Ahead of his next Broadway run, Jesse Williams is set to star in the opioid drama Spider and Jessie.
The project also stars Mckenna Grace and Jojo Regina as title stars as well as Fernanda Andrade, Malia Baker, Dacre Montgomery, and Forrest Goodluck.
READ: Countdown to Halloween: 31 Best Movies to Watch All October Long
Spider (Grace) and Jessie (Regina) follows two scrappy sisters, who after discovering their mother has fatally overdosed, are terrified they’ll be separated by an overburdened foster care system. As such, they conceal the body. However, the local police chief, mom’s drug counselor, and her volatile ex-boyfriend get closer to uncovering the truth, and the girls must decide just how far they are willing to go to keep their secret buried.
Dan Kay is directing and wrote the script along with Julia Keller. Production is underway in Florida.
Along with starring in Spider and Jessie, Grace and Williams will also serve as executive producers. Hungry Bull Productions led by Joseph Restaino and Jeff Hoffman from Above The Clouds are producing and co-financing.
“I am honored to join this incredible producing team and cast led by the words and direction of Dan Kay. Shining a light on the shared human conditions that lead to and from addiction, provides us an opportunity to examine our compassion for those impacted today as well as for those pathologized in our recent past.” said Williams.
READ: Marla Gibbs Joins Grey’s Anatomy Season 19 in Multi-Episode Guest Role
Also producing are Tony Stopperan, Kay, and Dan Sima with EPs Grace, Williams, Russell Gray, Yaniv Hoffman and Leal Naim. WME Independent is repping the project’s worldwide rights.
Williams’ TV and film credits include 12 seasons on Grey’s Anatomy, The Cabin in the Woods, Little Fires Everywhere, Brooklyn’s Finest and most recently Secret Headquarters. Up next he will star in Netflix’s Your Place or Mine with Reese Witherspoon.
Williams also recently ventured into the Broadway space. He made his debut in the Tony Award winning revival of Take Me Out. That role earned him a Tony Award nomination and he will return to Broadway for the newly-extended run of the play.