Jesse Williams is making a big return to the long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. He will return as director and guest star in the fifth episode of the show’s 19th season. The episode, which will air on Nov. 3, is called “When I Get to the Border”, and features Williams’ return as Dr. Jackson Avery. Williams has played Jackson since 2009, and over the course of 12 seasons, fans watched him develop from inexperienced intern to successful plastic surgeon, and eventually a loving father. Williams departed Grey’s Anatomy in spring 2021 shortly before the premiere of the eighteenth season. In Season 17, it was revealed that Jackson was moving to Boston. Towards the end of Season 18, Williams made a surprise return appearance as Jackson, where he got back together with his ex April and caught up with Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). At the conclusion of season 18, Meredith noted that she and Jackson are the only remaining members of their residency class still working at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, saying that his departure made her “the last man standing.”
During a recent interview with E! News, Williams teased his return, saying “Don’t want to get sniped in here, but I think it’s very likely that there will be a way that Jackson will emerge one way or another.” Williams also said that he’s had interactions with the new cast of interns who will make their debut in Season 19, noting that the five new cast members reminded him of his first season on the show: “It reminded me of when I came in a crop of four residents that had to learn the ropes. They were kind of fumbling and figuring it out, bother as actors and as characters, figuring out their role in this big, intimidating space.”
Jesse Williams is most well-known for his role in Grey’s Anatomy, but he has also directed and starred in other shows. Most recently, he served as a director on ABC’s Rebel, and executive-produced the 2021 Oscar-winning film Two Distant Strangers. This year, he also starred alongside Owen Wilson in Paramount+’s Secret Headquarters, and alongside Reese Witherspoon in Netflix’s Your Place or Mine.
The long-running hit ABC medical drama has been on air for 17 years, and follows the daily lives of surgical residents, interns, and attending physicians working at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in Seattle. Season 19 of Grey’s Anatomy will focus on a new group of interns at Grey Sloan as they face the challenges and pressure of saving lives, while also balancing their professional and private lives. The new season features a set of five brand-new interns, who are played by Alexis Floyd, Adelaide Kane, Harry Shum Jr., Niko Terho, and Midori Francis.
Grey’s Anatomy season 19 premiered on October 6, 2022 and new episodes air every Thursday on ABC at 9 pm. Checkout the official Season 19 trailer below: