Here’s How the “Will & Grace” Reboot Explained Away the Original Series Finale
Will & Grace is one of the latest TV shows enjoying a modern revival, having made its return to NBC on Thursday, September 28, 11 years after it originally went off the air. We already knew that the reboot would pretend the finale never happened, and while some fans might have been apprehensive about how they would handle it, the premiere proved we had nothing to worry about. Fair warning, there are some minor spoilers ahead!
As a quick refresher, the OG series finale ended by jumping 20 years ahead. Will (Eric McCormack) and Grace (Debra Messing) were estranged, but reunited while dropping off their respective children (who would end up marrying each other) at college.
In the reboot, Will, Grace, Jack (Sean Hayes), and Karen (Megan Mullally) are seen playing a board game like nothing ever happened. Karen isn’t exactly in on the game, though — she’s staring off in a trance-like daze, so Jack wakes her up by shaking her pill bottle. (Classic.) She comes to, startled, asking “Who won the election?!” — then says she had the craziest dream in which Grace was married to a Jewish doctor (Leo) and that Will was with a man in uniform (Vince).
“Well, we were,” Will replies, “but we’re single now.” Karen then asks what happened to the kids they had who grew up to marry each other, but Will says that never happened. Karen replies, “Oh, what a relief. Nobody wants to see you two raise kids.” Extra classic!
In case that’s not clear enough, Jack goes all in on the joke, breaking the fourth wall by turning to the camera, winking, and saying, “Got it?”
Got it!
Despite this early writing-out of Will’s ex-boyfriend Vince (Bobby Cannavale) and Grace’s ex-husband Leo (Harry Connick Jr.), we know from on-set photos that both willreturn — and based on how the premiere played out, we’re confident it’ll be handled expertly (and hilariously).
What did you think of the Will & Grace reboot premiere? Let us know @BritandCo!
(Photo via NBCUniversal)
