‘Will & Grace’s Final Season Granted Early Premiere After ‘Sunnyside’ Cancellation

Will & Grace is coming back for its final season sooner than expected! The NBC reboot comedy series will return with new episodes Oct. 24, taking over the timeslot of pulled new series Sunnyside, and the surprise early premiere news came with a surprising twist coming to the show.

NBC announced the change to Thursday’s primetime schedule Tuesday, revealing Sunnyside would be pulled from the schedule after airing its next episode on Oct. 17. The series got an additional episode order, making it an 11-episode first season, and will air its remaining episodes on the NBC app, NBC.com and other digital platforms.

The network followed up the surprising news of the early premiere with a new promo for the comedy series’ final season, revealing that Grace Adler (Debra Messing) is expecting a baby.

It was not revealed if Grace is pregnant with ex-boyfriend Noah (David Schwimmer) or her new love interest Marcus’ (Reid Scott) baby, but the jokes about her age were running rampant in the new promo.

News of Will & Grace coming to an end (once again) first broke in July, with the creators of the series saying it was a joint decision to say goodbye.

“We think of the Will & Grace reboot episodes the way Karen Walker thinks of martinis – 51 is not enough, 53 is too many. That is why, after consulting with the cast, we all have decided this will be the final season of Will and Grace,” creators Max Mutchnick, David Kohan and exec producer/director Jimmy Burrows said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter at the time. “In 2016, Bob Greenblatt came to us with the idea of doing a 10-episode reboot of Will & Grace. They say you can’t go home again, but we did. And now, three seasons and 52 episodes later, we’re even more proud of something we never thought we’d get a chance to do again. We have had a once-in-a-lifetime experience twice. And for that, we owe a double debt of gratitude to NBC, this show’s supportive and caring home since day one.”

The final season will come with even more surprises than the pregnancy bombshell, as Demi Lovato was previously announced to be joining the cast in a mystery role. The show’s 11th season will consist of 18 episodes.

“When NBC had the opportunity to reconnect this amazing cast and creative team, we jumped at the chance. The impact and legacy of Will and Grace simply can’t be overstated, both as a true game-changer in the portrayal of the LGBTQ community and as one of the finest comedies in television history,” NBC Entertainment co-chairmen George Cheeks and Paul Telegdy said in a statement. “A huge thank you to [creators] Max [Mutchnick], David [Kohan], Jimmy [Burrows] and a cast that is second to none for their brilliance over an incredible run.”

Will & Grace will premiere Thursday, Oct. 24 at 9:30 p.m. ET on NBC.