NBC
Raise a glass. "Will & Grace" is back!
And that's a good thing.
Rather than changing the formula and the characters, creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick stuck to what worked in 1998. By the end of the premiere, the characters are right back to where they started in the pilot.
Anything different would miss the point of the reunion, which is pretty much just 90s nostalgia. The only difference from the original show is the time, the technology, and the culture (it's a little bit easier to be young and gay).
I was honestly dreading the return of this show, possibly due to NBC's aggressive marketing campaign. In New York City, the ads followed me everywhere for weeks (maybe months). I'm also not a huge fan of revivals and reunions, knowing there are enough people out there who can create great original shows.
But in a time when "Game of Thrones" isn't airing new episodes, and there's not a lot of great fall TV to look forward to, I watched the screeners of the first three episodes of as soon as NBC made them available to journalists. The new episodes of "Will & Grace" are a lot better than I expected, and maintain the humor and spirit that audiences fell in love with 19 years ago.
The first episode, which is loaded with jokes that are critical of President Trump, starts with a game of Heads Up - a 2017 upgrade that is ironically a very 2012 reference - which quickly establishes where these characters are politically, culturally, and romantically.
The next two episodes, which are more traditional "Will & Grace" episodes based in New York City, also prove that the show's characters and sense of humor stand the test of time. Will, Grace, Jack, and Karen might not be well-adjusted adults (and they likely never will be), but the show itself has adjusted well to 2017.
These are the best moments from the very Trump heavy-and very funny-return of "Will & Grace."