List of Will & Grace episodes
Encyclopedia
This list of Will & Grace
episodes summarizes the evolving storylines of the American television sitcom
throughout its eight-year run on NBC
from 1998 to 2006. The show earned sixteen Emmy Award
s, and 83 nominations. Will & Grace is set in New York City
and focuses on Will Truman
, a gay
lawyer
, and his best friend Grace Adler
, a straight
Jewish woman who runs her own interior design
firm. Also featured are their friends Karen Walker, a rich socialite
, Jack McFarland
, a struggling gay actor/singer/dancer who also has had brief careers as a choreographer, cater-waiter and nurse, and Rosario Salazar
, Karen's maid with whom she has a love-hate relationship. Will & Grace is the most successful series portraying gay principal characters, despite initial criticism for its particular portrayal of gay people, as it went on to become a staple of NBC's Must See TV
Thursday night lineup, where it was ensconced in the Nielsen
Top 20 for half of its network run. Every single episode of the series was directed by one of the show's executive producers James Burrows
.
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
episodes summarizes the evolving storylines of the American television sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
throughout its eight-year run on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from 1998 to 2006. The show earned sixteen Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s, and 83 nominations. Will & Grace is set in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and focuses on Will Truman
Will Truman
William Pierce "Will" Truman is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Eric McCormack. He is a gay lawyer who lives in the Upper West Side of New York City with his best friend, Grace Adler.-Fictional character history:...
, a gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, and his best friend Grace Adler
Grace Adler
Grace Elizabeth Adler-Markus is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Debra Messing. She is a Jewish interior designer , living in New York City with her gay best friend Will Truman...
, a straight
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
Jewish woman who runs her own interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
firm. Also featured are their friends Karen Walker, a rich socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
, Jack McFarland
Jack McFarland
John Philip "Jack" McFarland was a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace, played by Sean Hayes.-Character personality:...
, a struggling gay actor/singer/dancer who also has had brief careers as a choreographer, cater-waiter and nurse, and Rosario Salazar
Rosario Salazar
Rosario Inés Consuelo Yolanda Salazar McFarland is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace. She is played by actress Shelley Morrison...
, Karen's maid with whom she has a love-hate relationship. Will & Grace is the most successful series portraying gay principal characters, despite initial criticism for its particular portrayal of gay people, as it went on to become a staple of NBC's Must See TV
Must See TV
"Must See TV" is an advertising slogan used by the NBC television network to brand its prime time blocks of sitcoms during the 1990s, and most often applied to the network's Thursday night lineup, which featured such popular sitcoms as The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, A Different...
Thursday night lineup, where it was ensconced in the Nielsen
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
Top 20 for half of its network run. Every single episode of the series was directed by one of the show's executive producers James Burrows
James Burrows
James Edward Burrows is an American television director who has been working in television since the 1970s.-Biography:...
.
Series overview
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | DVD Release | Viewers (Millions) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season premiere Season premiere In North America, a season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a given television show. It often airs in September or October, after several months of reruns.-Evaluating the changes:... |
Season finale Season finale A season finale is the final episode of a season of a television program... |
Region 1 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
Region 2 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
Region 4 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
||||
1 | 22 | September 21, 1998 | May 13, 1999 | August 12, 2003 | August 30, 2004 | September 5, 2007 | 12.3 | |
2 | 24 | September 21, 1999 | May 23, 2000 | March 23, 2004 | August 30, 2004 | September 5, 2007 | 12.0 | |
3 | 25 | October 12, 2000 | May 17, 2001 | September 7, 2004 | August 30, 2004 | October 3, 2007 | 17.3 | |
4 | 27 | September 27, 2001 | May 16, 2002 | August 16, 2005 | August 30, 2004 | October 3, 2007 | 17.3 | |
5 | 24 | September 26, 2002 | May 15, 2003 | August 29, 2006 | March 7, 2005 | October 3, 2007 | 16.8 | |
6 | 24 | September 25, 2003 | April 29, 2004 | May 1, 2007 | August 15, 2005 | November 21, 2007 | 15.2 | |
7 | 24 | September 16, 2004 | May 19, 2005 | December 4, 2007 | January 30, 2006 | November 21, 2007 | 10.0 | |
8 | 24 | September 29, 2005 | May 18, 2006 | September 16, 2008 | August 7, 2006 | November 21, 2007 | 8.7 |