EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Jackson Avery is sticking around Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams has inked a new two-contract to continue on the hit ABCmedical drama.
Williams was the only major Grey’s Anatomy cast member without a deal beyond this season when ABC in May gave the series a record-breaking renewal for Seasons 16 and 17 with leading lady Ellen Pompeo set for both seasons, along with the other original Grey’sactors. In addition to a salary raise, I hear the negotiations between Williams and Grey’s Anatomy producer ABC Studios involved his availability.
Williams is set to make his Broadway debut in the upcoming Second Stage Theater revival of Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out, which will begin performances April 2, 2020, ahead of an April 23 opening.
Because of the extensive rehearsals required for mounting a Broadway production, I hear Williams will likely do a limited number of episodes of Grey’s Anatomy next season but it is too soon to tell at this point.
Williams, who came out of ABC’s Diversity Casting Program, joined Grey’s Anatomy as recurring in Season 6 and was promoted to a series regular the following season. He quickly emerged as a breakout star, with his Dr. Jackson Avery among Grey’s most popular characters.
Actor and activist Williams also has appeared in the films The Butler, The Cabin in the Woods, and Selah and the Spades. He has served as a senior producer and correspondent in America Divided and executive produced the documentary Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement.
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