TV News Wrap-Up: ‘The Flash’ Loses Two Original Cast Members, ‘Leverage: Redemption’ Premiere Date, Jesse Williams to Exit ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

NBC continues to expand the Law & Order universe, the Leverage team is back on the con, and several popular shows are renewed.

Grab your cosmic staff and check out this week’s news!

Jesse Williams to Exit ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

After 12 seasons as Dr. Jackson Avery, Jesse Williams is checking out of Grey-Sloan.

Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 Episode 14, “Look Up Child,” set the stage for Jackson’s exit, as he decided to move to Boston to take over his family’s foundation. In the process, possibly reuniting with ex April, since she and their daughter Harriet are moving with him.

“I will forever be grateful for the boundless opportunities provided me by Shonda, the network, studio, fellow castmates, our incredible crew, Krista, Ellen and Debbie,” Williams said in a statement.

Williams joined the show in Season 6 when Jackson came to Seattle Grace in the merger with Mercy West.

“As an actor, director and person, I have been obscenely lucky to learn so much from so many and I thank our beautiful fans, who breathe so much energy and appreciation into our shared worlds,” Williams continued. “The experience and endurance born of creating nearly 300 hours of leading global television is a gift I’ll carry always. I am immensely proud of our work, our impact and to be moving forward with so many tools, opportunities, allies and dear friends.”

Williams’ final episode airs Thursday, May 20.

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

‘The Flash’ Season 7 to be Last for Carlos Valdes, Tom Cavanagh

Two original members of Team Flash are officially leaving STAR Labs. TVLine reports, Carlos Valdes, who plays Cisco Ramon, and Tom Cavanagh, the man of many Wells, are set to exit The Flash.

Cisco is Barry’s biggest champion and best friend. He creates the tech the team uses to defeat rogues, and has also designed many of the costumes and equipment used by heroes across the Arrowverse.

As Vibe he was essential to many of the group’s biggest fights including ‘Crisis on Earth X” and “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” And of course, he names most of the villains.

In Cavanagh’s case this isn’t a huge surprise. In the Season 7 premiere, Nash Wells sacrificed himself, and the other Wells to help power the speed force. That moment led to the resurrection of the original Harrison Wells, who then left to travel through time, and reunite with his wife.

At least once more this season, Cavanagh is set to guest star as Harrison Wells.

The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

The CW Renews ‘Kung Fu,’ ‘Stargirl’

The CW is banking on two of its best heroes, as the network has renewed Kung Fu and Stargirl, per Variety.

The reboot stars Olivia Liang as Nicky, a young Chinese-American woman as she tracks down the assassin who killed her mentor, while using her extraordinary skills to save her neighborhood from bad guys.

We are beyond proud to continue to share the stories of Nicky Shen and Courtney Whitmore, two strong, powerful young women at the center of this new generation of hit shows for The CW in Kung Fu and DC’s Stargirl,” said Mark Pedowitz, chairman and CEO of The CW Network.

“While each boasts remarkable talent on both sides of the camera, Kung Fu and DC’S Stargirl have not only treated fans to some visually stunning action and high-flying heroics, but they also both strike very powerful emotional chords as they delve into the family dynamics and personal relationships at their core, and we are so excited to see what happens next,” he continued.

Ahead of Stargirl’s Season 2 summer premiere, it has been renewed for Season 3.

Courtney and her friends will get familiar with the Justice Society as John Wesley Shipp returns as Jay Garrick and Jim Gaffigan will voice Thunderbolt.

Kung Fu airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

Stargirl Season 2 premieres Tuesday, Aug. 10 on The CW.

‘Leverage: Redemption’ Releases Teaser Trailer, Sets Premiere Date

The best thieves in the world are finally getting back in the game. TVLine reports Leverage: Redemption is set to premiere its first eight episodes Friday, July 9 on IMDB TV. The subsequent eight will premiere in Fall.

Original cast members Gina Bellman, Beth Riesgraf, Christian Kane, and Aldis Hodge will return for the revival, with Hodge set as recurring due to his busy filming schedule.

They will be joined by Noah Wyle as Harry Wilson, a corporate lawyer who realizes he’s been on the wrong side, and Aleyse Shannon as Breanna Casey, Hardison’s foster sister, who also happens to be a tech genius.

The original Leverage ran for five seasons on TNT and is available to stream on IMDB TV.

In the new series, the team “have watched the world change over the last eight years. Since their last job, it’s become easier (and sometimes legal) for the rich to become richer and the powerful to squash anyone who gets in their way.”

Alexander Skarsgård, Adrien Brody Join ‘Succession’ Season 3

One of HBO’s most popular stars is returning to the network. Variety reports, Alexander Skarsgård is set to join Succession Season 3.

He will play the recurring role of Lukas Matsson, “a successful, confrontational tech founder and CEO.”

Skarsgård is no stranger to HBO, as he spent seven seasons on True Blood, and won an Emmy for his work on Big Little Lies. He also recently wrapped up CBS All Access’ The Stand, playing the evil Randall Flagg.

Additionally, Academy Award winner Adrien Brody is set to join Succession Season 3 as Josh Aaronson, per Deadline. The character is described as “a billionaire activist investor who becomes pivotal in the battle for the ownership of Waystar.”

The actors are the latest in a stellar guest cast that includes Hope Davis, Sanaa Lathan, Linda Emond, and Jihae

Succession is streaming on HBO Max, with Season 3 is currently in production.

NBC Orders new ‘Law & Order’ Series ‘For the Defense’

When the apocalypse comes, all that will be left of humanity is cockroaches, Twinkies, and Law & Order. Deadline reports, Dick Wolf is working with CSI executive producer Carol Mendelsohn on another entry in the TV staple.

With a straight to series order for Law & Order: For the Defense, NBC has confirmed it will never be done with the venerable franchise.

For the Defense focuses on a criminal defense firm, depicting the justice system from a different side than it usually does.

“This new show is exciting for me personally,” Wolf said. “We spent the last 30 years on shows that played offense. Now it will be great to play defense, and being able to do it with Carol is an honor and an opportunity for both of us to do television that hasn’t been done before.”

NBC’s current schedule includes Law & Order: SVU, the longest-running live-action series in TV history, and its spinoff, Law & Order: Organized Crime, which recently premiered to record numbers.

Law & Order: SVU airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC, followed by Law & Order: Organized Crime at 10/9c.

‘The Wilds’ Reveals New Season 2 Cast Members

With the reveal in The Wilds Season 1 finale that there’s also a secret boys island full of teenagers unwittingly being experimented on, Amazon has announced its cast for Season 2.

Since the creepy experiment’s results need to match, the boys’ personalities should be somewhat similar to the girls’.

Zack Calderon is Rafael Garcia, “a quiet, sensitive teenager who lives in Tijuana but attends high school in San Diego” who “gravitates toward people with stronger, more charismatic personalities than his own.”

Aidan Laprete plays Henry Tanaka, “emo reclusive type” more interested in the “safety of his noise-canceling headphones.” His stepbrother Seth, played by Alex Fitzalan, is “naturally funny, Ivy-League smart, and full of charisma.”

Nicholas Coombe is Josh Herbert, “unlike the rest of his athletic, tennis-playing family,” is a “hypochondriacal teenager from a wealthy family in San Diego.”

Charles Alexander plays Kirin, a “short-tempered lacrosse player who doesn’t have much patience for weakness.” He tries to “take the lead first, though his hot-headed approach might not appeal to everyone.”

Miles Gutierrez-Riley is Ivan Taylor, “activist and aspiring playwright with an impeccable fashion sense and a razor-sharp wit.”

Reed Shannon and Tanner Ray Rook are best friends Scotty and Bo. Scotty is “short in stature but big in personality” and has “dreams of making the Forbes 400 list one day.” Bo is “a soft-spoken, contemplative teenager” and his “loyalty knows almost no bounds.”

The Wilds Season 1 is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, with Season 2 currently in production.

Renewals and Cancellations

In a not so surprising twist, ABC has renewed Big Sky for Season 2, per Variety. The drama stars Kathryn Winnick and Kylie Bunbury as two women investigating a rash of young women disappearing in Montana.

Big Sky airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on ABC, with its Season 1 finale scheduled for May 18.

ABC has figured out the future for one of its big medical dramas, with The Good Doctor being renewed for Season 5, per TVLine.

Starring Freddie Highmore as autistic surgeon Shaun Murphy, the show is averaging 4.23 million viewers this season, making it ABC’s third-highest drama.

The Good Doctor airs Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.

In a rare reversal, British period drama Sanditon has been uncanceled, per Deadline.

The series was originally canceled by British network ITV in 2019, however, it performed so well on PBS’ Masterpiece it has been renewed for Seasons 2 and 3 by PBS and BritBox.

Based on the final, unpublished novel by Jane Austen, Sanditon will feature star Rose Williams returning as Charlotte Heywood, along with writer Justin Young, and writer/executive producer Andrew Davies.

Unfortunately, co-star Theo James will not return, announcing his decision on the show’s Twitter page.

“Although I relished playing Sidney, for me, I’ve always maintained that his journey concluded as I wanted it to,” he wrote. “The broken fairy-tale like ending between Charlotte and Sidney is different, unique and so interesting to me and I wish the cast and crew of Sanditon every success with future series

Sanditon Season 1 is currently streaming on the Masterpiece channel on Amazon Prime Video.

FX isn’t done with motorcycle clubs, as it has renewed Mayans MC for Season 4, per TVLine.

The Sons of Anarchy spinoff is set a few years after the series finale and follows the Mayans MC as it conducts business in Santo Padre, a fictional town set on the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I am deeply indebted to everyone at FX and 20th for allowing us to continue to tell the stories of the characters that Kurt [Sutter] and I created and whom our cast and crew took to new heights in season 3,” said showrunner Elgin James. “In Season 4 we look forward to diving deeper into each character’s truths, exploring the danger of the combustible world they inhabit, and for each writer, cast member and crew to stake out our place as storytellers.”

Mayans MC airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on FX.

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