Spoiler alert: If you have not watched the most recent episode from the Will and Grace reboot, then please stop reading now. Unless, you’re the type who doesn’t mind a spoiler. BECAUSE THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.
For anyone who has been keeping up with the latest episodes of Will and Grace, you may have noticed one of the unsung heroes of the show has been missing.
I’m talking about none other than Queen Rosario:
Look, Karen really could be cruel, but she truly met her match with her maid (and, beloved friend), Rosario.
Until the latest episode, named Rosario’s Quinceanera, there has been no mention of the character. In a shock to fans, Rosario was killed off-screen and was paid tribute to in a devastating eulogy by Karen.
However, the show’s creators have finally confirmed why Rosario never made it onto the reboot.
Speaking to Variety, Max Mutchnick and David Kohan confirmed that the actress behind Rosario, Shelley Morrison, has actually retired from acting.
It would have been easy to write Rosario off with one line. Karen cracking a joke about how she was deported from America or that she had simply fired her. But, Mutchnick and Kohan both thought that her character deserved a bigger send-off.
“As Karen says in the show, “You were my everything,” and when you’re dealing with that as part of the make-up of this character’s belief system, you have to write to the heft of that,” Mutchnick says.
Listen: Why we need Will and Grace more than ever. (Post continues after audio.)
Even though Karen’s emotionless and cold characteristics became a hallmark of her personality, the eulogy she delivered to her dear friend, left many in tears, including the cast.
“Megan [Mullally, the actress who plays Karen] came to Max’s office and videotaped her reading the monologue, and it made us cry then, it made us cry in rehearsal, and it made us cry when we were shooting it on the floor,” Kohan said.
The co-creators also confirmed that Grace’s mum, played by Debbie Reynolds, will be acknowledged in some way in future episodes.
“We’ve dealt with Rosario, and we do have to deal with the loss of Bobbi Adler, Grace’s mother on the show. We will be addressing that this year,” Mutchnick added.
Well, here’s to you, Rosario. We shall miss your sharp humour, wit, and fierce love and opposition to Karen.