David Kohan and Max Mutchnick have worked on several half-hour television comedies, but there can be no question they struck gold — twice — with the groundbreaking Will & Grace. The show made network history with its gay characters and themes when it ran on NBC from 1998-2006 and then did it all over again from 2017-2020.
The revival of the series originally came about as a YouTube short designed to support Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, but ironically the show found its second life just as Donald Trump was sworn in for his first term. Now he is president again somehow, and Kohan and Mutchnick have launched the first season of their new Hulu series Mid-Century Modern in an environment where LGBTQ is under attack from the new administration in many ways. But these creators are determined to keep politics out of it.
The series stars Nathan Lane, Nathan Lee Graham and Matt Bomer as three gay roommates living in Lane’s Palm Springs house along with his mother, played by the late great Linda Lavin, who died toward the end of production of the first season. Returning to the endangered multi-cam format, the show is reminiscent of the period when these kinds of comedies were all over the networks, but in this case, being on a streamer has allowed them a little more freedom from network censors. And they go for it, but tastefully.
Kohan and Mutchnick join me for this episode of my Deadline video series, Behind The Lens to talk about how this show came about, why it isn’t the “gay Golden Girls” ( the original idea in fact was just about older people and was cast with four major showbiz legends), the importance of Ryan Murphy’s input, how they got Lane to agree to a tv sitcom, why Bomer’s character was originally written as a 65 year old, and the shock of losing Lavin and how her death was handled in the poignant episode nine. Plus so much more.
To watch our conversation and to go ‘behind the lens’ with David Kohan and Max Mutchnick just click on the link above.
Join me every Monday and Friday during Emmy season for another edition of Behind The Lens.
