Jesse Williams Returns to 'Grey's' After [Spoiler]'s Death, Cast Hiatuses

Following a major character death and some cast hiatuses, Grey’s Anatomy is giving fans what they want by bringing back Jesse Williams as Dr. Jackson Avery.

ABC confirmed the news in a trailer that aired on Thursday, October 23, which showed Jackson back at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. In addition to the familiar face, the sneak peek also teased Jo (Camilla Luddington) possibly going into labor but she isn’t sure — leaving her husband, Link (Chris Carmack), surprised.

Williams, 44, previously reprised the role of Jackson in season 21 alongside his onscreen love interest Sarah Drew, who plays Dr. April Kepner. Viewers tuned in to watch Jackson and April’s love story on the medical drama until Drew was let go from the show in 2018 after nine seasons alongside costar Jessica Capshaw (Arizona Robbins).

“The characters of Arizona and April are permanently woven into the fabric of Grey’s Anatomy thanks to the extraordinary work of Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew,” then-showrunner Krista Vernoff said in a statement at the time. “As writers, our job is to follow the stories where they want to go and sometimes that means saying goodbye to characters we love. It has been a joy and a privilege to work with these phenomenally talented actresses.”

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Drew, 45, later told The Hollywood Reporter that Vernoff, 53, explained away her character’s departure as “she felt like April had been through so much and had come out the other side and that she didn’t know what she could put her through again.”

During season 14, April married her ex Matthew (Justin Bruening) and decided to leave her job at the hospital to prioritize her faith. This upset fans who were hoping to see April get back together with ex-husband Jackson.

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April and Jackson did reconnect when Williams made his own departure from the series in May 2021. During season 17, Jackson moved to Boston to take over his family’s foundation and April joined him with their daughter, Harriet.

“I directly impacted the dialogue, especially the episode a couple of weeks ago with me going to find my dad. I was directly involved in all of that language,” Williams told Entertainment Weekly at the time about helping create his exit. “I know the character as well as anybody. People come and go — some writers come and go, directors come and go, but I’m that character all day, every day. So it’s just really beautiful for that to be acknowledged, and to feel included. It’s a privilege.”

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The actor praised the writers’ room for allowing him to have a say in how his character would wrap up his time on Grey’s Anatomy.

“I feel really honored by having the opportunity to really form a story with our writers that honors the character and the characters around him, that world, and also has a connection to the real world,” he added. “It really marks a journey for him, particularly the personal element to the role with his father and really digging into self-improvement. That really impacted me.”

Since his time on Grey’s, Williams has found success with various other roles — including his new Prime Video series Hotel Costiera.

“That was fun. I love pushing myself in many ways but in that way [it] was really awesome,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in September. The hardest part was I was exhausted after working long hours and as a producer you always have several more hours of work to do after.”

Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.