‘Will & Grace’ Is Must See Family TV

You can call NBC’s restarted Will & Grace many things: hilarious, shameless, savior of the multi-cam sitcom, an exercise in excessive nostalgia, an endless parade of guest stars, or unexpectedly poignant. Odds are you would run through a hundred adjectives (or adjective-esque phrases) before landing on “family viewing.” But that’s exactly what Will & Grace could be, should be, and most likely is for a lot of families across the country.

When you think of “family viewing,” images of a traditional nuclear family float into your brain. You see sage yet doofy parents for the adults to relate to and cool yet irrational kids for the young’uns to learn from. When I was growing up, family viewing meant sitting down with my parents to watch the weekly predicaments of the Tanner, Taylor, Winslow, or Lambert families. ABC is still in the family business, thanks to shows like Modern Family, Black-ish, The Goldbergs, and Fresh Off the Boat. All of those shows focus on families, and I’m glad that they’re way more diverse than the ones I grew up with.

But I don’t think “starring a husband, wife, and kids” is a prerequisite for family viewing, especially since not all families follow that model. Some families look like what you see in Will & Grace, a dysfunctional quartet of eccentrics all connected to each other through non-romantic bonds. They’re a queer nuclear family, the kind of family that people choose, not the kind they’re born into. And trust me, kids need to see those kinds of families too, especially kids that are starting to ask questions about their identities.

Will & Grace is both a part of my formative, super closeted teen years and a part of my present, super out adult years. I have no idea what my life would have been like had W&G been welcomed into my family’s Must See TV viewing habits almost 20 years ago, but I do know what happened because it wasn’t added to our schedule. My parents ignored Will & Grace’s existence, which was on brand considering they expressed serious disapproval of me watching Ellen after she came out and banned Friends in our household until they were assured the lesbians weren’t series regulars.

The truth is, watching a show together isn’t just a way to pass time. It’s a way to bond with your loved ones. Intaking the same pop culture gives you access to touchstones, references, a shared language of catch phrases. My Southern Baptist parents didn’t approve of everything that went on in Friends, obviously (did you realize there’s a lot of premarital sex on that show?). But I’m also sure that spending 10 years watching a highly glossed over and toothless New York City made them slightly less anxious about their son moving to the Big Apple fresh out of college. These shows, the bonds they create, they have an IRL effect.

That’s why Will & Grace is important for families to sit down and watch with their tweens and teens. Even kids in 2017 need to know that their parents support the gay community. Maybe modern parents take that for granted, considering how much culture has progressed since I was in middle school. Don’t. Leave no question. Especially because your kids are probably overhearing truly horrible news stories about people in power. And if you’re looking for a subtle way to show how supportive you are, watching Will & Grace–and then talking to your kids about the issues the episodes bring up!–is one way to do it. It’s even important if you’re already watching Modern Family, a show that famously features gay leads. Let these shows cover more bases, with Cam and Mitch representing for the gays that thrive in traditional settings and Will (Eric McCormack) and Jack (Sean Hayes) representing for the city gays that don’t want to settle down (and are still doing just fine!).

And if you think there’s nothing Will & Grace can teach your family, like really teach your family, you’re wrong. One episode this season, “Grandpa Jack,” is 100% the kind of “very special episode” that family shows are known for–and I mean that in a “watch this with your middle schoolers right now” way. In the episode, Jack meets his grandson (surprise!) just before the equally flamboyant kid is about to be shipped off to a gay conversion camp (surprise surprise!).

The episode, more than anything I have ever seen, talks directly to kids struggling with their identity and the unrealistic expectations of their parents. Yes, this is a bawdy sitcom episode that also features a young actor saying the line, “It’s hard being me sometimes.” It’s uncompromising and honest, especially when Jack tells his grandson, “You are exactly who you’re supposed to be.” This episode just might wreck you and maybe your kids, but from that wreckage a stronger foundation can be laid.

I can’t imagine what watching an episode like “Grandpa Jack” would have done for me years ago, especially if it was an episode I watched with my parents–an episode my parents talked to me about, too. But that was a lesson I needed to hear then, and gay kids need to hear today. And they need to know their parents are there for them, especially after the credits roll.

Where to stream Will & Grace