Eric McCormack Explains ‘Will & Grace’ Reunion: More Lewd to Come?
Pulling off a decade-later reunion sketch without fans being any the wiser was just another feather boa in the Will and Grace crew's cap, and show star Eric McCormack said shooting the 10-minute clip was just like old times.
In a new interview with Newsweek, McCormack explained that he, Sean Hayes, Debra Messing and Megan Mullally all agreed to film the clip in mid-August, after show creator Max Mutchnick orchestrated the transfer of the set from Boston's Emerson College, where it was being held as a mini TV-museum, back to Los Angeles. Then, Mutchnick wrote the script, the actors found a day that worked and voila: TV nostalgia greatness.
And yes, McCormack said it felt exactly the same to be on set as it did in 1998, when the show premiered.
"Totally, yeah. Everyone’s gone on to other things — our crew has gone on to other sitcoms, but they don’t all have the same magic," he said. "It was really emotional to sit and read [the script]. The read-through before any episode was always as much fun as shooting. It was amazing, the four of us to sit there and do it again, and to watch the face of everybody else going, 'Goddamn, this is fun.'"
McCormack added there was never a concern the dynamic between the show's four main characters might have faded.
"It’s not like we’re so elderly that we couldn’t get up the energy," he said. "It’s like riding a big gay bicycle. It was easy for us to get back in sync with each other."
In the sketch, Will and Grace, who are in clear support of Hillary Clinton, spar with Karen, who's a firm Donald Trump-backer, in an effort to sway the still-undecided Jack. McCormack said the project was, indeed, meant to be political, but still carried the show's earmark lewd humor. And you didn't even see the half of it...literally. It was originally 20 minutes.
"I’m hoping now that it exists, the full scope will be released at some point," he said. "There was a lot more. [Karen's maid] Rosario comes in at one point. Max was afraid that if it was too long it wouldn’t land, so he wanted to keep it at ten minutes...There’s definitely some inappropriate stuff that didn’t make it."
So will the short clip signal more Will & Grace is on its way? McCormack, for one, is completely in the dark.
"I’d be the last to know probably," he said. "That’d have to start with whoever is interested in paying for it. We’d talk about it.... I’d never say never. But there is no talk at this moment."
Would you want to see a more formal Will & Grace reunion? Read McCormack's full interview and share your thoughts in the comments.
Look Back at Fan-Favorite TV and Movie Casts Reunited: