Will & Grace's long-awaited return to US TV on Thursday (September 28) was an overwhelming success.
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The revival of the beloved early noughties sitcom was watched by 10 million viewers on NBC, making it the most-watched entertainment show of the night and the network's most-watched Thursday premiere in nine years (via Entertainment Weekly).
That figure is considerably more than the night's second and third most-watched entertainment shows, Grey's Anatomy (7.9 million) and Chicago Fire (7.1 million).
Eric McCormack and Debra Messing's reunion received only mixed reviews from critics, but fan reaction on social media throughout the premiere was overwhelmingly positive.
The new Will & Grace erases the maudlin series finale that's divided fans for a decade in order to basically plop the two title characters right back into the lives we watched them lead for eight seasons.
That decision was made, according to producers, because they felt hamstrung by the fact that the series finale left both Will and Grace living their own separate lives raising children.
"When the decision was made to bring the series back, we were like, well, we left them with kids, right?" co-creator David Kohan explained earlier this year. "And if they have children, then it has to be about them being parents, 'cause presumably it would be a priority in their lives.
"And if it wasn't a priority in their lives, then they're still parents, they're just bad parents, right? We frankly did not want to see them being either good parents or bad parents. We wanted them to be Will and Grace."
The revival's ratings success is probably making executives over at NBC quite happy today, since the Peacock Network has already ordered a second season to premiere next year.
Will & Grace continues next Thursday (October 5) at 9pm ET on NBC in the US.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
