Will & Grace Renewed -- Again

At PaleyFest at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood:
l-r, moderator Dan Bucatinsky, NBC president Bob Greenblatt
Will & Grace director Jimmy Burrows, stars Sean Hayes,
Debra Messing, Eric McCormack and Megan Mullally,
co-creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan.

As of tonight, it's official: Will & Grace is back for the long haul.

As the cast of the popular rebooted sitcom took the stage at Hollywood's Dolby Theater for a panel on night two of the annual PaleyFest, it was Megan Mullally who urged co-creator Max Mutchnick to announce the official news:  not only will W&G's rebooted season 2/overall season 10 be increased from a planned 13 to now 18 episodes, but NBC has already renewed the show for a third (or eleventh) season.

After a day on a photo shoot at the W Hotel in Hollywood, the cast assembled -- along with Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes, plus Mutchnick, co-creator David Kohan and director/executive producer Jimmy Burrows -- at the Dolby for an interview conducted by Scandal actor, writer/producer and W&G super-fan Dan Bucatinsky, who recently reprised his character Neil, from the original series.

Below, NBC's official announcement of its pickup of the series for season 3:

‘WILL & GRACE’ EXTENDS ITS TRIUMPHANT RETURN WITH SEASON THREE PICK-UP

Additional Season Two Episodes Ordered as Critical Acclaim Builds for Original Cast and Production Team

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – March 17, 2018 – “Will & Grace” is giving you more, honey!

The return of “Will & Grace,” which began as an Internet reunion that turned into a one-season order and then a two-season order before it even went back on the air last fall, has just been ordered for a third season to premiere in fall 2019. With its razor-sharp wit intact and all four Emmy Award-winning actors back at the top of their game, one of the best NBC Must See comedies will return for an 18-episode third season.

In addition, the network has increased the season two order, which will begin again next fall, from 13 to 18 episodes. The announcement was made by Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment.

“As far as I’m concerned, we can’t get enough of ‘Will & Grace’ and 23 more episodes is music to my ears,” Greenblatt said. “We’re eternally grateful that Debra, Eric, Sean and Megan feel the same way and wanted to keep this good thing going. I’m overwhelmed by the euphoric response the new show has received from the press and the audience, and my hat is off to the unrivaled writing team of Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, as well as the brilliant directing of Jimmy Burrows, for consistently delivering one of the best shows on television.”   

So far this season “Will & Grace” is averaging a 3.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 9.8 million viewers overall in “live plus seven day” figures from Nielsen Media Research. “Will & Grace” is NBC’s most-watched primetime comedy at this point in the season in eight years and has improved its Thursday timeslot by +48% versus NBC’s year-ago results for regular non-sports programming in 18-49.

“Will & Grace” has received critical acclaim since the show’s return in September.  “Watching it is like running into an old flame who looks fantastic and is as bright and fun as ever,” said The New York Times. Entertainment Weekly wrote that 

“‘Will & Grace’ has been just as incredible as the original series: hilarious, poignant, contemporary” while USA Today added, “Watching the foursome is like taking in a tango by professional dancers.” 

Season one has been highlighted by an array of top guest stars, including Jennifer Lopez, Alec Baldwin, Minnie Driver, Ben Platt, Molly Shannon, Jane Lynch, Andrew Rannells and more.

“Will & Grace” stars Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally. Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, who co-created the series, write and executive produce. James Burrows directs and executive produces. “Will & Grace” is produced by Universal Television.

Where Will Who Do You Think You Are Go?

 This morning on Sirius XM OutQ radio's The Frank DeCaro Show, actor/author/producer Dan Bucatinsky appeared to promote his funny new book, Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight?:  Confessions of a Gay Dad (Bucatinsky's answer, by the way:  no.  Especially if as said gay dad, you start coordinating outfits to your diaper bag.)

The multi-talented, multi-hyphenate Bucatinsky will be appearing tonight (Tuesday, June 12) at the Barnes & Noble in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood, to sign the book (and next Monday, June 18 at the B&N at The Grove in LA). In addition to juggling raising two kids, ages 7 and "4 3/4" with husband Don Roos, the author is about to be plenty busy:  late in this past season, he appeared in a recurring role on Shonda Rimes' Scandal, and he revealed on the air this morning that  he's about to join Rimes' original, flagship show, Grey's Anatomy, as a member of its writing staff.  Bucatinsky also continues to produce, along with Lisa Kudrow, Showtime's hit comedy series Web Therapy, which is about to debut its second season on July 2 with episodes featuring none other than Meryl Streep. (Season 1 will be released on DVD and Blu Ray next week.)

But the one thing I didn't expect to hear from the busy Bucatinsky on the show this morning was a piece of bad news:  his and Kudrow's beautifully produced celebrity genealogy show, Who Do You Think You Are, will not be returning to NBC.  I don't remember hearing this at the upfront, where NBC did trumpet its moves of Whitney and Community to Friday nights, where the network (ill-advisedly) hopes to create a hip comedy block.  I had thought that, as in past years, WDYTYA might return to NBC's Friday night at midseason; however, Bucatinsky says this is not to be.

He is hopeful that the show may find a new home -- particularly because he says the WDYTYA staff is currently in the middle of researching some more fascinating celebrity stories.  If you've never caught the show, check it out here.  So many of the episodes contain fascinating historical tidbits and mini-mysteries -- I'd recommend last season's Rita Wilson episode for a beautiful combination of both.