Chelsea Handler Joins 'Will and Grace'

Full confession: Chelsea Handler is one of my favorite comics around, and Will and Grace is my favorite comedy ever. So this news is like Karen’s voice in my ears. It’s almost as good as hearing that Trump has been impeached, but let’s be real, the show might now survive that. The whole revival happened because of the darkness that has settled in around our country. Welcoming the Fab Four back was like reuniting with friends you haven’t had a drink with in years. There’s a comfort there. Anyway, Chelsea Handler is joining Will and Grace.... as a lesbian!

I kinda buried the lede there, didn’t I? When I was telling my friends about this, they all shrugged their shoulder like OK, Ed. When I told them that she was going to be playing a lesbian, they perked up. The only thing better than Chelsea Handler playing a lesbian would be if they could get Edie Falco to reprise her role as a tightly wound lesbian realtor or Ellen as a nun. Is it too much to ask for all three to be on together? Or better yet give them their own Sex and The City-esque sitcom. All of those comedy legends on one show is too much to ask for, isn’t it? But then you are guaranteed some good laughs, and a really good time, and that’s what really matters. Am I right? Oh boy, let me get myself back on track here.

Can’t you just imagine the spinoff though? First of all, three of the funniest ladies around, throw in Wanda Sykes and we have a hit on our hands. It could be like a funny L Word. A worthy successor to The Golden Girls. Hot in Cleveland was supposed to be that, but in the end, it ended up being a weird mess, though Betty White rose above it all, as she always does. Maybe we should get Betty to do a recurring role on this dreamed about spinoff. Let’s get back to talking about the show, and the episode in question.

Okay, so Chelsea will be playing a lesbian who happens to be a client of Grace’s design firm, and also dating Grace’s sister Janet. Yes, that means that Mary McCormack will be returning to the role that Geena Davis originated, but let’s be real here, Mary owned that role. I’m already anticipating that there will be a ton of chemistry between the beloved comedy legends. Yes, I know Chelsea Handler is a bit of a controversial figure, but her fans will always hold her up. Kinda like Will and Grace hold each other up.

When we last left the besties, they had just watched their parents (his mother and her father) get engaged, with Jack asking his beau to also propose to him (he did, and Jack said yes), and Karen ending the affair she was having with Malcolm so that she didn’t end up like Will and Grace. That’s a lot of drama that needs to be resolved, but the writers have been very clever with how they handle tricky situations (read: the original series finale), so there’s no doubt that they have this under control. Plus, the episode with Chelsea is going into production today, so they have a plan already in place. NBC has already renewed the series for an 18 episode third season, and given the ratings and awards recognition, it’s expected that we’ll hear about a fourth season renewal before the end of the upcoming second season. Yes, they really are already renewed for two seasons out.

Can this please become a recurring role or can we get a long wanted Will and Grace spinoff?