"Will
&
Grace"
is
a
bit
like
that
old
drag
queen
who
has
been
at
the
bar
for
ages.
She
used
to
be
young
and
spry,
but
became
feeble
and
less
popular
over
the
years
as
she
called
in
more
and
more
guest
performers.
She
doesn’t
quite
draw
the
crowd
she
used
to,
but
she’s
dependable
and
it’s
nice
to
know
she’s
there
in
case
you
want
to
visit.
Well,
one
day,
she
won’t
be
around
to
be
taken
for
granted
anymore.
Such
is
the
case
with
the
NBC
sitcom
and
Thursday
night
staple.
After
eight
years,
73
Emmy
nominations,
countless
guest
stars
and
tons
of
chuckles,
"Will
&
Grace"
airs
its
final
episode
on
May
18.
Co-creators
David
Kohan
and
Max
Mutchnick
wrote
the
one-hour
final
episode.
It
is
preceded
by
a
one-hour
special
with
cast
and
crew
interviews
and
highlights
from
season’s
past.
Following
the
antics
of
gay
lawyer
Will
Truman
(Eric
McCormack),
his
best
female
friend
Grace
Adler
(Debra
Messing),
his
flamboyant
gay
sidekick
Jack
McFarland
(Sean
Hayes)
and
Grace’s
boozy
socialite
assistant
Karen
Walker
(Megan
Mullally),
"Will
&
Grace"
was
definitely
revolutionary
when
it
debuted
in
1998.
"It
was
doing
a
lot
of
things
rather
than
just
being
a
sitcom
and
in
that
case
I
think
it
was
very
important,"
says
Robert
Thompson,
director
of
the
Center
for
the
Study
of
Popular
Television
at
Syracuse
University
in
New
York.
"There
were
all
these
shows,
especially
‘Ellen,’
that
were
starting
to
move
into
[gay]
territory
but
didn’t
go
anywhere.
The
thing
about
[‘W&G’]
was
that
it
was
a
big
hit."
The
show
proved
that
if
program
quality
is
high
enough,
a
mainstream
audience
would
tune
into
a
show
with
gay
characters.
What
was
especially
appealing
was
that
"W&G"
was
possibly
the
first
show
to
really
capture
the
gay
sense
of
humor,
with
equal
parts
bitchiness,
witticism,
slapstick,
double
entendre
and
flamboyance.
The
show
won
the
Emmy
for
best
comedy
in
2000
and
each
of
the
four
lead
actors
took
home
a
trophy
for
their
work
during
the
show’s
run.
Leslie
Jordan,
the
gay
actor
who
plays
recurring
character
Beverly
Leslie,
attributes
the
show’s
gay
sensibility
to
the
collaboration
between
Mutchnick
and
Kohan.
"They’re
like
an
old
married
couple
going
back
and
forth,
and
David
would
say
it
was
getting
too
gay
and
Max
would
say
it
was
getting
too
Republican,"
he
says.
"It
would
have
been
a
mess
if
it
was
all
gay
writers.
There’s
a
really
nice
balance
there."
SOME
GAY
AUDIENCES
thought
that
Will
and
Jack
were
always
a
little
too
over
the
top.
"I’ve
heard
that
a
lot,
that
Jack
was
too
stereotypical
and
the
reality
is
that
there
are
Jacks
in
our
community,
and
there
are
Wills
and
Graces,
too,"
says
Neil
Giuliano,
president
of
the
Gay
&
Lesbian
Alliance
Against
Defamation.
Thompson
says
the
perception
of
the
gay
characters
may
be
worse
for
straight
audiences
than
gay.
"I
think
with
[‘W&G’]
…
the
idea
is
that
if
you
didn’t
know
any
gay
people,
you
might
take
more
of
your
idea
of
what
gay
Americans
at
the
turn
of
the
century
might
be
from
a
TV
show,"
he
says.
In
fact,
some
audiences
may
not
be
ready
to
admit
they
watch
a
"gay
show."
Jordan
says
he
gets
recognized
more
from
his
small
role
on
"W&G"
than
any
of
his
numerous
other
roles.
He
adds
that
when
straight
men
approach
him,
they
always
say,
"My
wife
watches
your
show."
Gay
audiences
may
not
be
as
fervent
about
the
show
as
they
once
were,
but
it
will
be
sad
when
the
old
workhorse
is
gone.
Now’s
the
time
to
hold
a
memorial
for
that
old
drag
queen,
"W&G,"
and
show
her
we
appreciate
all
she
did.
We’ll
miss
her
dearly.