‘Will & Grace’ Revival Won’t Preach Politics In Trump Era
Will & Grace fans may have Donald Trump to thank for the show’s revival, but that doesn’t mean the 45th president’s White House will be part of the 2017 incarnation of the show. In a new interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Will & Grace co-creator David Kohan said the popular NBC comedy won’t be getting overly political when it returns for a 12-episode reboot this fall.
Will & Grace’s 2006 finale ended with a 20-year time-jump, but co-creator Max Mutchnick told E! News the reboot will land with the characters firmly “living in that apartment in 2017.” Now, Kohan says the Will & Grace characters will address life under the Trump administration only “inasmuch as [the characters] are living in 2017.”
While that still sounds like it could pave the way for some heated political discussions among the four Will & Grace friends, the showrunner makes it clear the series reboot won’t be preaching politics.
“It’s not an opportunity to preach,” The Will & Grace creator told THR.
“Anyone who needs to be preached to is not going to be listening, so that’s not the purpose. And I don’t think it’s helpful, quite frankly…If people are going to be entrenched in their positions, then telling them how to think is not going to change the way they think.”
These four are a sight for sore eyes. #WillAndGrace pic.twitter.com/uuvbwdp8Yt
— Will & Grace (@WillAndGrace) May 18, 2017
Kohan went on to say that the revival is more about giving fans an update on the Will & Grace characters’ lives more than a decade after the Emmy-winning comedy first signed off from its eight-season run.
“It really is just about showing these characters — whom people like —living their lives in 2017,” Kohan said.
“That really is the directive more than anything else or addressing anything else head-on politically.”
The news that Will & Grace won’t get political may come as a surprise to some fans—and not just because the show features two gay characters who could be deeply affected by Trump policies. Diehard Will & Grace fans point to the cast’s reunion last fall—well before the reboot was announced—when the show took on the 2016 presidential race with an election-themed special scene that urged viewers to get out and vote.
In the viral video, which you can see below, main characters Will (Eric McCormack) and Grace (Debra Messing) were Hillary Clinton supporters, while Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) was a flag-waving Donald Trump supporter and Jack (Sean Hayes) was undecided on who to vote for. (Until he found out Katy Perry was a Hillary fan, that is.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzae4DKexko
Series star Debra Messing later credited the Trump campaign for having a hand in the Will & Grace revival, admitting the reboot “absolutely” wouldn’t have happened if the Celebrity Apprentice host hadn’t been a presidential candidate.
“I don’t believe we ever would have made that skit had it been a different kind of campaign season,” Messing told the New York Daily News. “There’s no question that the election as a whole is ultimately the reason we’re reunited now.”
That’s right, honey… We’re back! #WillAndGrace pic.twitter.com/swqDJ60fXa
— Will & Grace (@WillAndGrace) May 8, 2017
Messing, who famously took a shot at Ivanka Trump while receiving a GLAAD Award earlier this year, told the Daily News that while the revival felt like “it was meant to be,” it was a rarity in primetime TV to come back 11 years after originally signing off.
Will & Grace returns to NBC on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 9 p.m. ET.
[Featured Image by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly and People]
