NBC has ordered a second season of the much-anticipated Will & Grace revival.

According to Deadline Hollywood, out NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt made the announcement Thursday at the Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour.

Deadline also reported that the show's ninth season has been expanded for a second time to 16 episodes. The network increased its original 10-episode order to 12 in the spring.

Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally will reprise their roles as Will & Grace returns to NBC this fall to helm a new Must See TV lineup. The show's creators, David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, and director James Burrows are also returning.

Talk of reviving the Emmy-winning comedy began soon after the cast reunited last year for a 10-minute political skit that went viral ahead of the election.

Will & Grace, which premiered in 1998 and ended its run in 2006, was the first prime time network sitcom to feature a gay lead in McCormack's uptight lawyer, Will, and has been credited for helping advance the LGBT rights movement. Former Vice President Joe Biden in 2012 credited the series with helping advance marriage equality.

(Related: First Look: Will & Grace releases musical trailer.)