NBC AND HULU BRING WILL & GRACE (AND JACK & KAREN) TO SCREENS EVERYWHERE WITH FIRST-EVER STREAMING DEAL FOR MULTI-EMMY AWARD WINNING SERIES
Groundbreaking Comedy to Make its Debut on NBC App, Hulu and Pay TV Providers
Universal City, Ca, September 20, 2017 - TV fans rejoice! For the first-time ever, all 194 episodes of the Emmy Award-winning pop-culture phenomenon "Will & Grace" will be available to stream and on-demand. The iconic series will be available on the NBC app, Hulu and on-demand through satellite, cable and telco pay TV providers, beginning Thursday, September 21, one week ahead of the return of "Will & Grace" on NBC.
Hulu will be the exclusive SVOD partner for the original eight seasons, which will also be available on the NBC App and pay TV providers with authentication.
The original eight seasons ran from 1998 to 2006, and in to addition quickly earning its place as a critic and fan favorite, "Will & Grace" was nominated for 83 Emmy Awards, winning 16 of them including Outstanding Comedy Series. This digital distribution deal, which will get 194 episodes of "Will & Grace" into nearly 100 million homes across platforms nationwide, marks an opportunity to introduce a new generation of audiences to original episodes of the show that have been largely unavailable for the past 11 years. The deal will go into effect one week before "Will & Grace" rejoins the NBC lineup with all new episodes Thursday, Sept. 28 at 9 p.m.; each week, following their broadcast airing, new episodes will also be available to stream across the aforementioned digital platforms.
"As we gear up for the launch of the upcoming season premiere, I can't think of a better way to reintroduce 'Will & Grace' to the cultural zeitgeist than by giving audiences the opportunity to watch this historic and hilarious series wherever and whenever they want," said NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt. "With its witty comebacks, pop-culture references and social commentary, 'Will & Grace' is one of the most binge-able comedies in television history, and I am certain fans both old and new will jump on this opportunity to devour it."
"There's no question that 'Will & Grace' has resonated with audiences since the series made its broadcast premiere. To be able to bring such an iconic show into the streaming universe for the first time ever is an opportunity we couldn't pass up," said Joel Stillerman, Chief Content Officer, Hulu. "This landmark deal will allow fans to re-watch their favorite moments ahead of the series premiere, as well as bring 'Will & Grace' and its cast of characters to a whole new audience."
The new season of "Will & Grace" will begin its 16-episode run on September 28, 2017 and has already been picked up for a second season with 13 additional episodes. Both the original and new episodes of "Will & Grace" are written and executive produced by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, and directed and executive produced by James Burrows.
About NBC Entertainment
NBC's quality programs and balanced lineup have earned the network critical acclaim, numerous awards and ratings success. NBC is finishing the 2016-17 September-to-September season #1 in 18-49 after having won the previous three seasons in the demo. NBC has earned more Emmy Awards than any network in television history. This season, NBC will launch "The Brave," "Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders" and will revive one of television's landmark comedies, "Will & Grace." Other highlights of the network's scripted slate include dramas "This Is Us," "The Blacklist," Dick Wolf's "Chicago" franchise, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," and "Shades of Blue." NBC's comedies include "Superstore," "The Good Place," and "Great News." Unscripted series for NBC include the four-time Emmy Award-winning musical competition hit "The Voice" as well as the new hit series "World of Dance" and "The Wall," two-time Emmy nominee "American Ninja Warrior," "Better Late Than Never," "Hollywood Game Night," "Little Big Shots," "Little Big Shots: Forever Young" and the perennial #1 most-watched summer series, "America's Got Talent." In late night, NBC regularly delivers #1 broadcast results with "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," "Late Night with Seth Meyers," "Last Call with Carson Daly" and "Saturday Night Live." NBC Daytime's "Days of our Lives" consistently ranks among daytime's top programs in the valuable women 18-34 category. The five-time Emmy Award-winning NBC.com streams full episodes and provides original content for NBC entertainment shows online and through apps for mobile and tablet devices.
About Hulu
Hulu is a leading premium streaming service that offers instant access to live and on demand channels, original series and films, and a premium library of TV and movies to millions of subscribers in the U.S. Since its launch in 2008, Hulu has consistently been at the forefront of entertainment and technology. Hulu is the only streaming service that offers both ad-supported and commercial-free current season shows from the largest U.S. broadcast networks; libraries of hit TV series and films; and acclaimed original series including Emmy Award-winning series The Handmaid's Tale, The Mindy Project, The Path, 11.22.63, the Golden Globe(R) nominated comedy series Casual, as well as the upcoming Future Man, Castle Rock, Marvel's Runaways and The Looming Tower. In 2017, Hulu added live news, entertainment and sports from 21st Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal, CBS Corporation, The CW, Turner Networks, A+E Networks and Scripps Networks Interactive to its offering - making it the only TV service that brings together live, on-demand, originals, and library content all in one place, across living room and mobile devices.
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