Despite miserable ratings, shoddy writing and buzz that has gone from deafening to virtually silent, Will & Grace has managed to eke out an eighth, and presumably final, season. That's quite an achievement for a show that stopped being funny three years ago. Even more impressive? All four of the actors are getting salary increases despite an overall cut in the show's license fee, demonstrating the massive power of syndication.
But even though Will & Grace's best years are part of television history its pending demise is actually sad news in TV Land. That's mostly because nothing (nada, zip, zilch) has sprung up to take its place in the seven years since it debuted on NBC.
There have been plenty of inventive TV comedies in the years since then but none in the traditional multicamera sitcom format. With Everybody Loves Raymond leaving the air and Will & Grace apparently a year away from the same fate the death knell is officially ringing on meaningful examples of that classic TV format.
As the networks get ready to announce their fall schedules in a few weeks I wonder if any the executives will realize that television is in desperate need of a genuinely inspired multicamera comedy.
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