Known for being the first sitcom to include a gay male lead and heralded for its quick-witted dialogue, Will & Grace spanned eight seasons making for nearly a decade of TV. And while they found praise for their positive representations of gay men, they also faced criticism for arguably reinforcing stereotypes of the gay community.
Luckily, the gays have a notorious sense of humor for just such occasions.
Mining lesbian content in the series has also been up for debate seeing that while Will, Grace, Jack and Karen managed to bring serious human rights issues to primetime, the lesbian storylines served mostly as comic relief. Turns out, there are plenty o’ lesbians in the now classic series. So many in fact, that this list goes to 11. Starting this week, Logo (AfterEllen.com’s parent company) is now running episodes of Will & Grace, and we’ve got your viewing guide right here!
1. “My Uncle the Car” (Season 3/ Episode 15)
Yup, she’s a nun. Ellen DeGeneres guest stars as Sister Louise, a zoo-loving nun who attempts to overcharge Grace when she tries to renegotiate the sale of her uncle’s car.
2. “Girl Trouble” (Season 3/ Episode 4)
Aside from Natasha Lyonne making an appearance as Grace’s new intern, Will casts a lesbian couple, affectionately nicknamed Starsky and Butch, in his gay seminar sensitivity training dramatization to which Jack disapprovingly exclaims, “Billie Jean King, there are lezzies in this!” Martina Navratilova, why yes there are.
3. “Dyeing is Easy, Comedy is Hard” (Season 4/ Episode 15)
The episode in which Rosie O’Donnell plays herself, er I mean, Bonnie, the single mother to Jack’s son. Bonnie is concerned that Jack is putting her son at risk by being so openly gay around him when it turns out, spoiler alert, Bonnie is just struggling to come out to her son herself.
4. “Hocus Focus” (Season 4/ Episode 24)
As bisexual celebrity photographer Fannie Lieber, Glenn Close dry humps and later kisses Grace.
5. “The Kid Stays Out of The Picture” (Season 5/ Episode)
While Will and Grace are making plans to have a baby, Grace finds herself swept away by Leo, the great kissing doctor. Showing Karen just how great of a kisser, Grace plants one on her. Finally, all that sexual tension was getting exhausting.
6. “Fagmalion Part Three- Bye Bye Beardy” (Season 5/ Episode 17)
The four friends find themselves at a Human Rights Campaign gala where the gay stereotypes fly. Grace learns to rewire a lamp in the ladies room and Karen finds out that lesbians can actually be funny.
7. “Birds of a Feather Boa” (Season 8/ Episode 7)
Traci Lords plays Rose, an activist gathering signatures against the planned separation of two gay penguins at the zoo. In the process of opening up to Will, she accidentally realizes she is a lesbian. Meanwhile, Grace gets stuck in a dress at a funeral and Karen attempts to set her free saying, “Honey, I know how to get a woman out of a dress. I was very popular at Sarah Lawrence.”
8. “Buy, Buy Baby” (Season 8/ Ep 18)
BRITNEY SPEARS PLAYS A LESBIAN. Ahem, I mean, Miss Spears plays Jack’s new ultra-conservative co-host Amber Louise who admits she is a closeted lesbian just wanting to be on TV. Wanda Sykes also makes a guest appearance as Karen’s manhandled surrogate who takes Karen’s last name because she is “old-fashioned.”
9. “Queens For a Day” (Season 7/ Episode 10)
Will, trying to impress his boyfriend Vince’s mom on Thanksgiving, discourages Vince’s sister Ro from announcing that she is a lesbian. This episode wins for most lesbian stereotypes encapsulated in an episode of anything ever including but certainly not limited to Ani, Birkenstocks, football and multiple cats.
10. “East Side Story” (Season 6/ Episode 17)
Chloe Sevigny and Edie Falco play flipping dykes! A lesbian power couple of apartment flipping dykes who challenge Will and Grace on an East Side property that is. Grace convinces Will that the apartment is theirs and that she won’t let “a couple of Ellen-lovin’, Jenny Shimizu calendar-buyin’, Uggs in the summertime-wearin’, lady lovers” scare them off.
11. “Last Ex to Brooklyn” (Season 6/ Episode 2)
Leo invites his ex, played by Mira Sorvino, to dinner and Karen spends the evening propositioning her and complimenting her ka-tits. Any episode in which Karen lets her bi-flag fly deserves to make any and all best of lists. Period.
Here’s a little video reminder of the lesbian/bi magic on Will & Grace:
What are you favorite gay lady moments on Will & Grace?
Will & Grace airs on Logo weekdays from 5-7 PM and 11 PM — 1 AM.
