‘Will and Grace’: Alec Baldwin Officially Returning for Season 2 of Revival

Alec Baldwin will reprise his role as Malcolm Widmark on NBC‘s Will & Grace, after making two appearances in last year’s revival.

Star Debra Messing confirmed the news on Instagram late Monday, sharing a selfie with the former 30 Rock star.

“That’s right. This silver fox IS BACK! My friend [Alec Baldwin] is back and we are all peeing our pants, laughing,” Messing wrote. “First day of filming is tomorrow. Sean 2- put your seatbelts on folks, LOTS of changes!”

Baldwin appeared in six episodes during Will & Grace‘s original run, then came back for two episodes last season. His performance in the 2005 episode “Alive and Schticking” earned him an Emmy nomination. Baldwin’s character, Malcolm, is Will’s (Eric McCormack) former boss. In season nine, Malcolm returned to have an affair with Karen (Megan Mullally). In the end of the season, she chose to leave her husband for Malcolm.

The new season of Will & Grace will be the second since it was revived and 10th overall. NBC quickly renewed it last summer, even before the acclaimed revival debuted. The show was also renewed for an 11th season for the 2019-2020 season.

While critics loved the show, the revival was curiously absent in many of the major Emmy categories. Megan Mullally was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress and Molly Shannon was nominated for her guest appearance in the episode “Staten Island Fairy.” The show’s cast expressed disappointment in the lack of a nomination in the Outstanding Comedy Series field.

“I was very surprised. Obviously, I feel everyone should be nominated. It’s weird. But that does happen. There’s no rhyme or reason — who knows?” Mullally told The Hollywood Reporter.

Since awards are not everything, especially for a two-time Emmy winner like Mullally, she said it was “thrilling” to have the show back.

“Everyone is really appreciative. Last year, we had a lot of fun and I was very excited that the writers wrote a couple of really great episodes for Karen,” Mullally told THR. “Everyone always says that they love each other, but at this point, we all actually do love each other because it’s been 20 years.”

As for Baldwin’s return, Mullally said she was not sure how many episodes he will be in.

“I don’t know if that’s going to be a permanent deal, but Alec is at least coming back for a minute,” she explained. “I do happen to know that because we’re shooting that episode this week.”

Will & Grace returns on NBC on Thursday, Oct. 4 on NBC.

Photo credit: Chris Haston/NBC