<P> NBC went to sitcom director James Burrows to see what he thought of the homosexual subject matter and if an audience would be interested in the show . Burrows liked the idea and when he first read the script in November 1997, he decided that he wanted to direct it . Burrows said, "I knew that the boys had captured a genre and a group of characters I have never read before ." The filming of the pilot began in March 15, 1998 . The actors behind Will and Grace, Eric McCormack and Debra Messing, were positive about the series and they thought it had the potential to last long on television . McCormack said: "When shooting was finished that night, Debra and I were sitting on the couch and looking at each other and I said,' We're gonna be on this set for a while .' And we sort of clasped hands, but we didn't want to say anything beyond that and jinx it ." </P> <P> The part of Will Truman went to Eric McCormack, who was the first actor cast in the series . Having played gay characters several times in his career, McCormack did not have a problem with it and thought his character could become a "poster boy for some gay movement", like DeGeneres became a spokesperson with her character . Sean Hayes was invited to audition for Jack after a NBC casting executive saw him in a role in the indie gay romance film Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss . Even though Hayes enjoyed the script when he read it, he threw it away and decided not to try out for the audition until he was sent the script again . Megan Mullally initially auditioned for the role of Grace Adler, but admitted that she did not want to audition for the part of Karen . By contrast, Debra Messing, with whom Mullally had first worked on Ned & Stacey, was initially unsure if she wanted to play the role of Grace . The last actor to be cast, she later admitted that director Burrows was the reason for doing Will & Grace . </P> <P> In January 2017, NBC closed a deal for a new 10 - episode season of the series, which is airing during the 2017 - 18 season . Hayes will executive produce this season as well as creators / executive producers Max Mutchnick and David Kohan . Veteran director James Burrows is on board to direct and executive produce . In April 2017, the episode order was increased to 12 episodes . In August 2017, it was extended again to 16 episodes, and a second 13 - episode season was ordered . The revival is filmed at Stage 22 at Universal Studios Hollywood, as opposed to Stage 17 at CBS Studio Center . </P> <P> In December 2003, in the midst of the series' sixth season, executive producers and creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick sued NBC and NBC Studios . Alleging that the network sold the rights to the series in an attempt to keep profits within the NBC family, Kohan and Mutchnick felt that they were cheated out of considerable profits by the network's not shopping of the show to the highest bidder . Another allegation against the network was that during the first four seasons of the series, the studio licensed the rights for amounts that were insufficient for covering production costs, thus leading to extraordinarily large production deficits . Three months later, NBC filed a countersuit against Kohan and Mutchnick stating that the co-creators were expected to act as an independent third party in the negotiations between NBC and its subsidiary, NBC Studios (since subsumed into Universal Television). </P>

Who owns the rights to will and grace