Wednesday, September 27, 2017
NBC Fall Pilot Review: Will & Grace - Premieres Thursday (Sept. 28); Freeform Orders Pretty Little Liars Spin-off Pilot
Will & Grace - Thursdays at 9:00PM on NBC
Premieres Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 9:00PM ET/PT
Debra Messing as Grace Adler
Megan Mullally as Karen Walker
Sean Hayes as Jack McFarland
It goes without saying that all of the four cast members are best known for playing these exact same roles in the original run of Will & Grace, but they've also been doing other projects since then, and some have been known for other projects before the original series.
Sean Hayes (Jack) has appeared in series such as Sean Saves the World and The Millers, but it seems that neither was a good fit for him as Will & Grace was. However, he has been the man behind a successful production company, Hazy Mills, which has produced Grimm, Hot in Cleveland, and Hollywood Game Night.
The feel of this show, though, is very odd. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It has the feeling of that late 90s sitcom that aired on NBC back when NBC was the network to be in the world of sitcoms, when Friends-mania was taking over the network. What's interesting about the original series is that it was airing on NBC in that Friends era, and always living in the shadow of Friends. Friends even served as a lead-in for the original series. And once it lost that lead-in, people stopped caring about Will & Grace. It did continue on for two more seasons afterward, but by that time, it was more or less just floating on while NBC was focused on their future of single camera sitcoms (thanks to The Office).
There really isn't a lot to say about this series. It's Will & Grace, and it's the Will & Grace that fans (and probably even some new fans) have come to love in the original eight year run. It's really easy to be skeptical when a series has a reboot, reunion, or anything along those lines. Often they'll have very forced scripts to explain why they're all together again, they'll have missing key characters (and come up with a really stupid explanation of why that character is gone), they'll have new producers and writers that don't understand or even care to understand why fans liked the original series, and even kids that have grown up can ruin some of the original charm. None of that happens with this series. It's pretty much like a new season of an old show, that is able to do things it couldn't have done when it last aired in 2006. And if people don't recognize that things have changed, then they must have been in a coma for over a decade.
Obviously, the show still retains a lot of the LGBT themes. After all, what else would it be without those? A lot of things have changed since 2006 in terms of the LGBT community. For example, in 2004, one of the most "radical" presidential candidates (who lost his primary) was suggesting allowing gay couples to have civil unions to guarantee many rights associated with marriage, but not marriage because that's a step too far. And people couldn't believe somebody was saying something so radical, they thought civil unions were far fetched. In 2017, same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, and a lot of people support it or just don't care one way or the other. Even just considering how those who are not part of the LGBT community perceive those in the LGBT community has changed significantly from 2006 to 2017. Consider this: this show debuted in 1998, just months after ABC canceled the once popular sitcom Ellen following a very challenging final season. Ellen (both in real life as well as the character) had come out as a lesbian in the fourth season of that series, and it resulted in a fifth season that people accused of pushing a "gay agenda," and ABC even started airing "parental advisories" before each episode to warn parents of "gay content." Concerned mothers all over the country were in panic that there was a sitcom on broadcast television that had a lesbian character as the star. Now, in 2017, those same concerned parents are watching and loving the talk show hosted by that same woman, which has aired for 15 seasons. So, to be clear, things have changed, and Will & Grace is returning at a time when the perception of it will likely be different, specifically while it may have originally been perceived as a sitcom for the LGBT community in 1998, it can be seen more as a regular sitcom that includes LGBT characters in 2017. That makes a huge difference.
Yet at the same time, while the anti-LGBT attitudes died down over a period of several years, there has also been some backlash against all of the LGBT (and other groups) progress in recent years. Some people have been sitting in silence for years while all of the progress has been made, then in the past few years, those people have learned how to use Facebook and they head to the comments sections of any given news article that talks about these issues. A lot of people have learned that not everybody is on the same page, no matter what we think. So, while a lot of those people probably won't be as interested in this series, the fact that they exist still makes this series all the more topical, perhaps even more so. That's something that is brought up in the very first episode of the series, where we learn that (not surprisingly) Karen is a huge Donald Trump supporter and invites Grace to the Oval Office for a potential opportunity to redecorate it, since the president described it as a "dump" (both in real life and the series, so they're writing in topical themes).
The series isn't purely political, though (neither was the original), and it backs away from those themes in the other two of the first three episodes. The second episode, for example, deals with the issues of dating much younger people (it's interesting to point out that Will's date in this episode is said to have been born in 1994, which means he would have been four years old when the original series debuted) as well as a B-plot that borrows a storyline of being stuck in a shower from a classic episode of The Lucy Show. It makes for a solid standard sitcom plot. But don't expect the series to be completely devoid of politics, as Michelle Obama is set to appear in one of the episodes (we're not sure when, but it certainly wasn't one of the first three that were available for review).
One nice thing about this series, of course, is that you know exactly what you're getting into before you watch it, especially if you've seen the original series. The pilot takes off running without confusion over who the characters are and why they exist. We don't need boring, forced, and slow-paced introductions. It is already built in after 194 episodes of the original series. Ultimately, the bottom line is, this show just picks up where it left off, but it isn't "for better or worse," it's almost exclusively "for better." It is important to point out one thing, though: while this series mostly picks up where the series left off, pretty much all of the events of the final episode are "forgotten" in this new series, because things happened in that final episode that would make picking things up where they truly left off almost impossible for this series.
Preview:
Freeform, Disney's young adult television and streaming network, has ordered a new drama pilot, Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, from Warner Horizon Scripted Television. Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, is based on the popular book series The Perfectionists, written by Sara Shepard, who also penned the No. 1 New York Times bestselling book series Pretty Little Liars. Everything about the town of Beacon Heights seems perfect, from their top-tier college to their overachieving residents. But nothing in Beacon Heights is as it appears to be. The stress of needing to be perfect leads to the town's first murder. Behind every Perfectionist is a secret, a lie and a needed alibi. Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists is produced by Alloy Entertainment and Long Lake Media in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television. I. Marlene King wrote the pilot and serves as executive producer with Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo.
Pretty Little Liars stars Sasha Pieterse (Inherent Vice) and Janel Parrish (To All the Boys I've Loved Before and is currently starring in a production of Grease in Toronto) are set to reprise their original roles in the new pilot. In Pretty Little Liars, Pieterse played Alison DiLaurentis, the former queen bee whose mysterious disappearance rocked the small town of Rosewood. Parrish played Mona Vanderwaal, Hanna Marin's best friend, who was unmasked as the mysterious tormentor "A" at the end of the show's second season, and ultimately beat uber-villain, A.D., at her own game. Freeform's robust slate of scripted original series include fan-favorite comedy Young & Hungry; highly anticipated new comedies grown-ish and Alone Together, which are slated to premiere in 2018; along with scripted dramas including the summer breakout hit The Bold Type; supernatural thriller Beyond; Famous In Love starring Bella Thorne; critically acclaimed The Fosters; sci-fi phenomenon Shadowhunters; and the eagerly awaited series Marvel's Cloak & Dagger, coming in 2018.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, April 24
The Conners - "Manifesting, Marriage Testing and Cheeseballs" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Conners relish national cheeseball day as a family. Meanwhile, Harris falls behind in her work duties at the Lunch Box, and Darlene and Ben must figure out how to spend time together despite their two separate schedules.
Not Dead Yet - "Not the End Yet" / "Not a Ghost Yet" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Nell finds out that Duncan is selling the SoCal Independent, so she takes matters into her own hands to save her job when Lexi seems unwilling to help. Then, Nell navigates an unexpected incident that leaves the sale of the newspaper on hold.
Animal Control - "Skunks and Swans" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank and Shred take on an aggressive swan; Shred has a meet-cute with a mysterious woman; Emily makes a mistake that results in Victoria having very little time to prepare for her big exam; Patel gets his father to help Victoria cram for the test.
Family Guy - "A Stache From the Past" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Peter loses the Griffins' home in a reverse mortgage, he and Mayor West travel to confront the man advertising the scheme, Tom Selleck; Stewie and Brian open a booth at the flea market, leading to a rivalry with Bruce.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 22)
Wednesday, April 24
- Carol Burnett (Palm Royale/Mad About You/Mama's Family) - Watch Carol on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Nicole Richie (Great News) - Nicole is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred sits in with The 8G Band on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary/Emeril) and Michaela Watkins (Dinner with the Parents/Search Party/The Unicorn/Casual/Trophy Wife) - Lisa and Michaela are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- John Early (Search Party) - John appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family/The Class) - Jesse is a guest on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
- Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - E! News has an interview with Tiffany at 11pm on E!.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny guest co-hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet) - Drew will be on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
- Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) - Jerry talks about Unfrosted on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan talks about NBC's Lopez vs Lopez on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Carrie Preston (Crowded/Happyish/Emeril) - Carrie, a fan-favorite on The Good Wife, tells Sherri about her new show Elsbeth on Sheri, so check your local listings.
- Harry Hamlin (Movie Stars) - Harry has a cooking demo on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
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