"Will & Grace" (1998)TV series 1998-2006

Creators:

David Kohan
Max Mutchnick

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Release Date:

21 September 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Where there's a Will there's a Grace

Plot:

Will and Grace live together in an apartment in New York. He's a gay lawyer, she's a straight interior designer.

Plot Keywords:

Socialite | Gay Straight Relations | Gay Relationship | New York City | Lawyer

Awards:

Nominated for 27 Golden Globes. Another 51 wins & 162 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 26	6:00 PM	CW	... And the Horse He Rode In On	#5.1
Sat. July 26	6:30 PM	CW	Bacon and Eggs	#5.2

Cast

Eric McCormack	...	Will Truman (186 episodes, 1998-2006)
Debra Messing	...	Grace Adler (186 episodes, 1998-2006)
Megan Mullally	...	Karen Walker (186 episodes, 1998-2006)
Sean Hayes	...	Jack McFarland (186 episodes, 1998-2006)
Shelley Morrison	...	Rosario Salazar (74 episodes, 1999-2006)

Also Known As:

Will and Grace (USA) (alternative spelling)
Will & Grace (Germany) [de]
Will & Grace (Greece) [el]
Will & Grace (France) [fr]
Will & Grace (Finland) [fi]
Will és Grace (Hungary) [hu]
Will og Grace (Denmark) [da]
Will y Grace (Spain) [es]

Runtime:

23 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | USA:TV-14 (sexual references/scenes) | Ireland:12 | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG | UK:12 (some episodes) | UK:15 (one episode) | UK:PG (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

155 Riverside Drive, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

KoMut Entertainment

Trivia:

In the episode when Grace married Leo, the music to which Will walked Grace up the aisle was the main theme from "Brideshead Revisited" (1981), composed by Geoffrey Burgon.

Goofs:

Continuity: In episode 1:12, "My Fair Maidy", when Will introduces Grace to April, the pens in Grace's hair changes between shots.

Quotes:

Cher: Ya know dude, it is a little weird that you are talking to my doll.
Jack: Um I don't think that I need a drag queen to define normal behavior. But I will say this, the look, is flawless.
Cher: Whatever.
Jack: Ohh. Working the attitude. OK, you're good.
Cher: I've had a lot of practice.
Jack: Hey hey. You're not that great Mister Sister. I do a better Cher than you.
Cher: Ya think so?
Jack: Actually it's "You think so, hooooooooooooooe"
Cher: Are you kidding me with this?
Jack: OK, the hand is perfect, but it's more "are you kidding me with this, hoooooooooooe"
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Six Feet Under: Crossroads (#1.8)" (2001)

Classic Sit-Com Who Broke Grounds,but Lost its Touch Along the Way.

Who would have thought that a show with not one, but two gay leads would hit the TVs across America and ensure its place among must-see TV Thursdays (albeit being shown Tuesdays in its first season and eventually displacing FRASIER) while also garnering critical reviews and numerous Emmys? WILL AND GRACE came and un-intentionally filled the void that ELLEN and her gay oriented sitcom left, keeping the sexuality quietly placed in the background while focusing on the quartet's dysfunctional and often crazy antics (except for some truly clever in-jokes that only gay men and women could catch). Fast moving dialogue, truly innovative slapstick and a balanced out cast created one of the best shows in the last five years, one that had an interesting DICK VAN DYKE SHOW feel, and even if the first season was a little bit clunky at times and some of the comedic situations seemed clearly forced for laughs, it worked.

Lately the show has taken something of a dip in quality. Season 5 reached an early peak in November sweeps with Grace's marriage to Leo Markus, and trying to establish a long term relationship with Will and Barry proved fruitless as it was truly unfunny. Season 6 proved dismal in many ways, from the writing which was not delivering good jokes, to Debra Messing's forced absence due to her pregnancy which took the balance out of the story lines, to Jack and Karen's essences being dumbed down to make them look more like morons in search for a quick laugh, to situations which seemed repetitive and even unfocused. Then Season 7's dismal beginning, with episodes featuring Jennifer Lopez and Janet Jackson essentially doing nothing to bring any comedy to the sitcom questioned would the series be canceled sooner than not, but lately it has been getting back on track, putting the mega-guest stars aside for some actual comedy. Characters are a little more defined, less cartoonish, and situations don't seem as tiredly funny as they were during the aforementioned slump, and whether the show goes on for another season or two I hope that it will go back to how it began, with frenzied humor and sharp lines which was how it got its trademark. It is still a great show and one that deserves the best presentation NBC has to offer.