Will & Grace Creators Break Down Series Finale, Address Reports of Tension on Set
For the second and final time, Will & Grace has come to an end.
On Thursday night, the beloved NBC sitcom aired the series finale of its three-year revival, 14 years after the show's original run concluded after eight seasons. The episode tied up the storylines of the main foursome, played by Eric McCormack (Will), Debra Messing (Grace), Sean Hayes (Jack) and Megan Mullally (Karen). Karen started a new chapter with an old flame, Stanley; Jack saw his Broadway dreams come true; and Will and Grace packed up their New York City apartment to move to their new house in the suburbs, where they plan on raising their two babies together.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, series creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick opened up about the show's conclusion, noting that their goal was to figure out the "ideal situation" for Will and Grace at this time in their lives.
"This was the idea that was better for the characters," said Mutchnick. "They end up together because they love each other and their sexuality makes it so they're not going to have kids together, they're not going to be what we know as a traditional family, but they're going to be a family that works for them because they love each other. And love rules the day in this finale."
Added Kohan, "This is the family unit that they've chosen, which was what we thought was kind of a novel idea but also an appropriate one."
Chris Haston/NBC Debra Messing and Eric McCormack
While production on several shows has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, by a stroke of unexpected luck, Will & Grace wrapped last year.
"It would have been the most unfinished feeling to not get to the end of this season. Thank God Debra had it in her contract that we had to be done by Christmas. I finally found the silver lining in that really pain-in-the-a-- clause," Mutchnick said with a laugh. "We did run into trouble with the retrospective that's airing right after the finale. We weren't finished with that and that was not easy to get to the finish line with the world shut down."
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Mutchnick also addressed reports that emerged last fall of on-set tensions after Mullaly stepped away for a few episodes. (Fans also took notice when Mullally and Messing unfollowed each other on Instagram, and Mullally does not follow Hayes, either.)
"We always work under this kind of motto that everything's about the work. It's just about the work," he said. "And so if we stay true to that, then we just keep you guys out of whatever happened on the set this year because it would have done nothing but get in the way of the stories that we wanted to tell."
"It was not an easy year, but the permanent legacy of the show is much more important to us than any temporary squabble that would take place on the stage," he added.
Chris Haston/NBC From left: Debra Messing, Sean Hayes, Megan Mullally, and Eric McCormack
Chris Haston/NBC From left: Megan Mullally, Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, and Sean Hayes
And both Mutchnick and Kohan agreed that while the 2006 series finale "felt very sort of misty and sad," this time around, they were satisfied.
"This time around, it felt like it lasted the right amount of time, the ending felt like the one that we kind of wanted for these characters," Kohan said. "And so, we feel a little more sure-footed this time."
"I didn't have a sadness about saying goodbye to any of the characters, because I felt like they were doing the thing that they should be doing," Mutchnick added. "We put them in the right place."
