Anytime a TV show returns to fans after more than a decade off the air, either as a revival or a reboot, there are bound to be many changes involved, and Will & Grace's new season is no exception. In addition to a cast shake-up or two, among other things, co-creator Max Mutchnick recently revealed that the series' most meme-worthy element -- Sean Hayes' "Just Jack" -- will no longer be used for the new season. Here's the understandable reason why.
Well, when you are friends with the actor that has to endure the 'Just Jack' of it all, and you go to, let's say, Neiman Marcus and you're on an escalator and you watch 15 people on the up escalator as you're on the down escalator doing this --- [throws both hands up] --- to a guy that just wants to buy a pair of socks, you start to feel for him. So for Jack, we've created something new. He has branded a new form of acting that's called 'Jackting.' We're going to explore that with him.
That will likely come as a shock to plenty of Will & Grace fans, considering Jack McFarland's face-box has remained an instantly recognizable sight in the 12 years since the show left NBC. But it's probably less shocking to learn that that instant recognizability is precisely the reason why "Just Jack" is going the way of the dodo bird. For what it's worth, Debra Messing did use the face-box during the filmed short that eventually led to NBC re-ordering Will & Grace, so that'll apparently be the last time we'll see it.
Revealed in an interview with People, this is a pretty commendable move for creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick to decide on, since there are a plethora of execs out there who cling to already established popularity like a moth to a glue-covered lightbulb. Or course, not all execs get to witness first-hand the kind of fan interactions actors have to go through, often on a daily basis.
Catchphrases and quotables can make or break some projects, and it's even arguable that Will & Grace over-used Jack's signature line and pose during its first run. But if younger generations want to understand the privileged concept of of hollering out "Just Jack" at Hayes in public, they'll have to watch the sitcom's original NBC run instead of just the revival. Are there people who watch revivals before the already aired stuff? I don't know if I'm comfortable with that.
Replacing "Just Jack" with "Jackting" definitely won't be the only change-up involved with Will & Grace's return to NBC. Thankfully, the creators will be ignoring much of what happened during the show's Season 8 finale, when all involved assumed an offspring-filled time jump would be a suitable ending for what was thought to be the last time these characters would be on screen together. But while we're happy that we won't be happening, we're quite bummed that Shelley Morrison won't be reprising her role of Rosario, as the actress is now officially retired from acting. We'll have to wait and see what else is different.
Somehow, we're only a month (and some weeks) away from the big return of Will & Grace, which will make its highly anticipated debut on Thursday, September 28, at 9:00 p.m. ET. Mark it on your Jack-alendars, and then head to our summer premiere schedule and our fall TV schedule to see what else is hitting the small screen soon.
