I'll never understand why there aren't more sitcoms involved with the growing number of series revivals heading to TV, since there are rarely overarching plots that need heavy lifting to make a return more sensible. Thankfully, NBC decided earlier this year to revisit the heavy sarcasm and privileged prejudices of former hit Will & Grace for a brand new season, and the news just got even better, as the network has extended the scope of the return with an additional two episodes, bringing the total to twelve. The more, the merrier!
After a full decade off the air, the Will & Grace cast made the surprising decision to reconnect for a limited "scene" created as a promotional tool for then-Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. But even though Clinton's campaign did not reach a successful ending, fans of the NBC sitcom were extremely pleased to see former primetime mainstays like Sean Hayes' Jack, regardless of any political implications. And the outpouring of attention and acclaim, not to mention the cast and crew's gameness to head back to the series in full, was more than enough to convince NBC to bring the show back to audiences, and apparently everything is going extremely well behind the scenes if the network has added a 20% increase in the episode count, per Deadline's report.
Still not close to the number of installments that NBC still gives its full-season series, Will & Grace will hopefully feel like a concise and well-planned return with just twelve episodes. Not that it needs to tell a fully-realized narrative, especially not one that uses similar political subject matter as its go-to conversation fodder, but nobody likes to see a beloved series return to TV just to relive glory days through stale jokes and exploited catchphrases. That said, I'm pretty sure things have changed enough between 2006 and 2017 to provide more than enough plot avenues for the central foursome, to be reprised by stars Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally. We can't wait to see who else comes back, too.
Following its Must See TV heyday, NBC really crumbled when it came to producing memorable comedies, with the rare standout like Parks and Recreation keeping the genre afloat. Superstore and Trial & Error are seemingly reversing those tides, and the return of Will & Grace can only help things, considering it will be handled by returning creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, with executive producer and TV legend James Burrows also back on board.
At this point, Will & Grace doesn't yet have a release date set up for its return, though viewers can expect to find it hitting either the fall primetime lineup or the midseason one, depending on when NBC aims to get fans laughing. In the meantime, check out everything that's already set for return and premiere dates with our midseason TV schedule and our summer debut guide.
