Will & Grace is about to embark on its final season, and they’re remembering Debbie Reynolds by adding Billie Lourd as a guest star.
Will & Grace was on the air from 1998-2006, and then re-entered our lives in 2017. A lot had changed in the years between the show’s original finale and it’s return to television, especially surrounding the loss of Debbie Reynolds, the actress who plays Grace Adler’s mother, Bobbi Adler.
For fans of the original show, it might surprise you to hear that Reynolds only appeared in Will & Grace for 10 episodes as the infamous Bobbi. Her presence on the show was huge, and every time she was onscreen she stole the show in such a huge way that it felt like she was around the Will & Grace set far more than she actually was. So when the show returned to the air, not having her around was a very noticeable thing.
Obviously, the show paid tribute to her in the best way they could (like that huge painting of Reynolds/Adler in the Adler home), but their final season will welcome Reynolds’ real-life granddaughter, Billie Lourd, to play Bobbi Adler’s granddaughter. The show’s co-creator Max Mutchnick made the casting announcement on his Instagram.
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Lourd expressed her excitement on her own Instagram, thanking the cast and crew of Will & Grace for bringing her “into the Adler fam.”
“I have watched and loved Will & Grace since I was (probably too) young. So getting to watch my grandma play Grace’s mom was one o’ the coolest things to happen to my young Will & Grace obsessed self. Next week I get to play my real life grandma’s on screen granddaughter on one of my favorite shows and there are not enough happy adjectives in the world to convey the excitement I feel.”
Debbie Reynolds was nothing short of an icon, and such a huge part of Will & Grace. It’s so great to see the show continue to honor her memory. We can’t wait to see how Billie Lourd shakes up the Adler family.
The for-real-this-time final season of Will & Grace doesn’t have an official premiere date yet, but it is set to head to NBC in 2020.
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