From the Twitter responses we got with 'Best Friends Forever' and the small feedback we are getting as the show is meted out, I think people are seeing themselves in the show and enjoying seeing female friendship portrayed in the way it really is.
I used to watch 'Cagney & Lacey' with my mum back in the day. I can't remember any of their storylines, but I remember really knowing these two friends like I would know real people.
I wanted to show platonic friendship between men and women, because I think it is underutilised in fiction.
I certainly want to portray the importance of friendship. I had noticed in movies and TV shows that friends often treated one another terribly, and my friends, the few I have, are never cruel to me or unkind, so I wanted to convey that.
I come from the New York theatre world, and I have a lot of gay male friends, so this friendship of Will and Grace's isn't such a stretch.
I think that women definitely have a special bond as friends that is hard to describe to men, and we don't often see that portrayed narratively.
I love 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and 'Extras' and also 'The Trip.' That had all the nuances of friendship and finding things out about their lives without it being too much plot-driven.
It's quite difficult to write about female friendship without it seeming to be a very niche subject. It's a difficult balance.
Believe it or not, friendships are difficult to write in fiction. They can easily come across as forced, particularly if they involve too much explication and too many overt gestures of affection.
