NBC's obnoxious LGBTQ sitcom Will & Grace has somehow lasted two iterations over 11 seasons and 22 years. Along with pushing homosexuality mainstream, the show has demonstrated a deep antipathy towards Republicans and conservatives. Thankfully, at long last, it is over.
Last summer, NBC announced that the third season of its revival and 11th overall would be its last after Will & Grace “lost nearly half its viewers among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Ahead of tonight's series finale, let's take a look back on some of the worst moments of the current revival.
'Will & Grace' Blasphemes Apostles as 'Gay Best Friends'
A 2018 episode began with Grace (Debra Messing) and Will (Eric McCormack) in their apartment when their gay friend and neighbor Jack (Sean Hayes) walked in to tell them about church that morning. Needless to say, Jack twisted the Bible.
Jack: I'm just gonna say it. I had a terrific morning at church. I learned a lot. Did you know that back in the day, gay best friends were called apostles? And, Grace, you'll be interested to know Mary Magdalene is a derivative of the Latin word "Hag-dalene."
Grace: You're gonna hate Leviticus.
NBC’s ‘Will & Grace:’ Marriage is ‘Weird Thing’ Invented by Straight Men to ‘Own Women’
At Jack's engagement brunch, Karen (Megan Mullally) and Will got into an argument over who should be Jack’s “best man.” It turns out, Jack invited both to play the role because he didn’t want to hurt either’s feelings. When the argument began to get out of hand, Jack slammed traditional marriage and proclaimed, “Let’s make marriage gay!”
Jack: Why are we fighting over who's best man? Isn't marriage just some weird thing straight guys came up with as a way to own a woman? And sure, it'd be great to own a woman. You know, to open jars... Or to hold your purse while you and your boyfriend go on the Ferris wheel. But we are gay men! We make our own rules! I say, let's reinvent marriage. Yeah, rip it apart. Take off the sleeves, fringe the bottom, and crop the top! So, here's my new rule. I'm gonna have two best men. Because, yeah, we got gay marriage, but let's make marriage gay!
NBC's ‘Will & Grace:’ Immigrants Should ‘Be White’ or ‘Marry the President’ to Become Legal Citizens
In this next episode, conservative caricature Karen went to visit a section of the border wall that she sponsored in Texas but got into a physical altercation with her nemesis and put in jail with an illegal immigrant caught at the border.
Karen: This place is pretty miserable. Unless... I'm sorry, is this your house?
Illegal Immigrant: No, I'm locked up, like you.
Karen: Ah, what are you in for?
Illegal Immigrant: I tried to climb your precious wall.
Karen: Oh, well, maybe you should do what other immigrants do to try to get in legally, like, I don't know, be white, or look white, or...marry the president. Besides, is Mexico so bad?
Illegal Immigrant: I snuck across the southern border fleeing the brutal gangs of my home. I have travelled 2,000 miles and spent my life savings paying off the cops and hiding from the cartels. For me, Mexico has been hell.
Karen: Well. The beaches are nice, but it sounds like you've been mostly inland.
NBC’s ‘Will & Grace’ Promotes Revisionist History with ‘Gaybraham Lincoln’ Storyline
Jack began producing a one-man show titled “Gaybraham Twinkin’” that’s “about Abraham Lincoln’s long-rumored gay romance” with his close friend Joshua Speed. Karen finances the play because she needs a tax shelter due to her divorce, and her accountant advised her to invest in something that’s guaranteed to lose money. Jack rehearsed a musical number full of vile double entendres about the revered first Republican president.
Jack: The show is about Lincoln’s affair with young Joshua Speed-- turns out Teddy Roosevelt wasn't the only president with a thing for bears-- against the backdrop of the Civil War. Brother against brother. Brother... On top of brother.
Karen: Oh. Writes itself.
Jack: You know, you hear that, but it's not true. Right now, the whole second act is just a drawing of a horse. Seriously, that's all I got. Anyway, in the 11:00 number, Gaybraham receives a letter from his lover. [As Lincoln] Why, it's from Joshua. What a fine hand he has. And oh, how that hand could relieve the tensions of my southern uprising. Is that too much? Not enough?
Karen: Oh, mwah. Just right.
Jack: Okay. [As Lincoln] Let's see what my bosom companion has to say.
♪♪ "Dear Mr. Lincoln ♪♪
♪♪ "Of you, sir, I've been thinking ♪♪
♪♪ "And am setting quill to parchment so you'll know ♪♪
♪♪ "That my head is in a fog ♪♪
♪♪ "Thinking of your Lincoln log ♪♪
♪♪ And how you put the 'man' in emancipation" ♪♪
They Won't Let It Go: 'Will & Grace' Declares, 'Hillary Won Pennsylvania'
Even into their third season at the end of 2019, the pro-Hillary series still couldn't believe she lost. In this scene, Karen proclaimed, “Hillary won Pennsylvania,” and confessed to manipulating the election to secure a win for Trump.
Grace: Can we talk? I feel like there's something that you've been afraid to tell me.
Karen: There is. Hillary won Pennsylvania. There are 50,000 votes at the bottom of the Allegheny River.
'Will & Grace' Won't Bake MAGA Cake: Conservatives are 'Terrible People' with 'Horrible Beliefs'
When a baker, Amy (Vanessa Bayer), refused to make Karen a MAGA cake for President Trump's birthday, Grace went to the bakery to help and told Amy it’s understandable that she refused to make the cake because Karen’s beliefs are “horrible,” but “even people with hateful beliefs have rights." This leads to more insults against Trump and his supporters.
Customer: Excuse me. What's the holdup?
Amy: They want me to make a MAGA cake for the president, and I said no.
Customer 2: Good for you. And shame on you both. That man has insulted and degraded Latinos. –
Karen: Okay, honey, we're gonna need a little less Cesar Chavez and a little more Ted Cruz.
Grace: No, no, no, no, no. Not "We." I'm on your side. I'm you.
Customer 3: How can you celebrate that man? He mocks the disabled.
Karen: Okay, thanks for the wide bathrooms, but that's enough out of you.
Customer 3: You're terrible people.
Karen: And we terrible people have been shamed for too long. But Grace is taking a stand, and I'm with her.
Grace: No. Nope, she's not with me. I am not with her. I'm with the other her. I-I mean, I even wore a pantsuit to vote. I cried when he won.
Karen: Me too. My dealer moved to D.C.
Baker 2: Actions speak louder than words, and your actions say that you're on his side.
Grace: Okay, I--I get it from these two, but I am not taking it from a white guy.
Baker 2: I'm transgender. [It's true]
Grace: Did not know that. But anyway, you're still white, so stop coasting. Okay, can you please just do the right thing-- which so feels like the wrong thing-- and make the cake that we both hate?
Amy: No.
'Will & Grace' Resumes Jabs Against Trump Supporters, Says America Loves 'Racist Jokes'
A subsequent episode found Karen again crossing paths with Amy, the same MAGA cake bakery owner. Karen was brainstorming ideas for how to save a struggling baseball team she owns and came up with an idea claiming America loves “racist jokes.”
Amy: Delivery!
Karen: Come in. I ordered some brain food to help us think.
Jack: Ooh, I was wondering if we were ever gonna take a break.
Amy: Oh, my God. I know you. You ruined my life.
Karen: Honey, you're gonna have to be a lot more specific than that. Wait, if you're Lori Loughlin's kid, I told her no one would buy you as a varsity rower.
Amy: You ordered a MAGA cake from my bakery. It sent my life into a death spiral. But now, I push muffins door to door in office buildings. Hakuna matata!
Jack: Wait, I remember you. Grace and Karen turned your bakery into a hub for neo-Nazis. Hey, how's that going?
Amy: Well, it's closed now because it's been officially designated a hate space, so now I bake in my studio apartment. I mix the batter in the tub.
Karen: Jackie, what if we change the name of the team? Instead of the Millstones, we find a name America will love, like the Racist Jokes.
Other lowlights: NBC's 'Will & Grace' Features Vice President Mike Pence's Picture at Gay Conversion Camp, 'Will & Grace' Mocks Vice President’s Marriage: Pence and Wife ‘Have Sex Through His Trainer,’ Embarrassing 'Will & Grace' Jokes Jeff Sessions is Racist, Jared Kushner's Gay, 'Will & Grace' Embarrasses Itself With Pathetic Trump Jokes, Abhorrent Shot at Reagan's Alzheimer's, ‘Will and Grace:’ 'Santa’s Just Another Old White Perv We Once Trusted,' and Will & Grace: John McCain and Lindsey Graham Have 'Sexual Tension.'
Will & Grace, which originally ran from 1998 to 2006, undoubtedly contributed to the normalization of LGBT issues in our culture. In 2012, Vice President Joe Biden credited the show with increasing acceptance of homosexuality: “I think ‘Will and Grace’ probably did more to educate the American public than almost anything anybody’s ever done so far,” he said when announcing his support for gay marriage.
In 2016, the cast reunited to create a pro-Hillary election-themed mini-episode which led to NBC ordering a full series reboot for 2017. Ahead of the revival, lead actor Eric McCormack (Will) said, “We’re going to be as progressive and offensive as we can be. If we don’t offend somebody with every show, we’re probably getting a little safe."
Mission accomplished, and now they're canceled.
