Jesse Williams is remaining at ABC after his surprise return to Grey’s Anatomy, with a recurring role on Tim Allen‘s Shifting Gears.
Williams, 44, will appear in the second half of season 2, according to Variety. His character, Andy, is described as “a single dad who frequents Riley’s coffee cart and has eyes for Riley too.” Williams is likely playing Kat Dennings‘ love interest, which would further complicate Riley’s secret feelings for Gabriel (Seann William Scott).
His addition to the hit sitcom comes after Williams reprised his role as Dr. Jackson Avery on Grey’s Anatomy. In an episode that aired last month, Jackson was seen back at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in season 22.
Williams previously reprised the role of Jackson in season 21 alongside his onscreen love interest Sarah Drew, who played Dr. April Kepner. Viewers tuned in to watch Jackson and April’s love story on the medical drama until Drew, 45, was let go from the show in 2018 after nine seasons, alongside costar Jessica Capshaw (Arizona Robbins).
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“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.”
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.”
Williams was thankful for the chance to contribute creatively to Jackson’s exit from Grey’s Anatomy.
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“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.”
Shifting Gears, meanwhile, has followed Dennings’ Riley as she goes through a divorce while considering a potential future with Gabriel.
“Riley is literally hours out of her marriage. She should really pull it back a little bit,” Dennings, 39, joked to Us Weekly in March about Riley’s future with Gabriel. “She’s been separated for a long time and she hasn’t been emotionally in this relationship. But still, she just got out of a very long relationship.”
She continued: “She also really loves Gabriel as a friend. So I think there’s lots of reasons for the slow burn.”
Shifting Gears airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.
