NBC has ordered a second season of the
much-anticipated Will & Grace revival.
According to Deadline
Hollywood, out NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt made the
announcement Thursday at the Television Critics Association (TCA)
press tour.
Deadline also reported that the
show's ninth season has been expanded for a second time to 16
episodes. The network increased its original 10-episode order to 12
in the spring.
Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Sean
Hayes and Megan Mullally will reprise their roles as Will &
Grace returns to NBC this fall to helm a new Must See TV lineup.
The show's creators, David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, and director
James Burrows are also returning.
Talk of reviving the Emmy-winning
comedy began soon after the cast reunited last year for a 10-minute
political skit that went viral ahead of the election.
Will & Grace, which
premiered in 1998 and ended its run in 2006, was the first prime time
network sitcom to feature a gay lead in McCormack's uptight lawyer,
Will, and has been credited for helping advance the LGBT rights
movement. Former
Vice President Joe Biden in 2012 credited the series with helping
advance marriage equality.
(Related: First
Look: Will
& Grace
releases musical trailer.)