by tim parks
hollywood
THE RETURN OF WhenWill & Grace premiered on NBC
back in 1998, it offered television audiences something they hadn’t previously seen on a big three network (gasp), a relationship between a gay man and his straight female friend. Eric McCormack portrayed Will Truman,
the very uptight lawyer and as yin to his...Um, yang was Debra Messing as Grace Adler, a neurotic interior designer. Thrown into the mix for excellent measure were Sean Hayes as Jack McFarland, the hyperbolic take on the “typical gay male,” who hilariously found comedic balance in Megan Mullally’s pill-popping, alcoholic socialite, Karen Walker. The chemistry—not unlike the one coursing through Karen’s bloodstream—between the
AfterWill & Grace McCormack made the one-off rounds as a guest
WILL & GRACE & JACK & KAREN
quartet was the thing of sitcom lore, making the show, featuring gay principal characters, one of the most successful in television history. It was no fluke that it resonated with audiences, both gay and straight, staying on the air for eight years and nabbing 16 Emmy wins, including gilded statuettes for all four principal actors. The show bid adieu in 2006, and now 11 years
later with reboot fever in the air in Hollywood, NBC has resurrected one of the brighter feathers in their cap, whenWill & Grace returns to The Peacock Network, Thursdays at 9 p.m.
Let’s take a look at what the show’s stars have
done since then professionally, what to expect from 2.0 and what the show should avoid.
star on shows likeMonk andLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit and found some long-term footing with stints onThe New Adventures of Old Christine with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and for three seasons on Perception. On the TNT crime drama, he starred as Dr. Daniel Pierce, a neuropsychiatrist with schizophrenia that helped the FBI solve their most difficult cases. Looks like he avoided typecasting! However, that wasn’t necessarily the case for
Sean Hayes. The actor came out as gay in 2010 and has since stated that he wished he had done it during the run ofWill & Grace. In 2014, Hayes’ attempt to capture gay lightning in a gay bottle with his sitcom Sean Saves the World didn’t do much to save his career, only lasting 11 episodes. Though he went on to add several successful theatre credits to his resume. Mullally’s career has been, well, “interesting” is
a word that comes to mind. She appeared off and on with her real-life husband Nick Offerman onParks & Rec., was almost unrecognizable on the off-kilter Adult Swim effort, Children’s Hospital, lending her voice to Bob’s Burgers and co-starred in the James Franco comedyWhy Him?, with guest spots and recurring roles on other comedy series, including Happy Endings, 30 Rock, Up All Night, Boston Legal, andThe New Adventures of Old Christine. Messing definitely had her ups and downs with a
trio of shows that only lasted briefly. Starting with The Starter Wife (see, what I did there?) followed by Smash, The Mysteries of Laura and the television remake of the 1987 film, Dirty Dancing.
OCTOBER 2017 | RAGE monthly 23
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