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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Wednesday 27 september 2017
Grateful cast, creators ready

for ‘Will & Grace’ return

By SANDY COHEN that the four of us were McCormack said shooting
AP Entertainment Writer in the same place at the “Will & Grace” after work-
LOS ANGELES (AP) — As same time,” Messing said. ing on “Traveler” is like hav-
soon as Eric McCormack “And within 20 minutes, we ing dessert after dinner.
stepped into the old “Will were fondling each other.” “This feels like coming back
& Grace” kitchen, he was The 10-minute “Vote Hon- to your parents’ home
Will Truman again. Debra ey” short quickly racked and your bedroom is un-
Messing says she still feels up millions of views, but a changed and you’ve still
In this Sept. 23, 2017, file photo, the cast of “Will & Grace, from like Grace Adler, but these series revival still wasn’t on got your Queen posters on
left, Eric McCormack, Megan Mullally, Debra Messing and Sean days, she has to physically anyone’s mind. the wall and your stereo still
Hayes, attend a screening of the new season of the TV show warm up before stepping “There was never ever a works and you’re allowed
during the Tribeca TV Festival at Cinepolis Chelsea in New York. into that persona. Megan moment of intention to do to be 16 again,” he said.
Associated Press
Mullally said finding Karen this,” Mutchnick said from His favorite part is being
again was “like riding a his office on the Univer- back in Will and Grace’s
bike.” For Sean Hayes, re- sal Studios lot. But when apartment: “When I’m
discovering Jack McFar- NBC chief Bob Greenblatt standing in that kitchen, I
land was “like waking up called a few weeks after feel like Jean-Luc Picard in
out of a coma, maybe — a “Vote Honey” with inter- his chair.”
Jack coma.” est in a full “Will & Grace” Though politics may have
However they came back season, there was no hesi- inspired the series’ return to
to their characters, all four tation. NBC’s prime-time sched-
actors say it’s surreal that, “The weirdest thing about ule, the news moves too
11 years after wrapping its all of this is that it doesn’t fast for the show to be of-
award-winning run, “Will feel weird,” Mullally said. “It the-moment topical. An
& Grace” is making an just seems like, ‘Of course early episode made a ref-
unprecedented return to we’re here.’ And we just erence to Steve Bannon,
prime time with its original went away for the week- who was out of the White
cast, director and creative end and came back on a House before the tape was
team. Inspired by a one- Monday. I mean, honestly, even edited.
off, get-out-the-vote video it’s crazy.” “Things that happened
ahead of the 2016 presi- She said it was also “freak last week seem like they
dential election, the rebirth happenstance” that all happened years ago,”
of “Will & Grace” begins four actors were available, Kohan said. Instead, Will,
Thursday. NBC has already given that all have worked Grace, Jack and Karen will
ordered a second season. steadily since the show be dealing with the same
“It’s just nirvana,” said wrapped. Hayes and Mc- kinds of issues the actors
James Burrows, who direct- Cormack each have other playing them are facing in
ed all 194 episodes during full-time gigs — Hayes is a real-life: The challenges of
the show’s original run from prolific TV producer and aging and embracing lives
1998 to 2006 and will helm McCormack stars in the that may not have turned
all 29 of the new ones. “I’m Netflix series “Traveler.” out quite as planned.
quite elderly for this job, but Mullally was focusing on “They’re not 30 anymore,”
it just invigorates me.” music and recording with Kohan said. “They’re in their
Like the series’ stars, cre- her band, Nancy and Beth. late 40s, and what does
ators Max Mutchnick and And Messing lives with her that mean? What do they
David Kohan never ex- son in New York, though want now that’s different
pected a “Will & Grace” re- “Will & Grace” shoots in from 12 years ago when we
vival. Once the finale aired, Los Angeles. She said pro- went off the air?”
the set was shipped off to ducers have supported There are jokes about tech-
Emerson College, where it her weekly returns to New nology and dating, he said,
remained behind glass for York for things like parent- and even explorations of
a decade, and Mutchnick teacher night. Coming mortality, noting that sev-
and Kohan moved onto back to the show has been eral actors who appeared
other projects. invigorating, Hayes said, in the original series have
About a year ago, Mutch- because he was able to since died. Other popular
nick said NBC called and check his producer men- guest stars will be return-
wanted the set back (he tality at the door. “You re- ing with the new season,
never found out why), member what a wonderful though, including Bobby
and that got him thinking life being an actor is,” he Cannavale, Harry Connick
about the show again. The said. “As a producer, you’re Jr., Jane Lynch and An-
contentious campaign be- constantly thinking on so drew Rannells. The uniting
tween Donald Trump and many different levels on energy among the “Will
Hillary Clinton was reaching everything: about money, & Grace” team is one of
a fever pitch, and Mutch- the directing, the lighting, gratitude. As Kohan said,
nick came up with a sketch taking care of everybody’s “It’s like people who win
for the “Will & Grace” four- problems and building the championships early in
some. machine that is a show... their career and think this is
Making that 2016 video was It’s nice to not have to deal going to keep happening,
“the first time in 11 years with any of that.” and then it doesn’t.”q