My Day as an Audience Member at a Will & Grace Episode Shoot

7:31 AM

One of the best things to do in Los Angeles especially if you love TV is to watch a live taping of your favourite show. On this trip, I was lucky to have been given tickets to one of my all time favourite shows - Will & Grace. 

A definite highlight of my visit, I was able to watch a live taping of an episode of the upcoming season. Can’t give you any details of the actual episode but I can share with you more or less how the day went. 

I’ve been a big fan of the show since it started and really wanted to see a taping of the show. i was ecstatic to have gotten priority tickets to the show. I arrived at around 2:15 PM at the Universal Studios lot where I checked in and after the security check, queued with the other audience members. Deadline for checkin was at 3PM for Priority Ticket Holders. We were later shuttled to the Soundstage and were seated. If you arrive early in line, you’ll get better chances of getting seats closer to the stage. There is a restroom you can use before taking the seats or if you need it during the show. You’ll need to call or approach one of the 1iota staff to escort you out. 

The show was amazing. It took about 5 hours of actual taping of the episode. There was an audience coordinator who was funny and very informative. He’d answer questions from the audience and give other tidbits about the show. Instructions were given to the audience before the taping started to give you a feel of what the process would be like. 

It was entertaining to watch how the crew and cast work in and between takes. The cast of the show were so funny even when cameras weren’t rolling. You didn’t want to leave your seat in between shots in case you’d miss something. They would shoot a scene several times making adjustments here and there. Even if you’ve seen a scene already, it was still funny and sometimes would have dialogue changes. 

I was amazed at how the whole production takes place — from the rewrites in the room, to the moving parts, and the talented and funny cast. It was a privilege to see the cast perform, Director James Burrows instruct the production, and see the creative geniuses that make up the show. 

The cast members would also interact with the audience so it was a great experience as a fan. The episode had great guests that made watching it live even more memorable. 

Being part of the audience was really fun too. We were dancing and singing in between takes and helped the time quickly passed by. I barely noticed that it took 5 hours. The audience isn’t also instructed on specific parts of the scene to laugh at or to react to.  It was a truly memorable experience. 

We were given sandwiches, Rice Krispy treats, chocolates, candy and water in the middle of the taping. They also gave away t-shirts, signed photos of the cast, and props from the set to really active audience members. I was lucky enough to have been given a signed photo. 

After the last scene has wrapped up, the cast makes their final bows and you are ushered out of the studio. There was about 240 audience members so it took a while for all of us to get back to the gate. 


Overall it took about 8 1/2 hours of my day yesterday but it was so worth it. 

Want to get free tv audience tickets? Here's how I got them 

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