NBC�S EMMY-WINNING �WILL & GRACE� KEEPS IT REAL AS REHEARSALS BEGIN FOR ELECTRIC LIVE PREMIERE ON SEPTEMBER 29 MARKING COMEDY�S FINAL SEASON

NBC�S EMMY-WINNING �WILL & GRACE� KEEPS IT REAL AS REHEARSALS BEGIN FOR ELECTRIC LIVE PREMIERE ON SEPTEMBER 29 MARKING COMEDY�S FINAL SEASON

Alec Baldwin Guest-stars and Live Audience Will Include 100 Charity-givers Who Helped Raise $10,000 in Funds for American Red Cross and Hurricane Katrina Victims

BURBANK � September 26, 2005 � The cast of NBC's Emmy Award-winning "Will & Grace" (Thursdays, 8:30-9 p.m. ET) is currently rehearsing for its final season with a challenging live season premiere on Thursday, Sept. 29 (8:30-9 p.m. ET) that will feature returning guest star Alec Baldwin -- and will include 100 audience members who contributed a total of $10,000 for the American Red Cross and Hurricane Katrina victims.

The eighth season debut of "Will & Grace" will mark the series' first live episode. Two versions will be telecast, one live for the East Coast and one for the West Coast, resulting in different jokes to be used in each separate broadcast. The first show will shoot at 5:30 p.m. (PT) for the East and again at 8:30 p.m. (PT) for the West.

Multiple Emmy-winning director James Burrows will direct the premiere.

The charity-givers in the live audience bid on nbc.com for the privilege of attending the show (50 will be at each of the night's two live broadcasts). Each of the 100 people paid $100 � amounting to $10,000 � which was donated to the American Red Cross disaster relief fund.

Last year's season-ending cliffhanger left Grace (Emmy winner Debra Messing) in a romantic bind with a married man while Will (Emmy winner and repeat 2005 nominee Eric McCormack) discovered that Karen's (Emmy winner and 2005 repeat nominee Megan Mullally) ex-husband Stan -- thought to be dead -- was in fact, alive.

The season premiere will follow up on these plot lines, and also offer viewers more news on Jack's (Emmy winner Sean Hayes, who also was nominated in 2005) new job as the host of his own talk show. Baldwin (also a 2005 Emmy nominee for his performance in "Will & Grace") returns as Will's new boss who is secretly working for Stan while also romancing Karen.

David Kohan and Max Mutchnick are the creators and executive producers of "Will & Grace." Burrows is director and executive producer. Gary Janetti, Tracy Poust and Jon Kinnally serve as executive producers and showrunners. "Will & Grace" is a production of KoMut Entertainment in association with NBC Universal Television Studio and Three Sisters Entertainment.