher on whom Jack develops a crush.
 * Jeremy Piven, as Nicholas, Grace's ex. who asks Grace if she wants to join him in a threesome with his current lover.
 * Chita Rivera, as Lenore, one of the lesbians who ended up dancing with Will & Jack.
 * Brandon Routh, as Sebastian, a stud whom Alan Mills replaces Will with, after the two have a falling out over Will's misinterpretation of their relationship.
 * Chloë Sevigny, as Monet, a wealthy bisexual real-estate agent who falls for Will.
 * Nicollette Sheridan, as Dr. Danielle Morty, a fellow doctor who wanted Leo sexually.
 * Jamie-Lynn Sigler, as Ro, Vince's lesbian sister.
 * Britney Spears, as Amber Louise, a conservative Christian and a "hardcore lesbian" as she describes herself, and a co-host to Jack on his talk show.
 * Wendie Jo Sperber, as April, Grace's short-lived housekeeper.
 * Sharon Stone, as Georgia Keller, Will and Grace's therapist.
 * Larry Sullivan, as Robert, Will's ballet dancing boyfriend on the holiday episode "Jingle Balls".
 * Wanda Sykes, as Cricket, a woman Karen offers to pay to deliver a child for her.
 * Tamlyn Tomita, as Naomi, half of the couple that takes Will and Grace out all night.
 * Rip Torn, as Lionel Banks, a man with whom Karen almost cheats on Stan with during his incarceration.
 * Stuart Townsend, as Edward, Karen's pansexual pastry chef, who ends up "sexing" Will, Karen, and Rosario.
 * Tracey Ullman, as Anne, the instructor of a couples cooking class that Will, Jack, and Jack's boyfriend Stuart attend.
 * Steve Valentine, as Kai, half of the couple that takes Will and Grace out all night.
 * Steven Weber, as Will's brother Sam.

Guest stars playing themselves

 * Kevin Bacon
 * Candice Bergen
 * Sandra Bernhard
 * Cher
 * Katie Couric
 * John Edward
 * Jennifer Lopez
 * Rudy Galindo
 * Hall & Oates
 * Deborah Harry
 * Janet Jackson
 * Elton John
 * James Earl Jones
 * Matt Lauer
 * Stone Phillips
 * Josh Lucas
 * Patti LuPone
 * Barry Manilow
 * Martina Navratilova
 * Bebe Neuwirth
 * Al Roker
 * George Takei
 * Rip Taylor

Conception
Creators of Will & Grace and real-life friends Max Mutchnick and David Kohanmodeled the show after Mutchnick's relationship with childhood friend Janet Eisenberg, a New York City voice-over casting agent. Mutchnick, who is openly gay, met Eisenberg while rehearsing a play at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, California, at age of 13.[25] 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."[25]

While Kohan practiced his shuttle diplomacy, he and Mutchnick began developing sitcom ideas, which prompted the pair to start writing as a duo.[25]They eventually landed staff jobs on HBO's adult-themed sitcom Dream On and executive produced the short-lived NBC sitcom Boston Common.[25] In 1997, they developed an ensemble comedy about six friends, two of them based on Mutchnick and Eisenberg.[25] 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.[26][27] 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.[27] 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.[25]

NBC was positive about the project, but there was still some concern that the homosexual subject matter would cause alarm. Ellen DeGeneres's sitcom Ellen, which aired on ABC, was canceled the year before Will & Grace premiered because ratings had plummeted after the show became "too gay."[28][29] Despite the criticism ABC received for DeGeneres's coming out episode, "The Puppy Episode," Kohan said, "there's no question that show made it easier for Will & Grace to make it on the air." He added: "Will & Grace had a better shot at succeeding where Ellen failed, however, because Will has known about his homosexuality for 20 years. He's not exploring that awkward territory for the first time, as Ellen did. The process of self-discovery and the pain most gay men go through is fascinating, but the average American is put off by it."[30]

Pilot
See also: Pilot (Will & Grace)

NBC went to sitcom director James Burrows to see what he thought of the homosexual subject matter and if an audience would be interested in the show.[32] Burrows liked the idea and when he first read the script in November 1997, he decided that he wanted to direct it. Burrows said, "I knew that the boys had captured a genre and a group of characters I have never read before."[26]The filming of the pilot began on March 15, 1998. The actors behind Will and Grace, Eric McCormack and Debra Messing, were positive about the series and they thought it had the potential to last long on television. McCormack said: "When shooting was finished that night, Debra and I were sitting on the couch and looking at each other and I said, 'We're gonna be on this set for a while.' And we sort of clasped hands, but we didn't want to say anything beyond that and jinx it."[33]

The part of Will Truman went to Eric McCormack, who was the first actor cast in the series.[31] Having played gay characters several times in his career, McCormack did not have a problem with it and thought his character could become a "poster boy for some gay movement", like DeGeneres became a spokesperson with her character.[34] Sean Hayes was invited to audition for Jack after a NBC casting executive saw him in a role in the indie gay romance film Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss. Even though Hayes enjoyed the script when he read it, he threw it away and decided not to try out for the audition until he was sent the script again.[35] Megan Mullally initially auditioned for the role of Grace Adler, but admitted that she did not want to audition for the part of Karen.[36] By contrast, Debra Messing, with whom Mullally had first worked on Ned and Stacey, was initially unsure if she wanted to play the role of Grace.[37]The last actor to be cast, she later admitted that director Burrows was the reason for doing Will & Grace.[32]

Revival
In January 2017, NBC closed a deal for a new 10-episode season of the series, which aired during the 2017–18 season. Hayes executive produced this season as well as creators/executive producers Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Veteran director James Burrows is on board to direct and executive produce.[38]In April 2017, the episode order was increased to 12 episodes.[39] In August 2017, it was extended again to 16 episodes, and a second 13-episode season was ordered.[40] The revival is filmed at Stage 22 at Universal Studios Hollywood, as opposed to Stage 17 at CBS Studio Center. In March 2018, NBC ordered five more episodes for the revival's second season, bringing the total to 18 episodes, and it was also renewed for an 18-episode third season.[41]

Will & Grace: After Party
With the release of the ninth season of the series, NBC also released Will & Grace: After Party, an aftershow hosted by Kristin dos Santos. The guests of the aftershow are composed of cast and crew from the series, including David Kohan, Max Mutchnick, and the series' stars, to discuss the development and behind-the-scenes production of the series. The series premiered on NBC.com on September 29, 2017.[42][43]

Lawsuit
In December 2003, in the midst of the series' sixth season, executive producers and creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick sued NBC and NBC Studios. Alleging that the network sold the rights to the series in an attempt to keep profits within the NBC family, Kohan and Mutchnick felt that they were cheated out of considerable profits because the network did not shop the show to the highest bidder. Another allegation against the network was that during the first four seasons of the series, the studio licensed the rights for amounts that were insufficient for covering production costs, thus leading to extraordinarily large production deficits.[44] Three months later, NBC filed a countersuit against Kohan and Mutchnick stating that the co-creators were expected to act as an independent third party in the negotiations between NBC and its subsidiary, NBC Studios (since subsumed into Universal Television).[45]

With a pending lawsuit and production beginning on other projects, Kohan and Mutchnick were absent on the Will & Grace set for most of its final seasons. They wrote the season 4 episode, "A Buncha White Chicks Sittin' Around Talkin'" and did not return to the writers' seat until the series finale four years later. Three years after NBC's countersuit and one year after the series ended, the legal battle between NBC and Kohan and Mutchnick ended in 2007 when all parties agreed on a settlement, with the series creators being awarded $49 million, of their original $65 million lawsuit.[46]

Syndication
Will & Grace entered off-network syndication in 2002. In 2002 WGN Americaacquired the cable rights to air the series, where it aired until 2005 when Lifetime Television acquired the cable rights to air the series. After eight years and the expiration of Lifetime's contract, the rights to the series were picked up by WeTV and Logo TV in 2013, with both eventually letting the rights lapse.

The streaming service Hulu later picked up the show, in anticipation of the show's revival in 2017, with the entire series also carried on NBC.com. Around the same time, NBC's classic subchannel network Cozi TV picked up the series and airs it four times nightly, and promotes it as "The Original Series" to avert confusion with the current-day run.[47]

In the United Kingdom, the series was aired on Channel 4 up until its season finale in 2006. It was confirmed on 4 December 2017 that the series would premiere in January 2018 on Channel 5.

In Ireland, the series first aired on TV3 Ireland until its conclusion in 2006. It was confirmed in January 2018 rival channel RTÉ2 picked up the broadcasting rights for the 2017–18 season run, beginning in February 2018.

Critical response
The show has been criticized for not fully challenging stereotypes. "Battles and Hilton-Morrow (2002) analyse Will & Grace with regard to its dependence on traditional sitcom formulas and argue that the narratives diminish any of the show’s potentially subversive themes...Kanner (2003) notes that the gayness of Will & Grace is normalized because the driving force of the show is their heterosexual friendship. Will’s sexuality is assumed and incorporated into the show mostly as comic source and rarely as driving narrative."[48]

The show garnered a fair amount of criticism and negative reviews upon its debut in 1998, most of which compared the show to the recently canceled ABCsitcom Ellen. Some[who?] called it "a gay Seinfeld". One such review said, "If Will & Grace can somehow survive a brutal time period opposite football and Ally McBeal, it could grow into a reasonably entertaining little anomaly—that is, a series about a man and a woman who have no sexual interest in one another. But don't bet on it. If it's doomed relationships viewers want, they'll probably opt for Ally."[49] As popular as the show came to be, particularly among gay viewers, Will & Grace continuously dealt with criticism for having a limited view of the gay community and for reinforcing stereotypes when some felt it should have torn them down.[50]

The series finale was heavily promoted by NBC, and McCormack, Messing, Mullally and Hayes appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Today Showto bid farewell, on May 10 and 18, respectively. NBC devoted a two-hour block in its primetime schedule on May 18, 2006, for the Will & Grace send-off. An hour-long series retrospective, "Say Goodnight, Gracie", featuring interviews with the cast, crew, and guest stars, preceded the hour-long series finale. Series creators and executive producers Kohan and Mutchnick, who had not served as writers since the season 4 finale, penned the script for "The Finale". Regarding the finale, Mutchnick stated, "We wrote about what you want to have happen with people you love... All the things that matter in life, they end up having."[51]

The ninth season was met with generally positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoesthe season has a rating of 86% based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Will & Grace reunites its ever-hilarious cast for a revival season that picks up right where the show left off 11 years ago—adding a fresh relevance and a series of stories that make sharply funny use of the passage of time."[52] On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[53]

Awards and nominations
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Will & Grace

Will & Grace has been nominated for 83 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning 18 of them. McCormack, Messing, Hayes, and Mullally each won at least one Emmy Award for their respective performances. Mullally also won a second time for her performance in 2006, a year when Will & Grace was nominated for 10 Emmys for its final season. The year before, the show had garnered 15 nominations, tied with Desperate Housewives as the series receiving the most nominations. This was almost an all-time record; the two shows were second behind The Larry Sanders Show, with 16 nominations in 1996.

With three each, both Hayes and Mullally held the record of winning the most Screen Actors Guild Awards for the categories Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy Series and Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series, respectively, for their roles in Will & Grace; however, Tina Fey went on to tie with Mullally and Alec Baldwin went on to surpass Hayes, both for their roles on the series 30 Rock. Will & Grace has won several GLAAD Media Awards for its advocacy of the gay community. Despite more than two dozen nominations, Will & Grace never won a Golden Globe Award during its original run.

Ratings
The show debuted on Mondays beginning on September 21, 1998, and steadily gained in popularity, culminating when it moved to Thursday night as part of NBC's Must See TV line-up. The show ultimately became a highly-ratedtelevision show in the United States, earning a top-twenty rating during four of its eight seasons, including one season at # 9. From 2001–2005, Will & Gracewas the highest-rated sitcom among adults 18–49. However, when the show lost Friends as its lead-in after the 2003–04 season, Will & Grace began shedding viewers and slipped out of the top 20 during its last two seasons.

"The Finale" drew over 18 million viewers,[54][55] ranking # 8 for the week, easily making it the most watched episode of seasons seven & eight. While the season eight finale is considered a ratings success, it is far from being the most watched episode of Will & Grace—that accolade remains with the season four episode "A Chorus Lie", which aired on February 7, 2002, and ranked #8 for the week. When the show was at the height of its popularity (seasons 3–5), ranking in the Top 10 was a common occurrence, but the finale's Top 10 rank was the only such rank for season 8 and the first such rank since the season 7 premiere "FYI: I Hurt, Too".

Cultural impact
The series was the first prime-time television series on U.S. terrestrial television to star openly gay lead characters, making it the highest-profile presence of LGBT characters on U.S. broadcast television since Ellen 's eponymous lead character's coming-out in the 1997 "Puppy Episode". It has also been heralded as responsible for opening the door to a string of gay-themed television programs, such as Queer as Folk, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and Boy Meets Boy.

In May 2012, during a Meet the Press interview with host David Gregory, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden cited the series as an influence in American thinking regarding LGBT rights, saying, "I think Will & Grace did more to educate the American public than almost anything anybody has ever done. People fear that which is different. Now they're beginning to understand."[64] In the same interview, Biden stated that he was "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex marriage, a statement which was followed on May 9 by President Barack Obama's speaking in favor of it.[65] The day after Obama's statement, series co-creator Mutchnick later told CBS This Morning that Biden had spoken similar words at a private function which Mutchnick and his husband had attended two weeks prior to Biden's statement, although a White House official was cited by CBS This Morning's Bill Plante as asserting that the Meet the Press interview was not a "trial balloon" for the statement.[66] Both Mutchnick and Kohan praised Biden's statement, but were critical of Obama's stance on marriage during the time between Biden's and Obama's statements.[67]

In 2004, the cast of the show were listed in Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters.[68] In 2012, The Washington Post ranked Will & Grace the ninth-best NBC comedy of all time.[69]

In 2014, scripts, props, and set decor from Will & Grace were donated to the National Museum of American History, which is part of the Smithsonian.[70]

Home media
Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released all eight seasons of Will & Grace on DVD in Region 1, 2, and 4. The show was re-released and re-packaged on October 3, 2011, on region 2. Universal Studios Home Entertainment will release all future seasons on DVD and Blu-Ray.

In Australia, after the original sets were released, the first reissues were released, with Season 1 & 2 on 5 September 2007, Season 3-5 on 3 October 2007 and Seasons 6-8 on 21 November 2007. These releases were then later packaged as 'The Complete Will & Grace Collection' box set which was released on 19 November 2008. The second reissue were the entire 8 seasons released in 2011 with updated artwork and then later packed as 'Will & Grace: All 8 Seasons' which was released on 2 November 2012. Then in 2014, the entire series were once again reissued, now back to the original artwork the same as the 2007 releases with some minor differences. Initially the 'All 8 Seasons' boxset was released with the 2011 reissues, but later editions contained the 2014 reissues. On 13 June 2018 another box set was released, 'Will & Grace: All 9 Seasons' which contained the 2014 reissues and the first season of the revival series.

Karen: The Musical
It had been announced that Megan Mullally would be creating and starring in a new Broadway musical entitled Karen: The Musical. This musical would have had Mullally reprising her role of Karen Walker. She stated in an interview that the show may also involve recurring guest star Leslie Jordan in his role as Beverley Leslie, with a story revolving around their rivalry.[73]

According to Mullally, the project was cancelled due to the rights to the Karen character being withdrawn. Mullally stated to have already gained approval from the network, as well as having the Broadway production company Fox Theatricals, director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw and composer Jeff Blumenkrantz all lined up to participate in the production, before certain stakeholders in the Karen Walker character withdrew the rights for its use in the production.[74]

Jack & Karen
There had been talk in 2008 that a spin-off was being developed by NBC entitled Jack & Karen, featuring Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally reprising their roles. Hayes initially showed interest in the spin-off but was ultimately put off by the short-lived Friends spin-off, Joey. Furthermore, Mullally's new work schedule in the form of her talk show, which was canceled several months later, did not allow her to pursue the spin-off at the time.[75]

2016 Election web special
On September 26, 2016, the main cast—McCormack, Messing, Hayes, and Mullally, plus Morrison in a cameo role—reunited for a 10-minute web special, urging Americans to vote in the 2016 presidential election.[8] In the special, Karen, an avid Donald Trump supporter, tries to persuade Jack to vote for Trump, while Will and Grace, both avid Hillary Clinton supporters, try to persuade him to vote for Clinton. At the end, Will reveals that singer Katy Perry is a supporter of Clinton, which persuades Jack to vote for Clinton.