From The X-Files, to Fuller House, to Twin Peaks, one could almost consider the current age of TV programming as being the age of the revival. On one level, this makes perfect sense, as it's well known that the sheer volume of entertainment options offered online leaves most viewers with a multitude of choices of as to how they opt to spend their time. With viewership so spread out, the built-in audience that comes along with resurrecting an established property is more important than ever, much to the chagrin of those who pine for more original small-screen offerings.
It appears that the latest beloved series to be tapped for a revival season is NBC sitcom Will & Grace, which premiered in fall 1998 and ran for 8 successful seasons, ultimately coming to a close in 2006. Often considered a pioneer when it came to the representation of LGBT characters on mainstream broadcast TV, Will & Grace starred Eric McCormack and Debra Messing as the titular duo, a pair of best friends. While not outright closeted, Will usually avoided being overt about the fact that he's a gay man, with he and Grace often being mistaken for a couple. Rounding out the core cast was Sean Hayes as Will's flamboyantly gay best friend Jack, and Megan Mullally as Grace's often-inebriated assistant Karen. All four actors have since gone on to successful careers.
Rumors began to swirl back in October that NBC was considering bringing Will & Grace back for a revival run, although NBC never offered any official comment on the story. However, according to Leslie Jordan - who played Beverly Leslie on the series - NBC has already commissioned a 10-episode revival season of Will & Grace, with plans to begin filming these new installments by next summer. Jordan revealed this scoop during a radio interview with station KPBS. As with the October report, NBC has declined to comment on the veracity of Jordan's claims.
As for when these 10 new Will & Grace episodes would air, Jordan says that the plan is to premiere the revival next season, although he didn't specify whether this would mean fall 2017 or winter 2018. If shooting won't begin until next summer, winter 2018 seems a bit more likely of a target.
That all said, until NBC officially confirms things, fans should avoid getting overly hyped. While one would think that an actor close to the series like Leslie Jordan would know what he's talking about on the matter, nothing in Hollywood is ever truly final until it's been publicly announced. For fans' sake, here's hoping that Will, Grace, Jack, and Karen do indeed end up reuniting for one last batch of episodes. It'll be interesting to see what they've been up to in the last decade.