Book Review: Will & Grace

The sitcom Will & Grace (1998–2006, 2017–20) shifted the media landscape and its treatment of queer themes by starring an openly gay protagonist, Will Truman, on primetime network television. Will, along with his best friend Grace Adler and their constant companions Jack McFarland and Karen Walker, engaged in many stereotypical sitcom shenanigans imbued with decidedly queer twists. Despite the series' groundbreaking nature, its accuracy and responsibility in representing gay men―and of queer culture in general―has been questioned throughout its initial run and reboot. Author Tison Pugh places the sitcom in its historical context of the late 1990s and early 2000s, considering how it contributed to contemporary debates concerning queer life.

Will & Grace returned in the Trump era, offering viewers another chance to enjoy the companionship of these quirky yet relatable characters as they grappled with seismic shifts in the nation's political climate. Pugh demonstrates that while heralding a new age of queer representation, characters across the series were homogenized through upper-class whiteness to normalize queerness for a mainstream US audience. In negotiating protocols of network television and the desires of audiences both gay and straight, this trailblazing series remains simultaneously haunted by and liberated from longstanding queer stereotypes.

This book, part of the TV Milestones series, was published September 5, 2023, from Wayne State University Press.

I was a big fan of this show right from the start. It was smart, it was funny, and it was fearless. The ensemble cast was perfectly in-tune with one another. The author touches upon those aspects via the introduction that outlines how the show was a queer milestone.

Then, through four chapters, Pugh further provides a scholarly analysis of several topics relating to the show's legacy. From how the show served as a queer primer for much of the country to its use of stereotypes and a utopian lens to it how the reboot was reborn in the Trump era, he takes the reader through his subjects masterfully. All the while, he pulls references directly from the eleven seasons (246 episodes) as well as dozens of other sources to support his assertions. Don't let the book's small size and page count fool you: Pugh has done his homework on this one.