Will & Grace
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Will & Grace is an American television situation comedy focusing on Will Truman, a gay attorney and his best friend Grace Adler, a straight woman who runs her own interior design firm.
The show debuted on the NBC network on September 21, 1998 and steadily gained in popularity, culminating when it moved to Thursday night as part of NBC's "Must-See" lineup.
The show has been renewed for an eighth season (also possibly the last season) in 2005-2006.
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The DVDs
On 30 August 2004, the first four seasons (series) were released in the UK, the fifth then on 7 March 2005. The sixth is expected on 15 August 2005. Only the first three are out in the US, the first released on 12 August 2003, the second 23 March 2004, and the third 7 September 2004. The fourth season will be available for purchase in the early autumn of 2005. The UK and US editions feature different cover-art and menu presentation.
Plot
- Main page - Episode guide
Will & Grace's early relationship
Back in college, Will and Grace were actually boyfriend and girlfriend, with Will in denial about his sexuality. However, with the counsel of his new friend Jack McFarland, Will finally came out to Grace during a Thanksgiving weekend at her family home in 1985. Grace was shocked, hurt and angry at the time, throwing him out of the house, but a year later they finally reconciled and renewed their friendship.
As roommates
When the show debuted, the pair had just started living as roommates in New York City after Grace had come out of a long-term relationship with Danny which ended badly, and needed an apartment. Will and Grace spend a lot of time with one another as well as with friends Jack McFarland, a flamboyantly gay struggling stage actor whose careers over the course of the show range from Barney's assistant to student nurse; and Karen Walker, a millionairess drunk and Grace's personal assistant. Another character who factored into the early stories was Harlin Polk, played by Gary Grubbs. At first he was given equal billing in the opening credits with the other four cast members, but interest in his storyline waned and he was written out of the show.
The show follows both Will and Grace's attempts to establish romantic relationships without sacrificing their often co-dependent reliance on one another for emotional support. A common joke finds Jack and Karen referring to Will and Grace as "non-sexual life partners". Eventually Grace moved into her own apartment in an attempt to put some distance between herself and Will, but then ended up moving back the following season.
Relationships
Grace has had several lovers on the show, portrayed by actors such as Woody Harrelson and Gregory Hines. Eventually she married Leo, played by singer and actor Harry Connick, Jr.. They split in the finale of the show's sixth season after Grace discovered Leo had had an affair while working with Doctors Without Borders in Cambodia. Will has been less successful romantically, a fact lamented by many fans who long to see a gay man portrayed on television in a happy relationship. In the show's early seasons, Will did not have any long-term love interests, but this changed in the spring of 2004, when the character of Vince, a New York City policeman played by Bobby Cannavale, was introduced.
Supporting characters
Meanwhile the supporting characters Jack and Karen have grown cattier and more spiteful, providing acerbic commentary on the neurotic behavior of the title characters. Jack, whose floundering one-man show and acting career has been established as a hopeless dream, found work in retail sales and eventually married Karen's maid and long-time friend Rosario in order to help her establish US citizenship. It was also revealed that he had fathered a son many years prior (through artificial insemination with a woman played by Rosie O'Donnell). Karen is played as a woman who has made hard choices in life in order to live the carefree way she chooses. She sometimes reluctantly reveals intense emotion about rough situations (such as the death of her husband), although she usually prefers to put on a face of cruel indifference and obliviousness.
Karen's husband Stan Walker has remained an unseen character across the course of the show. He is described as a very heavy man with some unusual sexual tastes, who gives a lot of business to Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Jailed during season 4 for tax fraud, Stan was released in season 5 but Karen soon caught him sleeping with his mistress Lorraine Finster. During Stan and Karen's divorce proceedings at the end of season 5, Stan died and season 6 saw Karen explore other avenues of dating, briefly marrying Lorraine's father Lyle. At the end of the seventh season it was revealed that Stan faked his death, and will likely return in season eight.
Awards and nominations
By 2005, "Will & Grace" had been nominated for 49 and won 12 Emmys. From 2001-2005, “Will & Grace” was the second highest rated comedy among adults 18-49, second only to NBC's own Friends, which usually preceded it on the Thursday night schedule. It has also been heralded as responsible for opening the door to a string of gay themed television programs such as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Boy Meets Boy. "Will & Grace" has won several GLAAD Media Awards for its fair and accurate representation of the gay community.
Cast and Crew
Regular characters
- Will Truman, played by Eric McCormack
- Grace Adler, played by Debra Messing
- Jack McFarland, played by Sean Hayes
- Karen Walker, played by Megan Mullally
- Rosario Salazar - Karen's maid, played by Shelley Morrison
- Harlin Polk - a client of Will's, played by Gary Grubbs. Although initially a main cast member, Grubbs appeared in only half the episodes of season 1, and then returned briefly in season 2.
- Elliot - Jack's son, played by Michael Angarano (season four, guest star in seasons three, five and six)
In the opening credits, McCormack and Messing are billed together, with the name that goes on top alternating between episodes.'
Recurring characters
For a more extensive list, see the article on Supporting characters on Will & Grace.
- Stan Walker (unseen character) - Karen's obese husband.
- Olivia Walker (Hallee Hirsh) - Karen's stepdaughter.
- Mason Walker (unseen character) - Karen's stepson, "the fat one".
- Lois Whitley (Suzanne Pleshette) - Karen's mother.
- Bobbi Adler (Debbie Reynolds)- Grace's entertainer mother.
- George Truman (Sydney Pollack) - Will's father.
- Marilyn Truman (Blythe Danner) - Will's mother.
- Tina (Lesley Ann Warren) - Will's father's mistress.
- Rob (Tom Gallop) and Ellen (Leigh-Allyn Baker) - two of Grace and WIll's closest friends and regular charades buddies, a married couple with children.
- Val Bassett (Molly Shannon)- A slightly crazy, alcoholic woman who lives in Will and Grace's building.
- Joe (Jerry Levine) and Larry (Tim Bagley) - two of WIll and Grace's close friends, a gay couple with an adopted daughter.
- Beverley Leslie (Leslie Jordan) - A possibly closeted, very short socialite whose relationsip with Karen changes rapidly from friend to enemy.
- Nathan (Woody Harrelson) - Grace's neighbour and boyfriend (seasons 3 and 4).
- Barry (Dan Futterman) - Karen's cousin, who Jack and Will help transform from a slobbish straight man into a gay man, and then both fall for him.
- Lyle Finster (John Cleese) - The father of Stan's mistress, briefly engaged and married to Karen (season 6).
- Dr. Marvin "Leo" Markus (Harry Connick Jr.) - Grace's boyfriend and eventual husband. Their marriage ended after he cheated on her (seasons 5 to 7)
- Vince D'Angelo (Bobby Cannavale) - WIll's first long-term boyfriend in the show's run (seasons six and seven).
- Stuart Lamarck (Dave Foley) - a client of Will's, and boyfriend of Jack (season six).
- Ben Doucette (Gregory Hines) - Will's boss at Doucette & Stein and occasional love interest of Grace. (seasons two to three)
- Zandra (Eileen Brennan) - Jack's acting coach, who later kicked him out of the class and eventually was retired to an Actor's Nursing Home.
- Lorraine Finster (Minnie Driver) - Stan's mistress, a cafeteria worker at the prison, and Lyle's daughter.
Guest stars
Will & Grace often has high profile guest stars appearing on the show. This list is not complete.
- Alec Baldwin
- Candice Bergen
- Sandra Bernhard
- Jack Black
- Beau Bridges
- Edward Burns
- Veronica Cartwright
- Cher
- Glenn Close
- Joan Collins
- Katie Couric
- Matt Damon
- Geena Davis
- Ellen Degeneres
- Michael Douglas
- Edie Falco
- Miguel Ferrer
- Victor Garber
- Andy Garcia
- Sara Gilbert
- Seth Green
- Neil Patrick Harris
- Janet Jackson
- Elton John
- James Earl Jones
- Hal Linden
- Jennifer Lopez
- Patti LuPone
- Madonna
- Dylan McDermott
- Rosie O'Donnell
- Luke Perry
- Stone Phillips
- Parker Posey
- Chloe Sevigny
- Molly Shannon
- Nicollette Sheridan
- Mira Sorvino
- Eric Stoltz
- Sharon Stone
- Rip Torn
- Gene Wilder
Crew
- David Flebotte - Executive Producer (Season 7)
- Alex Herschlag - Executive Producer
- David Kohan - Executive Producer
- Jhoni Marchinko - Executive Producer
- Max Mutchnick - Executive Producer
- James Burrows - Executive Producer
- Jeff Greenstein - Executive Producer
- Max Mutchnick - Creator
- David Kohan - Creator
Broadcasters
- Asia - Zee Cafe
- Australia - Seven Network - Arena
- Belgium - Kanaal Twee
- Canada - Global
- Germany - Pro 7
- Italy - Italia 1 (Mediaset) and FOX Life
- Latin America - Sony
- Netherlands - Net5
- New Zealand - TV3
- Spain - La 2 and FOX
- United Kingdom - LivingTV and Channel 4
- United States - NBC
NBC Broadcast History
- September 1998-November 1998 – Monday 9:30pm
- December 1998-March 1999 – Tuesday 9:30pm
- April 1999-May 1999 – Thursday 8:30pm
- September 1999-May 2000 – Tuesday 9:00pm
- October 2000-January 2004 – Thursday 9:00pm
- January 2004-April 2004 – Thursday 8:30pm
- April 2004-September 2004 – Thursday 9:00pm
- September 2004-June 2005 - Thursday 8:30pm
See also
- List of Will & Grace episodes
- List of guest stars on Will & Grace
- List of television shows with lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered characters
External links
- Official NBC Site (http://www.nbc.com/willandgrace/)
- Template:Imdb title
- Episode Guides (http://epguides.com/WillandGrace/guide.shtml)
- Will & Gract at aboutgaymovies (http://www.aboutgaymovies.info/films/will%20&%20grace.htm)
- Fanpage listings (http://wg.eternal-snow.org/)fr:Will & Grace