Billie Lourd, the granddaughter of Debbie Reynolds, is set to pay tribute to her late grandmother in a very touching way. On Thursday, it was announced that the 27-year-old actress has joined the cast of "Will & Grace," playing the granddaughter of her late grandmother's character.
Lourd, who is also the daughter of the late Carrie Fisher, confirmed the happy news on her Instagram, alongside a gallery of images featuring Reynolds from the sitcom.
"I have watched and loved Will & Grace since I was (probably too) young. So getting to watch my grandma play Grace’s mom was one o’ the coolest things to happen to my young willandgraceobsessed self," Lourd wrote. "Next week I get to play my real life grandma’s on-screen granddaughter on one of my favorite shows and there are not enough happy adjectives in the world to convey the excitement I feel."
She also thanked the cast and producers for "bringing me into the Adler fam."
"Will & Grace" co-creator and executive producer Max Mutchnick shared the exciting news on his Instagram as well.
"It's Hollywood royalty on the 'Will & Grace' stage this week. Billie Lourd plays the granddaughter of real life grandmother Debbie Reynolds. I loved Debbie, I loved Carrie and I love this apple who did not fall far from her trees," he captioned a photo of the pair.
According to Deadline, Lourd will guest star as Fiona Adler, Grace Adler's (Debra Messing) niece in the final season of the groundbreaking comedy. The episode, which is set to tape on Sept. 25, will feature Fiona reconnecting with her "cool aunt" Grace.
Reynolds portrayed the character Bobbi Adler, Grace Adler's show business mother, in 12 episodes of the NBC sitcom, spanning from 1999 to 2006. In 2000, her stint earned her an Emmy nomination. The late actress died on Dec. 28, 2017, one day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher, passed away.
Last year, Messing shared memories of her on-screen mother at the PaleyFest in Los Angeles, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“Debbie was really indescribable,” she said. “She would come onstage and she was a broad in the greatest sense. She always was entertaining and singing and dancing and she was running off and doing a one woman show 300 days of the year. It was just crazy.”
“She and I would sit together and we would talk about being mothers because I was a new mother,” Messing added. “She would talk about Carrie and we would talk about the challenges of being a working mom.”
In July, it was announced that the revival will say goodbye to viewers after the upcoming 2020 season. In an NBC press release, the show's executive producers explained that the actors and writers wanted to go out with a bang.
“We think of the 'Will & Grace’ reboot episodes the way Karen Walker thinks of martinis — 51 is not enough, 53 is too many," Mutchnick, David Kohan and James Burrow joked.
Other guest stars announced to appear on the show's finale season include Demi Lovato and Ryan Phillippe, who will reportedly be playing himself.