Since September, British fans of Will & Grace having been looking across the pond enviously, as American viewers have been treated to new episodes of the show. However, there’s been no news on when – or even if – it would arrive in the UK.

That’s changed though, as Will himself, Eric McCormack, has confirmed that Channel 5 has picked up the rights and will begin airing the show in January. Deadline adds that the first episode of the rebooted show will screen in Britain on January 5th, in between episodes of Celebrity Big Brother.

The reboot has proven a success in the US, as before the first new episode aired, TV network NBC had already expanded the original order from 12 to 16 new episodes, as well as commissioning a second season with 10 more new instalments. Once it did make it to screen, it’s proved a ratings winner.

Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes, and Megan Mullally have all returned to the show following a 10-year break. It once more follows the adventures of gay lawyer Will and his straight best friend Grace, as well as their flamboyant friend Jack, and the snobby, rich Karen. [Read more…]

Less than 12 months ago, the Will & Grace team reunited for a pro-Hillary, anti-Trump 10-minute mini-episode. That’s now led to what few people expected – the show’s return to network TV for 12 brand new episode, which are due to start airing on NBC this autumn.

There are plenty of people excited to see what’s happened to Will, Grace, Jack and Karen (okay, mainly Jack and Karen) in the 11 years since the show went off air. There’s not been too much news on exactly what they’ll be up to or how their lives might have changed, but it’ll certainly be good to have them back.

You can take a look at the poster, which was posted by NBC, below. [Read more…]

For several months there’s been a lot of talk about whether NBC would bring back Will & Grace for a new season. The US TV network started thinking about it shortly after the success of a pro-Hillary mini-episode that got the cast back together in October.

By December Megan Mullally said the revival had a “A Very Good Chance” of happening, then last month guest star Leslie Jordan seemed to confirm it was definitely happening for 10 new episodes. However, the next day Grace herself, Debra Messing, put the brakes on by saying nothing was confirmed and at that point it was still all just talk.

Now though, it’s been officially announced that Will & Grace will return, with NBC commissioning 10 fresh episodes. Most of the key original cast and crew have signed up to return, with Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes all on-board, as well as creators/executive producers Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Just as importantly yhe  man who directed every single episode of the original eight seasons, James Burrows, will return to do the  same for Season 9.

The new episodes are currently set to air sometime during the 2017/2018 season. And just to confirm they’re not kidding, NBC has released the short video you can see below, to help whet our appetite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDe934lJlqY

When the first new episode of Will & Grace arrived in September, made to tie in to the US general election and suggest perhaps voting Trump isn’t a good idea, all four cast members seemed open to at least thinking about being involved in a revival. Well, their comments and the success of the mini-episode on Youtube must have gotten the bigwigs at NBC thinking, as THR reports the network is in talks for a revival.

It’s too early to get excited yet, as it’s very early days, as no deals exist with any of the four main cast members or producers/creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick (all of whom would need to agree to it). And while NBC are interested, if there is a reboot, it could end up elsewhere, with streaming services potentially stepping up with a more lucrative deal. If it does happen – whether on NBC or elsewhere – it’s likely to be for a limited eight or 10 episode run.

Indeed, during interviews while making the new episode, Debra Messing suggested streaming may be the way to go, saying, “Now there are platforms where you can do six or 10 episodes. I don’t believe we would ever come back to network [TV] again. I think that the logistics of all of our lives, there would just be way too many things to hammer out. But for something shorter-lived and maybe having the limitations of being on network TV lifted may give us a fun, fresh opportunity because we could be really, really naughty!”

Eric McCormack seemed more reticent, seemingly because he’s worried about trampling on the legacy of the original show, but even he said, “I’m sure we would all be open to talking about it.”

Sean Hayes and Mega Mullally also appeared open to at least considering it. However, that’s a long way from saying it’s going to happen, but we’re certainly a lot closer to a new season that most ever expected us to be.