Jesse Williams—a.k.a. Jackson Avery—returns to Grey’s Anatomy as a guest star in E! News’ exclusive teaser clip of season 22’s Oct. 30 episode.
Jackson Avery and Meredith Grey have reunited at Grey Sloan Memorial.
E! News’ exclusive first look at Grey’s Anatomy‘s Oct. 30 episode shows Jesse Williams making a highly anticipated return to medical drama for a tense scene alongside Ellen Pompeo‘s Meredith Grey in season 22.
In the new clip, Meredith confronts Jackson about a troubling study performed by Tom Koracick (Greg Germann), a fellow former Grey Sloan Memorial surgeon who published misleading Alzheimer’s research findings.
“He only studied male mice,” she says of the befuddling case in the teaser. “I did the same experiment with female mice and when I gave them antibiotics there was no decrease in Alzheimer’s. So now, since he’s gone public, people will assume that what’s true for male mice is true for all mice.”
But Jackson—who left Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in season 17—isn’t interested in investigating the issue further, telling Meredith, “Don’t start with me please.”
In addition to remaining on as an executive producer, the 55-year-old still records voiceovers for all of the series’ episodes.
For Ellen, she chose to step down from her starring role so she could focus on new passions.
“I gotta mix it up a little bit,” she explained on The Drew Barrymore Show in 2022. “My brain is like scrambled eggs. I gotta do something new. You can’t do The New York Times crossword puzzle every single day.”
As for Jesse—who has likewise periodically guest-starred on the show since his 2021 departure—the 44-year-old previously reflected on what his time on Grey’s meant to him.
“The experience and endurance born of creating nearly 300 hours of leading global television is a gift I’ll carry always,” he shared in a statement to E! News when he exited. “I am immensely proud of our work, our impact and to be moving forward with so many tools, opportunities, allies and dear friends.”
Episode four of Grey’s Anatomy season 22 premieres on ABC at 10 p.m. ET Oct. 30. In the meantime, find out what other doctors who left Grey Sloan are up to now.
