<I>Will & Grace</i> creators return with <i>Kings of New York</i> (14416)

The creators of Will & Grace are looking to reign again in NBC prime time with Kings of New York. After a heated bidding war, the network is close to green-lighting a pilot for a new half-hour project written and executive-produced by David Kohan and Max Mutchnick. Like the Emmy-winning Will & Grace, Kings of New York will revolve around four friends in New York. In Kings, the quartet consists of best friends from childhood. The network's commitment to Kohan and Mutchnick's new project comes as dueling lawsuits between the parties are still pending in Los Angeles superior court.

Kohan and Mutchnick sued NBC in late December, accusing the studio of shortchanging them as profit participants on the series. NBC countersued the pair in March. After the lawsuits were filed, Kohan and Mutchnick were "invited not to show up" on the set of Will & Grace by NBC brass, but in a sign of a thaw between the camps Kohan and Mutchnick returned to the series set in Studio City in September. During the past couple of years, Kohan (who's straight) and Mutchnick (who's gay) created and executive-produced the short-lived NBC sitcom Good Morning, Miami and executive-produced the CBS comedy The Stones, which was also quickly given the hook.