The stars of the NBC comedy Will &
Grace have responded to criticism that the show's second
incarnation is “too political.”
In an interview with The Hollywood
Reporter, the show's creators and cast addressed the criticism.
“Everything is political now no
matter what you do – being a gay show on network television is a
political act,” said co-creator David Kohan.
“We're a lot more political than we
ever were, but there's a lot of low-hanging fruit,” said producer
James Burrows.
Debra Messing and Sean Hayes agreed,
saying that there's more political discourse in our culture.
“This isn't new,” said Messing.
“We always pushed the boundaries. We always had very provocative
humor. “I feel like we're doing what we always did, we just have
more fodder these days. There's a lot more happening in our country
to talk about.”
“The characters in the show are
living the same lives as the audience, so anything that affects
America at the time or in the world is going to be talked about on
the show,” said Hayes.
McCormack added that this time around
the show's characters deserve to “have a say.”
“The first couple years we did the
show, Bill Clinton was in office," he explained. "I
remember a distinct moment when 9/11 happened and we all looked to
Max and David and said, 'Well, the characters live in New York, what
are we going to do?' And the decision was made that Will &
Grace is not the show to try to give some message, so we kept it
lighter."
“I think this time around we thought,
'We can’t.' These characters have been living in New York and in
this country – they are almost 50. It’s time for them to have a
say, and that say needs to be funny as well, but it can’t just be
light.”
(Related: Will
& Grace showrunner
donates gay bunny book to Indiana elementary schools.)