‘Will & Grace’s Eric McCormack on Saying Goodbye Again & Will’s Ending
Q&A
The cast and fans of Will & Grace will be saying goodbye again this year.
When it’s all said and done, 11 seasons and 246 episodes will have aired over four decades. (The original series premiered in September 1998 and ended in May 2006, and the revival debuted in September 2017.)
Here, Eric McCormack discusses saying goodbye again, Will’s ending, and more.
The show is ending again. Does it feel different this time?
Eric McCormack: Yeah. You get a chance to savor it a bit more. You do eight seasons and you’re all ready to go and you’re young and what’s the next challenge? This time, we savored every season. I really savored this third season. I love Will’s story, and I love how it ends.
Speaking of Will’s story, he’s trying to become a father now. His love life hasn’t been that great. That’s been the same between the original and the revival. Is there a happy ending or at least some happiness for him?
There’s tremendous happiness coming for him. We’ve always established that he’s a man that wanted to be a father, and I love that it’s happening at this point in his life. And I love how it’s happening. It’s fun that Demi Lovato is his surrogate. It’s been, for me, a real joy to revisit him and give him this ending.
(Chris Haston/NBC)
And we have the I Love Lucy-themed episode coming up, and you’re always Ricky.
It started with a conversation we’ve had for years about how this show is very much like I Love Lucy. Obviously Debra’s very Lucille Ball, but my purpose, Will’s purpose in the show is very Ricky. He’s the control in the experiment while everyone’s spinning around, and then somebody said, “well, in a weird way, they’re all kind of Lucy,” so that’s where the genesis of the idea came from. It was really fun.
What do you enjoy most about the enduring nature of Will and Grace’s friendship over the years?
We all know what comfort and relaxation and freedom comes with knowing someone for a very long time. That was always the premise of the show. But to come back when we’re in our 40s — some of us are older — and really explore that: How long can a friendship go? How long can it stay fresh? How long can you have each other’s back? And the answer is for a long, long time.
(Chris Haston/NBC)
Will & Grace, Thursdays, 9:30/8:30c, NBC
