Earlier this year, the hit sitcomWill & Gracemade a comeback, of sorts, with original starsDebra Messing(Grace Adler),Eric McCormack(Will Truman),Megan Mullally(Karen Walker) andSean Hayes(Jack McFarland) reuniting for a specialElection 2016 episode. There had been rumors that NBC was eyeing an official revival of the series, but nothing was ever confirmed by the network or any of the stars. While we still don’t have an official announcement yet, series starLeslie Johnsonrevealed in a new interview that NBC has in fact issued a 10-episode order for a new season ofWill & Grace.
Leslie Johnson, who won anEmmy Awardfor his portrayal of Karen’s office rival Beverley Leslie, recently spoke with San Diego radio stationKBPSfor his touring comedy show dubbedStraight Outta Chattanooga, where he made the surprising confirmation that aWill & Gracerevival is actually happening. No story details have been confirmed quite yet, but the actor did reveal that the network is eyeing this show for next season. Here’s what he had to say below about the return ofWill & Grace.
“It’s back. Here’s the way it works. They’ve ordered 10 [episodes]. It’ll be for next season, so they’ll go in in July, and then they’ll add theguest cast. I’ll get a phone call. I’m not a regular.”
Before theWill & Grace reunionepisode happened in September, the stars shared a photo of all fourWill & Graceleads on the set, sparking rumors that the show will come back on NBC. At the time, it wasn’t known if the network was officially considering a revival, but the reunion episode, which clocked in at just under 10 minutes long, quickly went viral, with more than 6.6 million views in the three months since it surfaced. While that number is nearly half of the 12.3 million viewers the show attracted on average during its first season, it still proves there is still a fervent fan base for this show. The show’s final season, which aired in 2006, attracted an average of 8.6 million viewers per episode.
It hasn’t been confirmed ifWill & GracecreatorsDavid KohanandMax Mutchnickwill return to write these new episodes, or if the creators have plans to pay tribute to the late greatDebbie Reynolds, whopassed awaylast week. The actress guest starred as Bobbi Adler, the mother ofDebra Messing’s Grace Adler in 12 episodes between 2001 and 2006, when the show went off the air after eight successful seasons. If NBC does confirm this news soon,Will & Gracewill just be the latest successful show to come back on the air in some way shape or form. Netflix has been leading the charge with this new wave of revivals such asFuller Houseand the newGilmore Girlsseries, with CBS’MacGyverand Fox’sX-Filesfinding success on the small screen this year.
