'Will & Grace' is Back, Sassy About Politics

by Aprille Hanson
It’s been 11 years since the on-air antics of best friends Will and Grace have played out on the small screen. On Sept. 28, Karen’s string of questions sucked fans right back in: “What’s going on? What’s happening? Who won the election?”
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NBC’s reboot of the popular late ’90s sitcom that brought gay characters to a mainstream audience, found Will (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, once again living with his best friend, Grace (Debra Messing), an interior designer. Jack (Sean Hayes), beloved for his flair, still lives across the hall and Karen (Megan Mullally), Grace’s rich assistant is still the snobby caricature of a politically incorrect socialite who is just as sassy and loved as ever.

The show opened with the foursome playing a game, but Karen has spaced out while holding a drink. One shake of her pill bottle and she’s back with that beloved string of questions.

The series ended in 2005 after eight seasons, with Will and Grace having significant others and children. Because the reboot wanted to erase the children, fans find out that finale episode was simply Karen’s daydream. As she pointed out, “Nobody wants to see you two raise kids.”

Instead of spending much time on what’s happened in the past 11 years – aside from the mention of Grace’s divorce and Jack’s string of failed entrepreneurial endeavors – it took aim at the big Cheeto leading the United States.

Almost the entire episode poked fun at President Donald Trump and though some fans were shocked and outraged that the typically light-hearted show got political, it was a stunning and hilarious episode. Despite its political humor, it never strayed from its roots.

Will winds up in the Rose Garden to protest a senator who is against environmental rights, but is just too cute for him to resist. As Jack points out, “You want to hook up with a power gay. It’s called an Anderson Cooper. It used to be called an Elton John. And before that an Abraham Lincoln.”

Jack was able to get Will in since, as most should know, all secret service agents are gay because “who better to read a room?”

Grace and Karen wind up in the Oval Office at the same time, as Karen gets Grace a shot at redecorating the Oval Office. Karen is of course a good friend of First Lady Melania, who called her during a night terror saying, “the hubster’s been pouting cause his office is a real dump.”

While Will and Grace both compromise some moral integrity, when the two discover that they’re both at the White House, a hilarious pillow fight ensues in the Oval Office.
It wasn’t deep or overly hateful humor per say, like Grace trying to find the perfect coloring for new drapes in the Oval by holding up a Cheeto to the curtain.

The most cutting joke came from Grace, who standing in the Oval says, “I am awed by the majesty of this office. Just think of the great minds that sat at this desk, shaped the course of history” and opening a box on Trump’s desk deadpans, “A Russian-English dictionary and a fidget spinner.”

In general, it was cutesy jabs that made absolute sense for these characters. The show could have easily returned with a few punchlines about the president, but the fully-loaded one liners were masterful. The show has never been for staunch conservatives and it was a chance for their fanbase to laugh in the midst of all the hate being spewed daily.

This episode was important, topical and on point, one that the writers should be proud to have written.

It will be a thrill to watch upcoming episodes that get back to that fun, punchy humor and maybe just a jab here or there at the leader of the free world. The writers seem to elude to that with the final scene of the episode:

Karen: “When you two talk about politics you get too preachy.”
Grace: “We should just be what we’ve always been.”
Jack: “A sad middle-aged lady. And Grace.”

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