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[02/27/04 - 12:00 AM] NBC Set to Oust 'Will & Grace' Creators By Brian Ford Sullivan (TFC) |
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CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- Will and Grace are set to get some new company.
NBC is expected to announce shortly it plans to replace "Will & Grace" executive producers David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, who also created the series, with new showrunners as early as next week.
The news, first reported by trade publication Daily Variety, is seen as the end result of a messy legal battle between the duo and the Peacock.
Kohan and Mutchnick filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against NBC back in December, claiming the network failed to negotiate a fair license fee for the NBC Studios-produced series due to NBC and NBC Studios falling under the same corporate umbrella. "While (NBC Studios) purported to engage in arm's length and good faith negotiations with NBC, NBC in fact effectively sat on and controlled both sides of the 'bargaining' table," the complaint read. "NBCS' executives in the purported negotiations ultimately reported to NBC."
In addition, the suit claimed a host of additional improprieties including preferential treatment to series director James Burrows, reducing fees owed to the duo's reps at Vision Arts Management as well as threatening to cancel Kohan and Mutchnick's other series at NBC, "Good Morning, Miami," should they follow through with their lawsuit.
NBC and NBC Studios worked out a $5 million per episode deal for "Will & Grace's" fifth, sixth and seventh seasons back in March of 2002 in a pact valued over $300 million. That's reportedly on par with the license fees for "Friends" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" at the same point in their respective lives.
NBC said at the time they carefully documented the entire process and even hired independent consultant Chuck Larsen to work on the deal, adding they were fully willing to take the complaint all the way to court. Now industry insiders are saying NBC is set to file its own lawsuit against Kohan and Mutchnick, claiming the duo breached their contract with the network. Their suit, specific details of which were not revealed, will reportedly argue along the lines that Kohan and Mutchnick planned to sue NBC all along as they were offered and agreed to an independent third party to oversee the negotiations.
Regardless of the outcome of either lawsuit, Kohan and Mutchnick are not expected to continue with the series next season. A replacement showrunner (or showrunners) is expected to be announced in the coming days.
As for "Miami," an NBC source has confirmed that the series won't return to the Peacock's schedule until after May sweeps and that production was shut down after the show's 18th episode this season. While technically not canceled, the news more than likely spells the end of the sophomore comedy. The show's cast members also appear to be moving on as Constance Zimmer has already signed on to the CBS drama pilot "Cooking Lessons."
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[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM] "Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July "Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.
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[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM] "Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.
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[10/17/25 - 10:01 AM] 51st Season of "Saturday Night Live" Continues with Three Back-to-Back Shows in November Miles Teller is on tap to host on November 1, followed by Nikki Glaser on November 8, and Glen Powell on November 15.
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[10/17/25 - 09:05 AM] All-New Season of "The Last Woodsmen" Premieres Friday, November 14 at 9PM ET/PT on Discovery Deep in the untamed wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, veteran logger Jared Douglas returns to put everything on the line in the new season.
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[10/17/25 - 09:01 AM] Video: "Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia" - Sneak Peek - Netflix A brutal mob war between John Stanfa and Joey Merlino plunges '90s Philadelphia into chaos and bloodshed in this captivating true-crime series.
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[10/17/25 - 08:31 AM] Video: "Me late que si" - Official Trailer - Netflix A desperate, ordinary man, fed up with his misfortune, hatches a daring heist and assembles a very unusual group to attempt the impossible: stealing a live lottery jackpot.
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[10/17/25 - 08:00 AM] "Weapons" Begins Streaming Exclusively on HBO Max October 24 When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at 2:17 a.m., a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
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[10/17/25 - 07:01 AM] Video: "My Secret Santa" - Official Trailer - Netflix A vivacious single-mom (Alexandra Breckenridge) in need of a job decides to disguise herself as a man in order to get hired as the seasonal Santa at a luxury ski resort.
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[10/17/25 - 07:01 AM] "Euphoria" Season 3 Is Coming Spring 2026 Newly announced cast members include Gideon Adlon, Bill Bodner, Colleen Camp, Danielle Deadwyler, Homer Gere, Jessica Blair Herman, Natasha Lyonne, Hemky Madera, Kwame Patterson, Trisha Paytas, Rebecca Pidgeon, Bella Podaras, Cailyn Rice, Eli Roth, Madison Thompson, Jack Topalian, Sam Trammell, Matthew Willig.
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[10/17/25 - 06:01 AM] Video: "Eloa the Hostage: Live on TV" - Official Trailer - Netflix This gripping documentary explores the case of a teenage girl who was kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend in one of Brazil's most shocking hostage situations.
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[10/17/25 - 06:01 AM] Apple Is the Exclusive New Broadcast Partner for Formula 1 in the U.S. Apple TV will deliver comprehensive coverage of Formula 1, with all practice, qualifying, Sprint sessions, and Grands Prix available to Apple TV subscribers.
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[10/16/25 - 02:11 PM] Video: National Geographic Unveils First Look at "Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember" - A Powerful and Heartfelt Special Featuring the Global Movie Star on His Most Personal Journey Yet The one-hour documentary, from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa, Jane Root's Nutopia, and Chris Hemsworth and Ben Grayson's Wild State, premieres November 23 at 9:00/8:00c on National Geographic and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
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[10/16/25 - 12:58 PM] Lifetime Announces Annual "It's a Wonderful Lifetime" Holiday Movie Slate Kicking Off November 29th Featured talent this year includes Brandy Norwood, Kane & Katelyn Brown, Loretta Devine, Debbi Morgan, Arielle Kebbel, Tyler Hilton, James Lafferty, Vivica A. Fox, Jackée Harry, Sy'Rai Smith, Nischelle Turner, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, and others.
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[10/16/25 - 12:31 PM] Video: "The Witcher" Season 4 - Character Trailer - Netflix Scattered to fates unknown, Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri traverse the war-torn Continent and its countless enemies in the hope of finding each other again.
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[10/16/25 - 11:32 AM] A+E Global Media and Rachael Ray's Free Food Studios Cook Up Expanded Programming Partnership with Over 100 New Episodes Ordered The network has ordered 110 new episodes of Ray's programming, including new episodes of "Meals in Minutes," that will continue to focus on her approachable and comforting cooking style.
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