Where are they now? The cast of Will & Grace, 24 years later.

On September 21, 1998, the critically acclaimed series, Will & Grace aired its very first episode.

The Emmy Award-winning sitcom, starring Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes, was groundbreaking for its time, and cemented its place in the cultural zeitgeist by being funny while tackling then-taboo topics on broadcast television.

It was the first sitcom to focus on a friendship between a gay man and a straight woman, and introduced us to two of the most beloved supporting actors in any series - Jack McFarland and Karen Walker.

Watch the trailer for Will & Grace. Story continues below.

Despite concluding its run in 2006, Will & Grace returned for a revival in 2017, running for three more seasons before ending again in 2020.

Here’s what the main cast has been up to since their time on the show.

Eric McCormack (Will).

Image: NBC.

Eric McCormack not only played titular character, lawyer Will Truman, but he also became one of the first, and most well-known, fictional gay men to appear on television.

His performance earned him six Golden Globe nominations and four Emmy nominations, ultimately winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2001.

Following the sitcom, McCormack starred in the off-Broadway play Some Girl(s) opposite The Nanny's Fran Drescher. He also continued to appear on television, starring in the miniseries The Andromeda Strain, Trust Me, and Travellers.

Unlike his Will & Grace character, McCormack is straight-identifying, and two decades later where representation and diversity are of the utmost importance, he isn't sure whether he would be cast in the role today.

"I think it wasn’t a terrible thing in 1998 that a straight guy played the role, but I’m glad that times are changing, and I’m glad that nowadays a Will Truman would probably be cast with someone who is gay," the actor told Sydney Morning Herald in 2018.

McCormack has been married to Janet Leigh Holden since August 1997. The pair met on the set of TV series Lonesome Dove, where she worked as third assistant director. 

Their son, Finnigan Holden McCormack, was born in July 2002.

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Besides acting, McCormack sings - he hosted a live stream concert on Valentine's Day in 2022. 

The actor is also passionate about raising awareness for cancer, after losing both his mother and father to the disease. 

He and his co-star, Debra Messing, are still close today.

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Debra Messing (Grace).

Image: NBC.

Debra Messing played Jewish interior designer and best friend to Will, Grace Adler. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for her performance in 2003.

After the first Will & Grace finale in 2006, Messing starred in several TV series, including the romantic comedy The Starter Wife, and the Broadway-themed musical drama Smash.

She also played homicide detective Laura Diamond in The Mysteries of Laura.

Most recently in 2022, she played the lead role in the Broadway dramedy, Birthday Candles, and appeared in the Netflix musical coming-of-age comedy-drama, 13.

In addition to acting, Messing is a self-proclaimed social justice advocate.

In the days leading up to the 2020 US presidential election, she and actress Kathy Najimy door-to-door campaigned on behalf of Democratic candidate Joe Biden. 

That same year, she launched the podcast The Dissenters, where she and her co-host, former Archewell COO Mandana Dayani, "meet 20 of their heroes".

Messing split from husband Daniel Zelman in 2011 after ten years of marriage; they have a 19-year-old son, Roman.

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Megan Mullally (Karen).

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Karen Walker, one of the funniest, most inappropriate supporting characters, was played by none other than Megan Mullally.

Of the four main actors in Will & Grace, Mullally won the most accolades for her performance, winning two Emmy Awards, and three consecutive Screen Actors Guild Awards.

From 2006 to 2007, Mullally hosted the talk show The Megan Mullally Show. 

Since then, she has been a series regular on several television series, including In the Motherhood, Party Down, Childrens Hospital, and Breaking In.

Mullally married actor Nick Offerman in 2003. The couple have appeared in six productions together, including Hotel Transylvania 2 and Parks and Recreation.

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Despite coming back for the revival in 2018, Mullally and Messing didn't get along, according to multiple reports.

In August 2020, they unfollowed each other on Instagram and then Mullally posted a cryptic message in a now-deleted Instagram post.

"One of the best feelings is finally losing your attachment to somebody who isn’t good for you," she wrote.

She followed up with another post that read, "Don’t ask people for directions if they’ve never been where you’re going."

Messing, on the other hand, uploaded a photo in July urging fans to vote for Will & Grace at the Emmys, tagging everyone in the post, including the director and co-creators, except Mullally.

In 2020, she opened up about the drama podcast with her husband Nick Offerman, In Bed with Nick and Megan.

"I’ve been bullied. I’m 60 and I’m being bullied right now, so you know it’s a very insidious and dangerous thing, and I never want to lose that happy and innocent part of myself, but it’s almost like you have to kill that. But I never will, it’s part of who I am, it’s intrinsic to my nature."

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Despite not naming any names, Mullally went on to discuss the nature of the person who has been bullying her and how it has caused a divide between her and her co-stars.

"The thing is that I’ve had a recent situation and I can’t be specific about, but I had it happen and I did try to stand up for myself in certain ways and that made it a thousand times worse," she said.

"Because the person, the bully, it just lit a fire under that person where they just tripled their efforts, and it can get very dangerous. This was a work situation for me - it’s tough because the very nature of the bully is that once they’re challenged, they really go to town. Like you thought it was bad before, wait."

She finished by explaining why she doesn’t follow any of her co-stars on Instagram: "I’m pretty much on my own in this situation because the bully has recruited many of my allies to their side, and now they’re not my allies anymore."

Sean Hayes (Jack).

Image: NBC.

Although Sean Hayes is most well known for playing the Cher loving, non-stop talking, Jack McFarland, he's actually gone on to become a successful Hollywood producer.

In 2005, Hayes partnered with producer Todd Milliner to form their own production company, Hazy Mills. They have produced shows including Hot In Cleveland, Grimm and popular reality series Hollywood Game Night.

As Hayes told to The Hollywood Reporter, becoming a producer offered a lot more security than just sticking to acting.

"I knew the fate of hit sitcoms and that the future for their stars very often isn't as smooth as it was for Robin Williams or Tom Hanks," he said.

Although gay just like his character, Jack, Hayes didn't come out until 2010 after he received death threats for portraying a gay character.

"It was a scary time. We got death threats, [people] could find out where I lived," he told Attitude. "I was too scared. I wasn’t looking to be an activist of any kind. I didn’t have the courage and the strength at such a young age to speak on behalf of the gay community."

The actor tied the knot with Scott Icenogle in 2014. 

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These days, Hayes is one third of Smartless, an interview podcast he co-hosts with fellow actors Will Arnett and Jason Bateman. 

In 2021, the three of them launched a national podcast tour.

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Shelley Morrison (Rosario).

Image: NBC.

After her run as Karen’s sharp-tongued maid, Rosario, Shelley Morrison only committed to three more TV roles, all of them voice acting: Generator Rex, Handy Manny, and Foodfight.

While she was asked to reprise her role in the reboot, Morrison declined as she decided to retire.

The New York native passed away in December 2019 due to heart failure after a brief illness. 

Morrison was 83 years old, and was survived by her husband of more than 40 years, Walter Dominguez.

Fun fact: Rosario was only supposed to appear on the show once, but her character was so popular with audiences that the show's writers made her a semi-regular.

Leslie Jordan (Beverley).

Image: NBC.

Leslie Jordan, of course, played Karen's pretentious rival, Beverley Leslie. He too won an Emmy Award for his performance on the show.

Since the show, Jordan has appeared in various television shows and movies, most notably American Horror Story and The Help. 

The actor also starred in his own autobiographical stage show in 2010 called Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies That Have Plagued My Life Thus Far.

In October 2022, Jordan passed away. He was 67 years old.

The actor was driving through Hollywood on a Monday morning when it's suspected he suffered some sort of medical emergency and crashed his BMW into the side of a building.

"The world is definitely a much darker place today without the love and light of Leslie Jordan. Not only was he a mega talent and joy to work with, but he provided an emotional sanctuary to the nation at one of its most difficult times," a representative for Jordan said in a statement.

"Knowing that he has left the world at the height of both his professional and personal life is the only solace one can have today."

Tributes poured in from his Will & Grace cast mates:

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Unfortunately, Eric McCormack tagged every main cast member in his tribute photo, except Megan Mullally.

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Before his passing, Jordan was one of the main characters on Call Me Kat, and gained a huge following on TikTok.

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Harry Connick Jr (Leo).

Image: NBC.

Aside from playing Grace's husband turned ex-husband Leo Markus on Will & Grace, Harry Connick Jr. is most well known for his gospel singing, having sold over 28 million albums worldwide.

During his time on the sitcom, Connick Jr. also appeared in various films including Basic alongside John Travolta, and rom-coms, P.S. I Love You and New in Town.

In 2011, he appeared in the family film Dolphin Tale as Dr. Clay Haskett and in its 2014 sequel.

In 2021, the singer released his most recent album, Alone With My Faith, earning him his 16th Grammy nomination for Best Roots Gospel Album.

During the same year he also joined the cast of Annie Live! as Sir Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks, opposite Taraji P. Henson.

In 2022, the singer is a judge on the revival of Australian Idol.

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Personally, Connick Jr. has been married to former Victoria's Secret model Jill Goodacre since 1994. They have three daughters: Georgia, Sarah, and Charlotte. 

The family resides in Connecticut and New Orleans, Louisiana.

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Feature image: NBC.