Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Will & Grace: The Revival - Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 26, 2018

With Will & Grace, Creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick built a show that will be remembered as one of the great sitcoms of its time and was one of the standard-bearers of NBC's popular "must-see TV" lineup that propelled the network to the top of the charts back at the promotion's peak in primetime. But as with all good things, the show came to an end after eight successful seasons, running from 1998-2005. Though off the air for some time, the hunger for more remained palpable, and why not in an age that seems dominated more by talent shows and gritty crime and forensics dramas rather than escapism humor. With the occasion of the 2016 presidential election, the cast reunited to shoot a 10-minute scene with a humorously political focus, which led to a clamoring for more, got the creative juices flowing, and ultimately yielded this ninth season "revival."

It begins again!

Official synopsis: That's right, honey! A decade after their unforgettable eight-season run, comedy's most fabulous foursome is back. Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally reprise their infamous roles as Will, Grace, Jack and Karen. The legendary James Burrows, director of every original 'Will & Grace' episode, returns along with a slew of razor-sharp jabs and dirty martinis. Behold once again, from the minds of Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, TV's wittiest ensemble ever.

It's not as if Will & Grace's revival season is anything new in the television landscape. Reboots and remakes are becoming increasingly more prominent with studios reaching back into the archives to find a fresh new spin on old favorites. Whether shows like The X-Files and Gilmore Girls reuniting the primary cast or programs like Hawaii Five-0 and MacGyver simply putting new faces into familiar roles, television seems increasingly content to inch back into the past in an effort to bring back long-departed audiences and, hopefully, make a few new ones in the process (and, hey, they might shell out for those expensive full-series Blu-ray boxed sets while they're in the mood to catch up). But, sometimes, execs just come to the realization that just because something is old it hasn't necessarily run its course. While the 10-minute presidential PSA was certainly a critical factor in green lighting the revival season, factors like nostalgia, a willing and still very talented cast, and a public appetite for good television -- even if it's not necessarily new idea or fresh concept television -- all made the decision to bring the show back to air as much of a no-brainer as there is in television.

And it works because it's still Will & Grace. Time passes, the actors age, the story moves forward, but the quad-lead cast has not lost a step and doesn't miss a beat. Comedy, particularly that filmed in front of a live audience, requires a certain comfort level and chemistry to pull off. It's not rehearsals, it's not rehashing lines, it's relishing the opportunity to make comedy and make memories, and for this cast, that's always, very clearly, front-and-center. With the revival season, audiences will see the characters advanced in age and life experience but still well within that familiar Will & Grace comfort zone. The performers move well beyond the script, which is important, but still pull the scripted material in a way that conforms to the show's and the characters' natural curves, melts into the essence of what made the show so rich and textured and natural in its first, and lengthy, go-round. Will and Grace, and all four primaries, really, play off of one another with a phenomenal sense of believable friendship, interaction, and decades-long familiarity. Much of that comes from the stories and that the actors truly have spent that much time together, but the show, and the performances, absolutely transcend the medium in a way that the audience always feels part of the action and privy to the innermost workings, not simply viewing from afar.

Everything picks up like it hasn't been 11 years, or at least like there wasn't an 11-year gap. The story takes a leap for sure and dutifully, naturally, and effortlessly fills in any and all important gaps from that missing chunk of time, but for both the players and the viewers it feels like Will & Grace never left the air...maybe it was just paused for a bit. These episodes are largely rich and very funny. The show is texturally much the same, the characters grow but don't often stray too far from their roots. Jokes have changed, the popular culture at which the show winks and nods and pokes isn't what it was a decade or so ago, but the writers, and the actors, have adapted, not fundamentally changed, and the revival season manages to find that harmonious middle ground between time and place progression and perfectly content structural stagnation. Fans are going to fall in love with these characters all over again, and the tenth season can't come quickly enough (and hopefully to Blu-ray, for that matter).

Will & Grace: The Revival - Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Will & Grace: The Revival - Season One's 1080p transfer looks very nice on Blu-ray. There's some macroblocking in low light and nighttime establishing shots of the apartment, but the image is otherwise fairly good. It's crisp, sharp, and robust. The densely decorated set pieces come alive with excellent clarity visible on nearly every texture -- walls and floors, furniture, props and odds and ends that give each frame an authentic flavor and life -- and character and clothing details are sharp and refined, too. Colors enjoy spirited delivery, finding quality saturation and intensity in a fairly neutrally contrasted palette. Tangible, but often trace, noise is visible. This is a well detailed, colorful, and robust image; fans should be pleased.

Will & Grace: The Revival - Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Will & Grace: The Revival - Season One features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track's most prominent component is the laugh track, which is mostly the property of the front portion of the soundstage. There's some greater expansion as the show transitions scenes, as music rises, and the entire thing grows in volume, but regardless there's not an avalanche of of surround activity to be sure. Listeners will note various city atmospherics, even during apartment interior scenes, largely in the form of honking horns emanating from off to the side. Elemental clarity is quite good, whether considering music or the laughter. Dialogue is clear and center-focused. Note that episode 11 is encoded in Dolby Digital 5.1 rather than DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, but any drop-off in basic quality and delivery of episode essentials is negligible.

Will & Grace: The Revival - Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Will & Grace: The Revival - Season One contains a few extras on disc two. No DVD or digital versions of the show are included.

• Gag Reel (1080p, 7:41): Humorous outtakes from the shoot.
• Reuniting the Team (1080p, 5:24): Cast and crew discuss the origins of the reunion: the 2016 presidential election. They also discuss the secrecy around the reunion, how it felt to come back together again, the joy of live taping, and why the show stands out amongst its peers.
• Back to the Beginning (1080p, 8:43): This supplement explores the show's origins, beginning with a few classic clips and featuring discussions centered around the original concept, the writing process, auditioning and casting, the chemistry between the characters, and the comedy that altogether made the show a massive success.
• Classic Comedy (1080p, 5:03): Cast and crew discuss the comedy in the show and how the creators modeled it after the works and styles of classic comedians (Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett, namely). The piece also explores the cast's and characters' unique signature moments, the actors' skills, favorite moments, the quality of the new episodes, and more.

Will & Grace: The Revival - Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Will & Grace is unquestionably one of the most successful and beloved sitcoms of its generation and easily one of the finer programs of its type through the television medium's history. And with so many cherished and storied peers, that's very high praise. The revival season doesn't miss a beat. Characters are old, maybe not always wiser, but there's no mistaking that even in a new world and through the passage of time, little has changed about the show and its characters at the core that made it a sensation. Universal's Blu-ray release of Will & Grace: The Revival - Season One delivers rock-solid video and audio paired with a few extras on disc two. Highly recommended.