Sean Hayes talks about return to series TV

The new Sean Hayes sitcom Sean Saves the World will premiere on NBC on Oct. 3, 2013.

I’ve seen taste of the pilot here at TCA and it all looks very promising – especially with the great Linda Lavin as his mother and the addition to the cast of Smash alum Megan Hilty.

Sean plays a gay man raising a teenaged daughter and is juggling that responsibility with a demanding boss at work and a mother who he often butts heads with.

I had a quick chat with Sean after the session where I got a few questions in so I’ll share that with you later because I don’t have to to transcribe yet.

Instead, I’ll share with you some of what was said in the Q&A session with reporters.

Sean kicked things off by leading the applause for his show after a clip was shown. He then looked out at the ballroom filled with reporters and asked: “Have you all been literally sitting here since Will & Grace went off the air?”

Sean was asked about how the TV landscape has changed in terms of LGBT characters and if Will & Grace had an impact on that.

“I think, of course, it was impactful,” he said. “But to say that having been on it, I don’t want to sound egotistical. To remove myself from ‘Will & Grace,’ I would like to believe that it had a great influence on the gay movement in America. According to Joe Biden, it did.”

But he wasn’t looking to break ground when he landed the iconic role of Jack Mcfarland.

“I was 26 years old it was a job,” he said. “I auditioned and I got a job, nothing more.”

A job that lasted for eight years, won him an Emmy, and led to a thriving career on Broadway (Promises, Promises), in films (The Bucket List, The Three Stooges) and as a red-hot television producers (Hot in Cleveland, Grimm).

Of both his Will & Grace and Jack Saves the World characters being gay Hayes said: “It’s an afterthought just like any other character or minority now which is how it should be. It’s even sad that it’s a question, really.”