Will & Grace
By Joyce Slaton,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Fun show about a strong friendship; rude jokes, sex, pills.
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Will & Grace
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Based on 8 parent reviews
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What's the Story?
WILL & GRACE -- one of the longest-running shows on network television -- is a humorous take on the life of a gay New York City man and his straight female roommate/best friend, following them through their relationship successes and, more often, failures. Will (Eric McCormack) and Grace (Debra Messing) have been friends since college, when they dated briefly before Will came out of the closet. Ever since, they've been best friends, eventually becoming roommates as well. The rest of the gang is rounded out by Will's other best friend, Jack (Sean Hayes), an aspiring entertainer who's also gay, and Grace's pill-popping, wisecracking assistant/close friend Karen (Megan Mullally), a Manhattan socialite who has a prescription drug habit and spends most of each episode ragging on her friends in a seemingly unfriendly manner. (In almost every episode, though, she has a chance to redeem herself by doing a good deed for one of her friends.) The gang's still together and up to their same old tricks in the 2017 reboot, which is more like a continuation of the original series.
Is It Any Good?
What sets this show apart from its not-so-funny sitcom counterparts -- and ended up keeping it on the air for so many years -- is its cutting humor. Pop-culture references fly fast and furiously, and the characters exchange witty repartee effortlessly. Watching the original series or its reboot, viewers will definitely feel the same '90s vibe; as on similar shows like Friends and Seinfeld, the live studio audience cackles every few seconds, characters wear cocktail-party clothes to hang out at home, and no one ever locks their front door (the better for actors to make surprise entrances!). The plotlines, too, seem designed to fit into a 250-character summary in TV Guide: Karen gets Grace a job decorating the Oval Office -- antics ensue! Or, Jack and Will try to date 20-somethings -- hilarity ensues!
All that isn't to say that the show is bad, it's just a throwback. Creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan have a way with a wisecrack, cramming in a dizzying array of pop-culture references from Patty Hearst to the board game Clue. "I hate when bad guys are handsome, like Scar in Lion King," muses Grace about a rival. This show is exactly as witty and charming as it was when it originally aired -- whether that's a good or bad thing is up to you.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the world has changed since the show's original run. Is it more accepting? Less accepting?
Is it OK for the show's homosexual characters to make jokes that poke fun at homosexuality? Why or why not? Do any of the characters perpetuate homosexual stereotypes? How? Do any dispel stereotypes?
How do the characters in Will & Grace demonstrate empathy and integrity? Why are these important character strengths?
TV Details
- Premiere date: September 21, 1998
- Cast: Debra Messing , Eric McCormack , Megan Mullally , Sean Hayes
- Networks: NBC , Syndicated
- Genre: Comedy
- Character Strengths: Empathy , Integrity
- TV rating: TV-PG
- Last updated: June 8, 2023
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