'Grey's Anatomy' Fans, Jesse Williams Is Making a Grand Return to Season 19
Update, November 2, 2022:
Looks like Dr. Jackson Avery is back once again. In October 2022, Deadline announced that Jesse Williams would be returning as a guest star and director on season 19 of Grey's Anatomy. According to the outlet, Jesse's character will be seen catching up with Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) as she flies to Boston for advice about a decision that could change the future of her career.
Jesse has opened up on various occasions about what caused him to step away from the medical drama after 12 seasons. He shared his feelings about taking on more challenges in a March 2022 interview with The New York Times, saying he had started feeling too comfortable wearing the famous scrubs for over a decade.
"I knew that as I designed my exit, the next thing I did had to be terrifying," he told the outlet at the time. "I needed to get out of my comfort zone."
Jesse also talked to The Hollywood Reporter about his time on the show, telling the outlet that the character's journey often reflected real-life events occurring at the time of each episode.
"I’m really proud of being able to humanize things that are always projected to be so polarizing and far away in our society," he said at the time. "Being able to look at the way these last couple episodes how he went out, these are really polarizing topics: racism, police brutality, racial inequality in medicine, discrimination … these are things that people put their head in the sand, deny and argue about and have been political punching bags. And this character and his journey has connected with people from all walks of life."
Original, May 10, 2021:
The latest shocking Grey's Anatomy cast exit cuts deep.
After playing Dr. Jackson Avery on the popular medical drama for over a decade, actor Jesse Williams will be leaving Grey's Anatomy ahead of the season 17 finale this spring. According to Deadline, the last episode for Jesse's character will air on May 20.
"Jesse Williams is an extraordinary artist and activist. Watching his evolution these past 11 years both on screen and off has been a true gift," Grey’s Anatomy executive producer and showrunner Krista Vernoff told Deadline in a statement. "Jesse brings so much heart, such depth of care, and so much intelligence to his work. We will miss Jesse terribly and we will miss Jackson Avery — played to perfection for so many years."
The fans will also surely miss seeing the Chief of Plastic Surgery every Thursday night. To announce his exit from the series, Jesse posted screenshots of the Deadline report along with a photo of himself in character to his Instagram page. His caption for the heartbreaking post simply read: "Feels ..."
Immediately, Grey's fans flooded the comment section. "I’m not accepting your resignation !! 😭🙄," one fan wrote. "Can’t believe you’re leaving us," another said. "Crying on the floor as we speak," someone else said.
Meanwhile, several of Jesse's cast members also had things to say. "Congrats my man! What an awesome run. The water is warm out here looking forward to whats next. 👏👏👏," Giacomo Gianniotti, who recently left the series this year as well, wrote. "Love You. Mama is lost without you🙏🏼❤️❤️💋," Debbie Allen, who plays Jackson's mother Catherine on the show, said.
What's more, when the Twitter page for Grey's Anatomy tweeted out a gif of Jackson crying, Ellen Pompeo, a.k.a. Meredith Grey herself, responded, "Yeah I know the feeling @iJesseWilliams ❤️."
So why is Jesse Williams leaving Grey's Anatomy?
Since news about Jesse leaving broke last week, the actor hasn't provided a clear reason for departing the series. That said, the Deadline report does indicate that Jesse's latest two-year contract was coming up at the end of the current season. Jesse had first joined way back in 2009 and was promoted to a series regular following season 6.
Jesse, like his character, will be moving onto different projects. When he signed his new contract in 2019, he reportedly had "scaled back duties" on Grey's after preparing to make his Broadway debut for the revival of Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out. Since the project was delayed by the pandemic, the show is expected to open in early 2022.
His IMDB page also notes that Jesse is set to act in the upcoming films Team Joy (he'll also be a producer) and Marked Man.
Reflecting on his Grey's run, Jesse made it clear that he has enjoyed his time on the series, which tells us he is likely leaving on good terms.
"I will forever be grateful for the boundless opportunities provided me by Shonda [Rhimes], the network, studio, fellow castmates, our incredible crew, Krista, Ellen, and Debbie," Jesse said in a statement to Deadline. "As an actor, director, and person, I have been obscenely lucky to learn so much from so many, and I thank our beautiful fans, who breathe so much energy and appreciation into our shared worlds. The experience and endurance born of creating nearly 300 hours of leading global television is a gift I’ll carry always. I am immensely proud of our work, our impact, and to be moving forward with so many tools, opportunities, allies, and dear friends."
You Might Also Like
