?Will & Grace? will debut their eighth and final season with a live episode.

The season premiere is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 29, according to NBC. The cast will perform twice: one live half-hour performance for the East Coast at 8:30 p.m. ET (or 5:30 p.m. PT) and another for the West Coast at 8:30 PT.

?We love the idea of a live episode because we get to show the audience of ?Will & Grace? what we?ve known from day one ? we work with the best cast in network television,? said series creators and executive producers David Kohan and Max Mutchnick in a statement.

Last season?s cliffhanger involved whether or not Grace (Debra Messing) would have an affair with a married man (Eric Stoltz). Will?s new boss (Alec Baldwin) is flirting with Karen while secretly working for her husband, Stan, whom everyone thought was dead until Will discovered that he?s alive. Meanwhile, Jack got a new job as a talk show host.

?This will be like the classic golden era of television that I was weaned on, where the audiences see everything. Directing a live broadcast will be a first for me, and as long as I have been in the business, there are very few firsts,? said veteran sitcom director, James Burrows who will be directing the two shows.

Considered as a gimmick by most critics, other shows that have gone live in the past include ABC?s ?The Drew Carey Show,? NBC?s ?ER? and ABC?s daytime soap ?One Live to Live.?

Despite declining ratings the series earned 15 Emmy nominations this month, a record for the show. The Emmy Awards will air Sept. 18.






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