NBC orders Season 2 of ‘Will & Grace’ revival ahead of premiere

NBC can’t get enough of “Will & Grace.”

Even before its return to prime time on Sept. 28 after an 11-year absence, NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt announced at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour Thursday that the network has already ordered a 13-episode second season.

And that’s not all. The first season has been extended by four episodes, for a total of 16, all directed by James Burrows, who directed every episode of the show’s initial eight-year run.

“There’s been such an outpouring of love from the fans,” Greenblatt said. “We are a very grateful network and we are more than thrilled to have the show on the air for at least two seasons.”

During the session, series stars Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes, along with co-creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, fielded questions from reporters about the show’s approach to LGBTQ representation, racial diversity and the current political climate.

They also addressed the thorny issue of how the revival would move forward considering the finale of the original, which saw Will and Grace drift apart then reunite many years later, among other dramatic changes.

Or rather, they won’t: The revival will essentially ignore those events because, as Mutchnick explained, “We never would have gone in that direction if we weren’t ending the show.”

Mutchnick was equally candid when asked a question about working with the network again following a contentious lawsuit over the series rights.

“Bob Greenblatt’s NBC is very different from Jeff Zucker’s NBC,” he said, referring to the previous head of the network. “We are very, very happy to be a part of Bob Greenblatt’s NBC.”