Will & Grace was so far ahead of its time that it’s a wonder how it lasted all of 10 seasons in its original run. Nowadays, a show like it has never been more relevant, and the series has been going strong since being revived; this time in a more comedic tone than the original.
Overall, though, the earlier seasons had a lot of gags that have been forgotten due to the long gaps in time since their airings, and these deserve mention. In this list, we’ve included 10 of the funniest Will & Grace episodes that you should be watching.
Season 1, Episode 1 - Pilot
This episode isn’t the richest in jokes quantity, but it will give you fun and nostalgia to hold on to. If nothing else, we can find laughs in those outdated jokes that are so ‘90s, it’s hilarious. The pilot is also funny if you want to go back and watch the characters in their youth.
The show’s gotten drastically less intense in recent seasons, and it’s always nice to watch an episode with a lot of heart. The current generation might be too uptight to get the ‘90s style humor, but you can still find it funny if you can have a laugh at the difference in television landscape back then.
Season 6, Episode 5 - A-Story, Bee-Story
The A-story in the title has to do with an ill Grace in bed, while Will goes around the city trying to get her love interest to stay so that Grace doesn’t move as well. The comedy here comes with Will and Leo’s drastically different preferences, and their differences result in many awkward jokes.
However, the “Bee-Story” has to be the winner of the two angles in the episode, as we witness a “gay spelling bee,” where the words have to do with being a gay guy in New York. The words Jack needs to spell out have us rolling with laughter due to their relatability in the 1990s. Some of the youth today might find the jokes backwards, though.
Season 3, Episode 21 - The Young and the Tactless
The overall angle of the episode wasn’t the best, but this was one of the occasions where Jack and Karen really shined in their supporting roles, making it a memorable watch for the show. The funniest scene here has to be the one where Jack, Will, and Karen’s mother-in-law are at a club.
The jokes in this scene are enough for you to go for repeated viewings, involving one classic moment with Will asking if Jack and Karen are “one of the X-Men” due to a questionable place to hide their phone while in clubs. Of course, you can never count out Woody Harrelson when he’s on a sitcom, and we get a superb guest appearance from him here. The drawback is the outdated mentality of Karen’s mother-in-law, which will definitely rub some people the wrong way.
Season 1, Episode 18 - Grace, Replaced
In a show about friendship, you need episodes that illustrate just why the characters are unique to each other, and this one accomplished this requirement. Molly Shannon killed it as Val, a neighbor who was out to replace Grace as Will’s friend, with the story seeing Grace and Val vie for Will’s friendships.
The highlight was the fight between Val and Grace, which not only showed us that despite Grace seeming like she was taking Will for granted, she did love him as her best friend; also, it gave us a funny brawl between the two actresses, which is always great for repeated viewing.
Season 3, Episode 8 - Lows in the Mid-Eighties
This is a pretty funny two-part episode, but one that is remembered for its strong message rather than its jokes, which makes it rank relatively lower. The plot has Will and Grace remembering their younger days in the ‘80s before Will came out.
As you’d imagine, the comedy unravels with obvious signs that Will really isn’t into women, despite how much Grace would want to believe he loves her. Adding weight to the comedic elements are Sara Rue and Debbie Reynolds, playing Grace’s sister and mother, respectively. Flashback episodes are always fun, and this one is no exception.
Season 10, Episode 1 - The West Side Curmudgeon
People like to point at older episodes mainly as the better ones, but we believe the most recent season premiere was a solid addition. Featuring David Schwimmer in the first of his recurring appearances, the episode has a breezy tone that is perfect for old and new fans alike.
By this point, the show has settled into its more comedic tone, and we got hilarious scenes like Jack’s face being paralyzed by an ill-advised facial cream, and Karen and Will in a legal argument over the use of Karen’s bosom figure being “plagiarized” around the city. The funniest part, though, has to be the sardonic banter between Grace and David Schwimmer’s Noah.
Season 2, Episode 1 - Guess Who's Not Coming To Dinner
Nowadays, Will & Grace’s humor has to do with how immature the characters are acting even though they’re pushing 50, but back in the day, it was rather becoming to see them being so childish when they were younger. One of these instances was when Grace moved into the apartment across Will’s and proceeded to throw a party to prove she could be independent.
We all got that Grace was being immature, especially when she still continually kept showing at Will’s and using his things, before having a party at her apartment without inviting Will after he offended (by telling the truth). It’s a strong season premiere that packs in the laughs with one shenanigan after another.
Season 8, Episode 1 - Alive and Schticking
For those unaware of laugh-track sitcoms, sometimes these shows like to dabble with danger and present to us live episodes. Will & Grace went ahead with this in what was originally its final season, with a winning result filled with laughter-inducing moments.
The flip side here, though, is that it wasn’t necessarily the jokes that made us laugh out loud, but the fact that the actors themselves were cracking up on a regular basis. Since the scenes had to be done on one take, there were several moments where the actors broke character, which only made the viewer laugh harder.
Season 2, Episode 3 - Das Boob
Fun fact: this is Debra Messing’s favorite episode from the series, due it featuring physical comedy. And boy do we get a lot of that here. The story in this one had Grace try to impress a crush from school, who got the wrong idea about her voluptuousness and tried to pursue her for it.
In order to meet his idea of her figure, Grace got water implants to make it look as if that was how she really looked. We don’t have to spell it out for you; her plans didn’t work out. In its place, we got a hilarious episode where Grace and Will tried their hardest to try and contain the puncture in her implants that caused water to squirt around everywhere.
Season 8, Episode 11 - Bathroom Humor
The second live episode from the series ended up being probably the best episode, as we were given a treat in the form of an all-out beauty product fight. The live setting ensured we got a repeat of the actors breaking character at regular intervals, which only made the final fight even funnier.
Here, we can clearly see the actors trying hard to hold it together, as they raze each other with one spray or product after another, resulting in a total mess where Jack, Will, and Grace end up drenched from head to toe. No matter how many times you watch this episode, you’ll be laughing just as hard you did the first time.