Is a ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Spin-off Possible With Newly Exited Star?

Thursday night’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy was certainly a bittersweet one. While fans were delighted to see April Kepner (Sarah Drew) return, she was partially there to help usher her ex-husband Jackson Avery into a new phase of his life and career and subsequently actor Jesse Williams off the show. As Jackson prepares to leave Grey Sloan Hospital in order to run his family’s foundation in Boston, he tells his mother Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) that he wants to work to create equity in medicine after seeing the horrific inequality brought into even sharper relief during the coronavirus pandemic. “I want to reallocate every penny that we have to equity in medicine: women’s health, trans health, racially equity,” Jackson explains. “I want everyone who the country abuses to be served.”

Before he leaves, he asks April to go with him so they can continue to co-parent their daughter, and she agrees. While things do not take a turn for the romantic, much to the chagrin of Japril fans, that foundation of love is still there and the deep bond that they still share takes center stage. Former spouses, fighting injustice and falling back in love perhaps? Sounds like a great idea for a show. Spin-offs centered around fan-favorite characters is hardly new in the Grey’s universe — Private Practice focused on Addison Shepherd (Kate Walsh) and Station 19 followed Ben Warren (Jason George) into his new career as a firefighter — so could a show about Jackson and April be next?

Sarah Drew is game. “Yes! I mean, you guys, how cool would that show be?” Drew told reporters on Friday. “I gotta be honest. I’ve been on Twitter and Japril was, I think, trending worldwide all day. It was absolute insanity.” Drew revealed that the crew even thought that they were filming an episode for a spin-off show when she returned after seasons away. “They were like, ‘Oh, we thought this was a spinoff.’ It feels like it’s setting up for a really great journey,” she said. “And I was like, ‘I know.’ How amazing and needed is a show about racial justice in the medical field and inequity and equality. How amazing would that be?”

“I gotta say, I got so fired up watching the episode last night because Jesse Williams just freaking killed it. His passion for all this stuff shines through in his performance so beautifully and brilliantly,” Drew explained. “But I just kept thinking like, ‘How cool would this couple be? Him working from the position of having money and power to be able to make that change. And she’s working with folks experiencing homelessness and she’s also doing that in her own way.’ These two could change the world of medicine, right? I’d watch that show.”

While nothing official has been announced, dedicated fans immediately latched on to the idea following the episode and began tweeting in support, even starting a petition. “IF THE JAPRIL SPIN OFF HAPPENS I WILL NEVER COMPLAIN AGAIN,” one fan wrote. Stranger things have certainly happened on Grey’s Anatomy.