Will & Grace said goodbye with its second series finale last night (April 23). The episode saw the four friends, including the titular duo, find their own version of happily ever after. Is this really the end? Will & Grace’s creators say they are not coming back again, and they explained the reason why.
Back in 2017, Will & Grace delighted fans when it returned for a revival run over eleven years after the original finished. The result was a significant success as it broke ratings records for NBC. Three seasons later, the series has wrapped, again. Considering all of its success and where it left the characters, why will it not return? Will & Grace’s co-creator Max Mutchnick told Deadline:
We’re not coming back. There’s no version of us coming back. David and I don’t want to do it anymore. We own these characters and love them, we’ve shared them and the four actors that play them certainly have a piece of the DNA of these characters in them and the network would ultimately be the ones to decide, but if David and I were given the authority to make the choice, I think it’s time that this story is over. We’ve told every story that we can tell for these characters.
There you have it. Will & Grace’s creators feel like this is really it. Their sentiments were somewhat echoed by Debra Messing back when it was announced that the revival would be ending. While Will & Grace left its characters in a place that seemed to herald more to come, viewers will just have to leave that to their imaginations.
Spoilers for the series finale of Will & Grace are discussed below.
Now that the reality of the ending has hit, Will & Grace fans know that it seems to really be over. And, what an ending! Will and Grace set about moving into a lovely house to raise their respective children – Will’s daughter and Grace’s son. Grace went into labor in the final minutes of the series finale.
Will’s ex-fiancé, McCoy, also made a last-minute attempt at a reunion between the couple. Will seemed receptive to the prospect, so Will & Grace viewers will have to imagine what ultimately happened between them after the series finale. Meanwhile, Jack got to take a bow on Broadway, and Karen reunited with Stan. All told, the quad ended on some major personal highs.
While Will & Grace’s creators feel like the revival’s series finale is the end of the series, time will tell if that remains true. I doubt that many fans would be upset if there were some sort of follow-up years down the line. If there is anything television has taught us in this past decade, it is that you can never say never.
It was an eventful run, and Will & Grace’s creators seem content with how the revival left things. The series finale sent its eponymous duo to share their lives together as a family raising children. Plus, their good friends Jack and Karen have found happiness. There is clearly a lot of closure here.
A decade can sometimes change the way one looks at something ending, though. Goodbyes tend to be easier when they are surrounded by the words “see you later.” For now, though, it seems like Will & Grace as told by its creators has really bid fans farewell.
Will & Grace’s original run is currently streaming on Hulu. To help with the absence of Will, Grace, Jack, and Karen’s apparently permanent departure, check out this spring’s premieres.
