Original subtitles

Good morning. Thank you, everybody, for coming.

Here we go... the last table read of "Will & Grace."

We can all say we were a part of something

that made a little bit of a difference in the world,

and, uh, for that I think I am the most grateful.

We not did it again, but we did it better

than we did it the first time. Yeah.

Will, the baby's coming. It's time, I can feel it.

- It's time! - Okay, everybody.

Did nobody read my email?

What's email?

The one with the subject line:

"Operation Baby. Read. Important. I mean it, guys!"

- I didn't think it was... - I didn't read it.

- You ready for this? - 100% no.

- You're gonna do great. We are gonna do great.

- Wow, 246 shows later. - Yeah.

We just jumped right back into it.

It was within a minute I-I responded and said,

"I'm... I'm... I'm there."

I jumped up, I screamed, I flipped out.

I was traveling to London, and when we landed,

I had all these texts from Sean Hayes saying,

"Honey, have you checked your emails?"

And I went to hit Delete, and then I thought,

"Oh, my God, it's from Max Mutchnick."

Then I deleted it.

- You haven't aged at all. - I'm not allowed to age.

- You're not... - What would happen?

Hey!

Oh, my God, you have brown hair, and I have red hair!

- How are you? - Hi!

Oh, my God, I didn't even recognize you!

- There it is, I got it. - Oh, my God, my thighs.

I mean, I laughed out loud when I read it.

- Oh, I did too. - This is so exciting!

- Did they go? - Okay.

- We're gonna go now. - No, baby.

We're going right now. We're going right now.

I never thought that we would have this opportunity

to come together again and play.

I'm feeling just pure joy right now.

It's so pure, how happy I am,

knowing that I'm gonna walk on that stage.

And now, the cast of "Will & Grace"!

And there it is.

11 seasons, 246 episodes, dozens of guest stars,

and zero plastic surgery.

For real!

Probably.

- Will, what are you doing? - I think you've sprung a leak.

What are you talking about?

I think I feel a song coming on.

Denied, denied, approved.

Kiss, kiss, kiss!

Nothing? Anything?

- Sorry. - Whee!

Kiss it, kiss it, spank it.

Stay tuned.

- I... I'm gay. - Are you hungry?

What?

- I'm gay. - Are you hungry?

What?

- I'm ga... - Are you hung...

I'm gay.

Grace?

Tonight, before we turn off the lights for good,

we're gonna look back at some of the most memorable on-screen

moments from the past 20 years.

But we're gonna share something else with you.

Because as much fun as we've had sharing these stories

from the stage,

what's meant the most are the stories you've told us,

about how "Will & Grace" has affected you.

It was especially important to me

when I was deployed to Afghanistan.

"Will & Grace" was playing on the kitchen TV

while I was doing homework, my mom was baking,

and my mom stopped, and muted the TV and said,

"Max, you know that I'll love you

whether you're gay or straight."

You've really showed me who I could be,

and to live to my full potential.

"Will & Grace" got me through

some of the hardest times in my life.

The show taught me that I can be strong and still be gay.

It was like this big rainbow

in an otherwise kind of cloudy sky.

When I was pregnant, I had some complications

and had to go on bed rest.

"Will & Grace" made a tough time that much lighter.

Thanks to you, it gave us a platform and representation

that we'd never seen before on television.

I felt like they were my friends,

and they were a part of my life.

And the characters are like family.

It was funny, but also real.

You were tortured.

And I never even thought about that.

You were just being who you are,

and you were scared to death that the world was gonna

find out and hate you for it.

I am sorry for not being there when you needed me most.

And I'm so, so sorry

that I never said this to you before now.

The fact that you are a gay man did not ruin my life.

It made it so much better.

Mine too.

Each of those characters were brilliantly written, um,

and, uh, and... and fulfilled in the... in the performance.

Lightning in a bottle is a very good expression

for how fortunate Max and David were

to find those four people.

Would you look at us?

Will's mean, Grace is flat-chested.

Jacky's pretending like he's following this,

and I'm high from something I found under the sink

in your bathroom.

The gang is back!

Jack, if I'm supposed to stay away from every guy

you've ever slept with, that would leave me with women.

My love for you is like this scar.

Ugly, but permanent.

Hey friends, lovers, mothers, and other strangers,

you're never gonna believe what happened to me.

Oh my God, did you see that? I almost did a half nelson.

I almost bruised my delicates, my delicates,

my "Domo arigato, Mr. Tomatoes."

I can't believe I'm at a public pool.

Why doesn't somebody just pee directly on me?

You better watch it, lady,

'cause the next time you take a bath,

it'll be, "Rub-a-dub-dub,

I dropped a blender in the tub."

- Let's play the Pyramid! - Whoo!

Driftwood. John Wayne. Your parents' marriage.

- Things that are dead. - Yes.

- Me and you. - People who are

- getting married. - Correct!

What?

A duck. A chicken. An emu. Uma Thurman!

He's hot, but not as hot as you.

- Humphrey Bogart! - Ding!

- Our hopes and dreams. - Things that are crushed.

- Yes. - Oh, you're so good at this.

Whoo! Whoo! both: Ha!

She's a lawyer, and she pees with men.

Ally McBeal. Click it.

- Melania. - Uh, James Brolin!

- Things that are whipped! - Yeah!

- Whoo! - Each other.

- Things that you lean on! - That's it!

Who's Diane?

You know, the girl Will slept with after you two broke up?

- What? - You knew that.

You didn't know that?

You didn't tell her?

In 1998, Max Mutchnick and David Kohan

pitched "Will & Grace,"

a show about four best friends in New York.

They love each other, they depend on each other,

and two of them happen to be gay.

It was a show about friendship,

about regular people navigating the ups and downs

of their lives... nothing revolutionary about that.

I just wanna know how long I'm gonna have to wait until

I can see two gay men kiss on network television.

Not as long as you'd think.

But at the time, it was a huge risk for NBC to pick up

a show where the lead character was gay.

NBC took that risk, something that showed

incredible foresight and courage.

In a way, they had to...

their mascot is a rainbow-tailed peacock.

You should do stand-up. That's good.

And that risk paid off big time,

with 91 Emmy nominations and 18 wins.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner.

- Whoo! - Yeah.

Including Outstanding Comedy Series...

I think I finally met a girl that I want to sleep with!

A couple of thank-yous are in order.

Our director and partner, the great Jimmy Burrows.

And acting wins for all four of us.

- This is my American dream. - Don't give up!

- Thanks. - Oh, my God!

That's what I said!

So we started out by telling our stories.

Stories that, for us, were ordinary, relatable, and human.

What we didn't expect was how powerfully those stories

would affect our audience

or how big that audience would become.

My favorite episode of "Will & Grace" is when Nathan

dumps Grace and she whips out the old Bat Mitzvah slides.

I'm gonna die alone.

Big entrance, everybody!

Now, my boy Jack?

He's a man who can make an entrance.

Still to this very day, I still use

"Milk, milk, lemonade..."

Around the corner, fudge is made.

When my 95-year-old mother was on her deathbed,

the only thing that made her laugh was,

actually, "Will & Grace."

Come on, let's touch stomachs.

Oh, my Lord. You are a complete freak.

- We actually... - Named our kids after the show

- "Will & Grace." - This is Willow.

- Say hi, Willow. - Yeah, hi, Willow.

- No... - Hi, Willow.

And this is Grayson. Say hi.

Hi, Grayson.

- Will and Grace. - Uh...

Grace and Will.

Now that sounds like a thing.

- Hi, I'm Jack McFarland. - You are?

Wow. I mean, hi.

- Hi. - I'm Elliott.

Well, what can we do for you, little man?

I'm your son.

See, this is the amazing thing about television.

It gives us characters we become friends with.

We invite them into our homes or our phones,

or our smart fridges,

and we accept them as part of our extended family.

And that helped spark conversations and changes

we never imagined or intended.

"Will & Grace" did more to educate the American public

than anybody's ever done.

Guilty.

"Will & Grace" was my gateway to understanding why TV matters

and how it can make a difference.

You're doing this extraordinary thing for me.

You're giving me something the world has told me

for my entire life that I could never have.

I feel close to you too. I've done this before.

I've gotten invested, I've gotten hurt.

You're just gonna move on once the baby is born.

Jenny, that is not who I am.

My favorite thing about "Will & Grace" was that

it was a... it was a mainstream comedy, but it also felt,

like, excitingly subversive.

You came up to me... we didn't know each other that well.

And you pulled me aside, and you said,

"Aren't you tired yet?"

And I was tired.

Will, look, I appreciate what you're trying to do,

but this is different.

M-My mother will fall apart!

- She's... - Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack.

Aren't you tired yet?

Hon, somebody needs to get back to the gym.

Can we not get into this right now?

Hey, how are you? Good to see you.

You haven't told these people I'm gay?

What? Do you walk around telling all your colleagues

- I'm straight? - I think it's implied!

- I begged you not to come. - But Dad, it...

Okay, okay, guys, come on, come on.

I'm sure this is nothing that can't be solved by me leaving.

When we talk about a... a piece of comedy reflecting society,

we're not talking about inventing anything.

We're talking about reflecting what we see... we writers...

see as the way society connects itself.

I mean, everybody's so sensitive nowadays.

Sometimes I feel like men can't be men anymore,

not with this, uh, #NotMe stuff.

- "MeToo." - Well, we agree on something.

The whole summer that I worked for Harry,

I kept telling you he was creepy.

- What did you think that meant? - Uh, I don't know.

He... He was a flirty guy.

Oh, and... and you thought that was okay?

Him flirting with your daughter?

- That was a different time. - No, no, that's not an excuse.

What, just because it was a different time, it wasn't bad?

No, all that meant was that people got away with it.

- Hey, calm down... - No don't...

Do not tell me to calm down. I can't do this.

Where are you going? What did he do?

- Pat you on the tushy? - Nope, he did more than that.

It was a long time ago. Maybe you're misremembering.

No. No! I remember!

I remember every single thing that happened that day.

This place is pretty miserable.

I'm sorry, is this your house?

No, I'm locked up. Like you.

Ah, what are you in for?

I tried to climb your precious wall.

Is Mexico so bad?

I snuck across the southern border,

fleeing the brutal gangs of my home.

I have traveled 2,000 miles and spent my life savings

paying off the cops and hiding from the cartels.

For me, México has been hell.

The beaches are nice, but...

it sounds like you've been mostly inland.

This place can't fix you because you're not broken.

- I'm confused. - Let me tell you a story

about another young man who was once confused...

a young man who grew up to be a model citizen,

and today is proud of who and what he is.

People adore this man.

- Will? - No, not Will!

I'm talking about me.

It was hard for me once, too, but when you get older,

you'll understand that there's the family you were born into,

and the family that you choose.

And the family I chose...

Well, it doesn't get any better than that.

Almost brought a tear to my eye, you old homo.

Everything triggers it!

I think we're gonna have to slap it out of each other.

Give it to me, mama.

Yeah!

No!

Okay, this just got weird.

Oh, man! My new Gucci suit!

Sorry, sir.

Hey, it's not funny.

It's a little bit funny.

When I was asked by Eric McCormack to be on

"Will & Grace," I dropped everything.

I think it's very, very important in the history

of comedy on television.

When I look back on the things I've done,

um, um... being on "Will & Grace" was one of the...

my proudest TV moments.

This was an important program.

Everybody wanted to be on this show!

This man is straight!

You're crazy.

I'm as gay as the locker room at the Ice Capades.

Woof.

People either love me, or they hate me.

Okay.

You're hiding something.

If you question our president,

then you're a dirty traitor.

That is just F-ed up.

- Hello. - Well, hello.

- Hey, sexy. - Hello, mother.

You know, you shouldn't make that face.

It might freeze that way.

Oh, my God, do you know who that is?

I've been asking that question since I got here.

My family sent me to a convent when I was three.

Actually, they told me I was going to the zoo.

I was all excited, they got me dressed up, gave me a lollipop.

I ended up here.

Hmm, let's see. Squeaky, rude, drunk.

You must be Karen.

You have a big forehead, and that's the truth.

Would you care to step inside, take your clothes off,

- and discuss it further? - I'm going to kiss you

like you've never been kissed before.

Five, six, seven, eight!

- Girl, you're hired! - Grace Adler,

- will you marry me? - I love you, Will.

Welcome back home.

We get to be friends with a celebrity!

I do a better Cher than you.

You think so?

Actually, it's, "You think so-hooo?"

Get a life.

It's done so much for the LGBT community.

It was nice to see representation in a time

when it wasn't okay

I live in Russia,

and the show made it easier to come out to my mom.

It gave me so much hope to see people like me

on television... something that was impossible in Egypt.

I was a young gay man in the rural South,

And y'all being on TV

made me feel less alone and less invisible.

"Running late" is gay for "I'm blowing you off."

- What's gay for "Get out"? - That would be "Good morning."

Right now, I'm on stage 22 at Universal studios,

where we shot the last three seasons.

But a mile and a half down the road, at CBS Radford studios,

that's where we shot the first 194 episodes.

There's a plaque outside our old stage that says,

"The home of 'Will & Grace.'

The love that dared speak its name."

That's a reference to the famous quote

about same sex relationships

being the love that dare not speak its name.

The ultimate taboo.

The plaque is meant to commemorate how special it was

to have a show like ours that celebrated the ordinary

in the lives of underrepresented people.

That was then.

Today, in 2020,

LGBTQ characters represent over 10% of all characters

on television, and that is remarkable.

We never set out to make a gay show.

We set out to make a universal show with universal themes.

You know, it's a romantic comedy

with an insurmountable obstacle.

The reason the show works

is because the central relationship

is based on two simple things.

Love and living your truth.

- Sure. - Sure.

- You need a new place. - Oh, my God.

Why don't I move in with you?

Can anyone live with a control-freak nightmare

like you?

I'm gonna say no.

When you're living with me, I just become a crutch for you.

So be my crutch.

You're a roommate, so start taking up some room!

- Hi, Will. - Hey.

You know, the logical thing to do...

I know, we need to get separate apartments.

That is the logical thing.

- So we'll get a bigger place? - Uh-huh.

- So you're moving! - You have a new apartment!

I know!

Eight dysfunctional feet away.

You're not still living togeth...

I mean, I mean, she's living here right now.

- That tracks. - Is this crazy?

I know, I know. What...

What are people gonna say about us?

I guess the same thing they've been saying about us

- for 20 years? - Oh.

"It's odd, but it works"?

21 years later, we come to the end.

On behalf of everyone at "Will & Grace," we thank you

from the bottom of our hearts, and the hearts of our bottoms.

Sorry. Old habits die hard.

Thanks for laughing with us all these years.

And if some other good came of it,

we'll take it.

Thanks for watching.

Whoo!

- No! - Gotcha!

Wah.

Well, well, well.

Whoo-whoo!

- Say good night, Gracie. - Good night, Gracie.

This show has been everything to me.

It helped me be who I am today.

Your show made me realize that

I'm not so different after all.

- It allowed me to come out. - My son and I bonded over it.

It's brought my family together.

It helped me through some of the lowest points of my life.