Will & Grace Series (Re)Premiere Review: Same Characters, Different World

Hallelujah, it is good to hear that theme song again! Seriously, I can’t remember the last time I was that excited for 10 seconds of music. Every time I say the words “most anticipated return”, I find myself going back on my emphasis of the word ‘most’. However, this is the show that was not only most anticipated in its return to television, but was more anticipated much more quickly than the creators could have anticipated. Will & Grace fans didn’t just want the fabulous foursome back onscreen, they demanded it. The question moving forward is how the 2017 audience rate the revival on its own merit.

For anyone who thinks the premiere was too political, let me play devil’s advocate. When Will & Grace was first on the air, the Bill Clinton was President, gay marriage was not legalized, and Rent was just beginning its worldwide tour after finding Tony Award success on Broadway. Fast-forward to the present: Donald Trump is President, gay marriage is legalized, and Caitlyn Jenner, as Will says, “makes it impossible [for fans] to love her”. The world literally twisted and spun in on itself a few times over in the last 19 years. If the world isn’t the same, why should Will & Grace be? In regards to their personalities and their friendship, that is all the same, and we profusely thank the cast and writers for that. However, you cannot expect characters who have never been shy about speaking their mind to not talk about what everyone else is talking about. Sorry folks, but that’s really unrealistic. That type of ridiculous expectation is like asking Karen to give up a martini for a day!

If you can put your personal politics aside for half an hour a week, these are the same people we love, just with a 2017 upgrade. They say things like ‘woke’, ‘selfie’, and give a shout-out to Queen Shonda herself! Karen actual does her job for once by getting Grace a client, who just happens to be the President Grace hates. If Jack wasn’t busy being Jack, he’d make a great travel agent. Will and Grace still have no chill; having a pillow fight in the Oval Office proves that. At the end of the day Will and Grace are best friends, and there’s no judgment, no third party, and no amount of time, that can come between them. Was the season premiere political? Yes, but given the circumstances, the show couldn’t not go there for the opening. Grace herself says that this revival isn’t going to be so heavy-handed all of the time. That doesn’t mean that they change the fabric of who they are. Graces promises to “be what we’ve always been”. Like it or not, that means, as it says on the cap, making America gay again.

You be the judge: Is this the Will & Grace of old, and will you tune in for the 2017 version?