#12 A New Type of Sitcom

Although SEINFELD revamped the traditional sitcom style, separating itself from the typical husband and wife routine, WILL AND GRACE pushed the sitcom boundaries a bit further. Most apparent was the appearance of gay men on the show. Never before had a sitcom been so open about the issue of homosexuality, or made the main characters gay. Further, instead of cohabiting a New York apartment with the traditional married couple or a single individual, the homosexual Will (Eric McCormack) and straight Grace (Debra Messing) were roommates. The entire structure of the show was focused around this unique collaboration of individuals, who although had different sexual preferences, lived and helped each other similar to the four friends of SEINFELD. Will and Grace especially were so emotionally close that their friendship at times resembled that of a typical marriage. So much to the point that when the single Grace wanted to have a baby, Will offered his sperm to assist in the matter. Also, the workforce is a large component of WILL AND GRACE. Grace is often seen outside the home in her office where she is an interior designer. Her witty, narcissistic, assistant Karen (Megan Mullally) is even a close friend of the group, especially with Jack (Sean Hayes). Having a coworker as a close friend is a concept not typical of sitcoms. Overall, WILL AND GRACE resemble SEINFELD is aspects of relationships, friends, and discussing "touchy" subjects. (Debra Messing was even a guest on SEINFELD.)Yet, WILL AND GRACE proudly discussed issues such as homosexuality, that the SEINFELD audience of the 1990's were perhaps not as comfortable with compared to the 2000 audience of WILL AND GRACE.