NBC has announced that its revival of acclaimed comedy Will & Grace has been renewed for an 18-episode third season six months before its second go-around, whose episode order has been expanded from 13 to 18 episodes, even premieres.
“As far as I’m concerned, we can’t get enough of Will & Grace, and 23 more episodes is music to my ears,” NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt said. “We’re eternally grateful that Debra, Eric, Sean and Megan feel the same way and wanted to keep this good thing going. I’m overwhelmed by the euphoric response the new show has received from the press and the audience, and my hat is off to the unrivaled writing team of Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, as well as the brilliant directing of Jimmy Burrows, for consistently delivering one of the best shows on television.”
Though Will & Grace‘s ratings have cooled off since the beginning of the season, the show remains NBC’s number one comedy by a fair margin, averaging a 3.1 adults 19-49 rating and 9.8 million viewers overall in Live+7 and improving its time slot by 48% from a year ago. Additionally, the revival has gotten notice on the award circuit, including nominations at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Writers Guild of America Awards, while it’s inadvertently led the sitcom revival charge that the likes of Roseanne, Murphy Brown, The Office, and Mad About You have continued.
The renewal of Will & Grace makes it the sole NBC scripted series renewed through the 2019-20 season, with Superstore, This Is Us, and The Good Place joining it on the list of NBC scripted series already picked up for 2018-19. With the revival enjoying solid ratings and reception, the network’s next goal will be to find a suitable companion for it next season, given the tepid ratings for 9:30 comedies Great News and Champions.
Will & Grace airs Thursdays at 9:00 on NBC.
