Essay for Laura's Pride Guide, 2017 (she asked me to write about Will and Grace):

It’s been 11 years since the ground-breaking comedy, Will & Grace, went off the air, and much has changed in the intervening years, and much has stayed the same. Many of us soared on the audacity of an African American president, on the Supreme Court decision requiring all states to recognize same sex marriage, and on the new visibility and acceptance of transgendered Americans. Last year, many of us reached new heights regarding the possibility of the first female president. And then we crashed to earth with the election of a retrograde candidate who had risen to prominence by embracing some of the most backward and uninformed ideas still simmering in the American culture wars.

If there is good news after this apocalypse, it is the vigorous resistance that has emerged from the ashes of November’s election, ready and willing to fight to hold on the progress that has been made.

The reemergence of Will & Grace is inextricably tied to the 2016 election. In September 2016, in complete secrecy, the cast got together with some of the crew to film a 10-minute mini-episode to encourage voting (preferably for Clinton). In the episode, Jack admits that he does not know who to vote for in the upcoming presidential election, so Hillary supporters Will and Grace and Trump-supporting Karen make their (very funny) respective cases. The video was a smash hit, receiving 7 million views online.

After this somewhat unexpected success, the show’s creators were open to the suggestion that they consider a reboot of the show, which is currently filming. The show will follow NBC’s runaway hit, This Is Us, which is moving to Thursday night - NBC hopes to resurrect the “Must See TV” buzz that Thursday nights held for many years through the 1980s and 1990s.

The reboot originally called for 10 episodes, but after the positive reception that the announcement received, an hour-long holiday episode was added. You can watch the very “meta” promo for the show on YouTube or NBC.com

The show’s cultural impact is undisputed. When it launched in 1998, it was the first primetime show to feature an openly gay male character in a lead role. The consistent humor and (you could argue, cliche) odd couple pairing introduced millions of Americans to a warm gay-straight friendship. Many more shows today feature lesbian, gay, and (finally) even bisexual and transgender characters.

During its 8 season run, Will & Grace garnered 83 Emmy nominations and won 16. The show was often in the top 10 in the Nielsen ratings (including the 1 hour series finale in 2006) and at its peak had over 17 million weekly viewers.

In 2012, then-Vice President Joe Biden went on Meet the Press to discuss a North Carolina ballot initiative to approve a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage (it won, but the 2015 Supreme Court ruling makes it void). During that interview with David Gregory, he said, "I think Will & Grace probably did more to educate the American public than almost anything anybody has ever done."

Since the show ended, the actors have been busy with their individual projects, and all have taken public stands on various progressive issues.

Sean Hayes did not officially come out until after the show ended and he was criticized for that. He addressed the controversy in a 2010 interview in the Advocate:

“I was so young . . . I was so overwhelmed at 26 or 27. I didn’t want the responsibility, I didn’t know how to handle the responsibility of speaking for the gay community. I always felt like I owed them a huge apology for coming out too late. . . I feel like I’ve contributed monumentally to the success of the gay movement in America, and if anyone wants to argue that, I’m open to it.” In 2014, Hayes announced that he had married his partner of 8 years, Scott Icenogle.

Shortly before Will & Grace ended, Hayes created the production company, Hazy Mills Productions, which has done quite well, with TV hits such as Hot in Cleveland and Grimm. Hayes has also appeared in movies and voiced animated characters. He appeared in several Broadways shows, and was nominated for a Tony for Best Actor in a Musical for Promises, Promises.

Eric McCormack also started a production company, called Big Cattle Productions. He has worked on TV, in movies, and on Broadway in the intervening years. He has always supported a number of charitable causes, including Project Angel Food, breast cancer awareness (his mother successfully battled the disease in 2004), and serves on the Board of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. He advocated for same sex marriage in California when Prop 8 was on the ballot. He was born in Canada, but has held dual citizenship since 1999.

In general, the ladies are more politically outspoken than the men.

Debra Messing has been busy since Will & Grace ended, mostly doing television work, most recently in the critically acclaimed series, The Mysteries of Laura (2014-2016). She has also appeared in films, and voiced several animated characters. In 2014, she appeared in the Broadway play Outside Mullingar, which was nominated for a Tony. This year, she appeared as Marjorie Houseman in the ABC remake of Dirty Dancing on television (broadcast on May 24, 2017).

Messing became somewhat of a darling of the Resist set after a rousing acceptance speech for the Excellence in Media Award at the 28th Annual GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) award show in May, in which she scolded Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump for enabling the president, and encouraged everyone to keep fighting.

Megan Mullaly and her husband, Nick Offerman, has always been proud Democrats.

Last December, on The Late Show, she told Stephen Colbert that she ugly cried (“wrenching sobs” is how she put it) after meeting President Obama at the White House Christmas Party, one of his last official WH events.

Colbert then showed her a photo of her and Donald Trump dressed up like the main characters in Green Acres. Mullaly explained that she and Trump has been on “Emmy Idol” during the 2005 Emmy awards show. They had performed the Green Acres theme song while the opening sequence of the original show played in the background (she sang in character, as Karen from Will & Grace). They won the contest. The next day he called her to thank her for her role in the win. She says if he felt that fiercely about winning Emmy Idol, she could only imagine how he felt about running for President. (She also pantomimed vomiting several times during the Colbert segment while discussing Trump. You can watch the full interview on YouTube or CBS.com. You can also watch the Emmy Idol segment on YouTube.)

Mullaly has appeared in TV shows (frequently as a guest star), movies, and on stage, and even had her own (short-lived) talk show. She recorded and performed for several years in the band, Supreme Music Program, and in 2012, formed the band Nancy and Beth with Stephanie Hunt - they have been touring recently to promote their self-titled album.

When asked in another interview if the Trump presidency will figure into the Will & Grace reboot, Mullaly says the show will first and foremost focus on being funny, but of course the current political situation will be included.

For those who loved the show in its original incarnation, or who want to support powerful committed performers, or just enjoy great comedy, be sure to set your DVRs for Thursday nights on NBC when the fall TV season rolls around.