Black Lightning's Cress Williams Almost Starred as Main Will & Grace Cast Member

The cast of iconic sitcom Will & Grace almost looked very different. During a recent episode of their Just Jack & Will podcast (via TVLine), Sean Hayes and Eric McCormack reveal that the original pilot for the 1998 NBC sitcom included, in addition to the two of them, Debra Messing and Megan Mullally, future Black Lightning Star Cress Williams with Williams playing a character who would have been the fifth series regular.

"There were five characters as regulars, and the fifth was my partner in my small law firm," McCormack said. "I think [he was] written probably as Jewish, and yet in the end it was Cress Williams."

According to the actors, during production on the pilot, director James Burrows decided early on that fie characters was just too many and Williams' character was axe, leaving the core four that would go on to star on the show for its eight original seasons and the three revival seasons as well.

"It was just one of those things where, two days in — and I wasn't aware of this, I'm not thinking with this kind of critical eye or ear — Jimmy just went to the boys and said, 'It's just too many. It's one finger too many. These four are the show,'" McCormack said.

"I felt so terrible," he continued. "it was nothing he did or didn't do. It was just like my character on the Jenny McCarthy show the year before. It just didn't fit what the dhow was supposed to be."

Williams went on to appear in numerous television series — including ER and Hart of Dixie — before starring as the superhero Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning in The CW's Black Lightning which in turn became part of the network's larger Arrowverse, leading to appearances on The Flash and DC's Legends of Tomorrow (as part of "Crisis on Infinite Earths".)

Did Black Lightning Appear in The Flash Series Finale?

The Flash ended its nine-season run earlier this year, bringing the Arrowverse to an end as well and with the season closing out The CW's long-running shared DC universe — technically, Superman & Lois will continue for a fourth season, but that series has established that it takes place in a separate reality so is, at best, Arrowverse-adjacent — the final season of The Flash saw a number of guest stars. Stars from Supergirl, Batwoman, and Arrow all made appearances in various episodes of The Flash's final season — but Black Lightning was not among them. Williams last appeared as the character in Season 8 of The Flash's episode "Armageddon, Part 2". The Flash ended its run on May 23rd and the final season is now streaming on Netflix.

What do you think about the idea that Will & Grace almost had five main characters? How do you think it would have changed the show overall? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!