The first season of Will & Grace premiered on September 21, 1998, and concluded on May 13, 1999. It consists of 22 episodes.
Main Cast
- Eric McCormack as Will Truman
- Debra Messing as Grace Adler
- Sean Hayes as Jack McFarland
- Megan Mullally as Karen Walker
- Gary Grubbs as Harlin Polk (11 episodes)
Recurring Cast
Guest stars
- Shelley Morrison as Rosario Salazar
- Debbie Reynolds as Bobbi Adler
- Molly Shannon as Val Bassett
- Rudy Galindo as himself
- Wendie Jo Sperber as April
- David Sutcliffe as Campbell
- Raphael Sbarge as Alex
- Miguel Ferrer as Nathan Barry
- Julian McMahon as Guy in Elevator
Episodes
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Writer | Director | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Love and Marriage | David Kohan & Max Mutchnick | James Burrows | September 21, 1998 | |
| As Grace was planning on breaking up with Danny, he unexpectedly proposes. Will advises her not to get married because she deserves someone more than Danny so Grace leaves him at the altar. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | A New Lease on Life | David Kohan & Max Mutchnick | James Burrows | September 21, 1998 | |
| Jack moves in with Will but proves to be a terrible roommate while Grace moves out of Danny's place and finds a new apartment in Brooklyn. Jack and Karen meet for the first time. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | Head Case | David Kohan & Max Mutchnick | James Burrows | ||
| Will deals with his issues with sharing as they try to settle Grace's problem with her small bathroom. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | Between a Rock and Harlin's Place | David Kohan | James Burrows | ||
| Will sets Grace up to design his biggest client Harlin Polk's new apartment. Grace however is worried that Will's controlling and perfectionist attitude will complicate things. Jack and Karen prepare for his one-man show, Just Jack. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | Boo! Humbug | Jon Kinnally | James Burrows | ||
| While Jack and Karen go downtown to celebrate Halloween, Will and Grace decide to stay in saying it is a holiday for children. Harlin drops by however and leaves his children for them to babysit for the night. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | William, Tell | William Lucas Walker | James Burrows | ||
| Grace feels suspicious that Will is hiding a secret so she and Jack rummage through his things to find out who he is having dinner with. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | Where There's a Will, There's No Way | Jhoni Marchinko | James Burrows | ||
| Grace thinks he does not feel attracted to men anymore because she and Will are having too much fun together. Will helps out Jack to whom the IRS has been sending red letters for not paying his taxes. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | The Buying Game | Dava Savel | James Burrows | ||
| Grace decides to buy her office space but was tricked by the owner to sign at a high cost. Will helps her out by pointing out how bad she is at business. Jack tries to become a masseur and invites Karen as her guinea pig. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | The Big Vent | Tracy Poust | James Burrows | ||
| Will and Grace find out that they can hear their downstairs neighbor through the vent on the floor. Karen helps Jack write and hold auditions for his play. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | James Burrows | ||||
|
Against Will's wishes, Grace gets a puppy from the pound, which Will immediately loves and becomes obsessed with. | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | Will on Ice | Michael Patrick King | James Burrows | ||
| Will and his friends plan to celebrate his birthday by seeing Champions on Ice on Madison Square Garden and having dinner at Balthazar. | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | My Fair Maid-y | Adam Barr | James Burrows | ||
| Grace gets more and more stressed as the annual Sublime Design Showcase draws near so Will hires a maid to clean up after her. | ||||||
| 13 | 13 | The Unsinkable Mommy Adler | Alex Herschlag | James Burrows | ||
| Grace's mother comes to town so she mentally prepares herself from her criticisms. | ||||||
| 14 | 14 | Big Brother is Coming (Part I) | David Kohan | James Burrows | ||
| Will's estranged brother Sam comes to town and Grace invites him to Jack's birthday party. | ||||||
| 15 | 15 | Big Brother is Coming (Part II) | David Kohan | James Burrows | ||
| Will finds out that Grace has slept with his brother Sam and immediately becomes mad at her because Grace is "his". | ||||||
| 16 | 16 | Yours, Mine or Ours | Ellen Idelson & Rob Lotterstein | James Burrows | ||
| Will and Grace each meet a new neighbor named Peter at the elevator. They both find out that they were both invited to dinner with him so they ask Jack to find out if he is gay or straight. | ||||||
| 17 | 17 | Secrets and Lays | Dava Savel | James Burrows | ||
| Grace has everyone go up to Karen's cabin in the woods to distract Will from his upcoming anniversary with his ex-boyfriend Michael. | ||||||
| 18 | 18 | Grace, Replaced | Katie Palmer | James Burrows | ||
| Will meets Val and immediately finds a connection with her which drives Grace jealous. Jacks get 40 hours of community service for slapping a meter maid. | ||||||
| 19 | 19 | Will Works Out | Michael Patrick King & Tracy Poust & Jon Kinnally | James Burrows | ||
| Jack overhears Will calling him a "fag" because of his antics at the gym. Grace and Karen try to have a girl's night for the first time. | ||||||
| 20 | 20 | Saving Grace | Jhoni Marchinko | James Burrows | ||
| Grace is stressed out in trying to get a job to design for Nathan Berry, an arrogant publicist. She lands the job using one thing the other designers don't have: Will. | ||||||
| 21 | 21 | Alley Cats | Jhoni Marchinko & Alex Herschlag | James Burrows | ||
| Will and Grace's friends Rob and Ellen admit their discomfort during their friendly games because of Grace's competitiveness. Jack teaches Karen how to CPR. | ||||||
| 22 | 22 | Object of My Rejection | Adam Barr | James Burrows | ||
| Will finds out that Grace is going out with Danny whom he left at the altar months prior. Karen's maid Rosario makes her first appearance and consults Will about her green card which is about to expire. They find a solution by getting Rosario and Jack married. After the wedding Will and Grace decide that she should move out. | ||||||
Trivia
- This is the only season to feature Gary Grubbs as part of the main cast. He later appears as a guest star during the second season until his character is eventually written out.
- Future regular cast member Shelley Morrison only appears in the season finale as her character Rosario is first introduced.