Eleven years after the original run of the sitcom Will & Grace, the cast and creators reunited for a revival that puts everyone back where they started: interior decorator Grace (Debra Messing) is once again single and rooming with best friend Will (Eric McCormack), a lawyer in a New York law firm; unsuccessful actor Jack (Sean Hayes) is still living across the hall; and Karen (Megan Mullally) remains rich and thoughtless, working for Grace because she has nothing else to do. The original series was groundbreaking for putting gay characters and love lives on equal footing with the conventionally straight characters within the conventions of smart-aleck sitcoms built around sex-obsessed singles, ridiculous situations, nasty cracks, and witty rejoinders. The revival delivers more of the same, from the spot-on timing and raunchy sexual euphemisms to the self-involved characters getting into ridiculous fights and making up with sentimental confessions. But it's also something of a time-capsule as the show itself—despite a series of Trump jokes—seems trapped back in the sensibility of the 2000s. Director James Burrows, the sitcom legend who directed every episode of the original series, is back and the chemistry is intact, but much of the humor is mean-spirited. Still, the revival was a hit for NBC—gleefully embraced by fans of the original series—and it features return appearances by Harry Connick Jr., Molly Shannon, Bobby Cannavale, Alec Baldwin, and others. Presenting all 16 episodes from the 2017-18 first season, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes and a gag reel. Recommended, overall. (S. Axmaker)
Will & Grace: The Revival, Season One
Universal, 2 discs, 336 min., not rated, DVD: $29.99 Volume 33, Issue 5
Will & Grace: The Revival, Season One
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