In two episodes, Will and Grace just said what many women over 40 needed to hear.

When Will and Grace (and Jack and Karen) returned to our TV screens last Friday, they reminded us of a simple truth – not everyone gets their happily ever after.

And that’s OK.

In the first few minutes of the reboot, the cast cleverly explained away the final scene of the original series as Karen’s dream sequence.

When we left Will and Grace 11 years ago, Grace had remarried Leo (Harry Connick Jr’s character), and they had a daughter together named Laila. Will had married Vincent and they’d had son named Ben. Over 16 years, Will and Grace had slowly drifted apart until they were reunited when their kids moved into the same dorm room.

We found out in the first episode that only some of this actually happened. While Grace did remarry Leo, they don’t have a daughter together and they’re currently going through a divorce. Will has also divorced Vincent and they never had a son.

“Oh, what a relief,” Karen says when she wakes. “Nobody wants to see you two raise kids.”

Will and Grace are back living together in their apartment and navigating the dating scene for over 40s.

Jack is also single and living back across the hall, and Karen, well, she’s still with Stanley… so pretty much single.

This is what’s so clever about the series revival – it shows us not everyone’s lives are wrapped up in a neat little bow. When a couple gets together and the movie or TV show ends, it’s not the end of their story – it’s just the beginning.

LISTEN: Why we need Will and Grace more than ever. Post continues after audio…

After the happily ever after, there are a lot more challenges – like navigating parenthood, sickness, infidelity, jealously, and sometimes divorce, plus the possibility being thrown back into the dating pool. The happily ever after is the easy bit.

Will and Grace is also showing us something we don’t get to see on TV very often – three singletons over 40 navigating the dating scene in our post-dating app world.

While Grace is yet to go on a date, in the second episode ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’ both Will and Jack meet some younger men.

During their inevitable dating mishaps, Will and Jack have to admit they’re not as young as they were 20 years ago when the show first began. Dating is a going to be a little different for them now. The show cleverly deals with how to grow old gracefully in a culture that’s obsessed with people looking younger and younger.

We’re yet to see how the reboot will deal with Grace dating, but in these first two episodes it’s already shown us women over 40 can pretty much have it all – a brilliant career and great friends – without having a man by their side.

And maybe that’s the real message behind the reboot, that Grace will finally take on the world on her own – with a little help from Will, Jack and Karen.

She could be set to become the feminist icon we never saw coming.

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