Jesse Williams protagonist of a miniseries about baseball and homophobia

Fresh from the long and successful experience of Grey’s Anatomy, Jesse Williams signed with the production studio Anonymous Content (the same behind True Detective, Mr. Robot e The alienist) for the lead role in a miniseries based on Take Me Out, the theatrical representation of Richard Greenberg Tony Awarded for Telling a Story of Baseball and Homophobia.

The plot of Take Me Out

Adapted by Greenberg and directed for the first episode by the Emmy nominee Scott Ellis (30 Rock, The wonderful Mrs. Maisel), Take Me Out, a project not yet officially ordered, is set in the early 2000s and focuses on Darren Lemming (Williams), a mixed-race outsider who plays for the fictional Empires. His decision to come out sparks controversy, revealing long-standing unspoken prejudices both on and off the pitch. Faced with the hostility of some teammates and difficult friendships, Darren is forced to confront the reality of being a gay black person within a classic American institution. As the Empires take on the championship, players and their fans begin to question tradition, their loyalty and the price of victory.

Williams had already been cast to play Lemming on Broadway, in an Ellis-directed revival that was postponed to spring 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Other screen stars Patrick J. Adam (Suits) e Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), currently not confirmed in the television adaptation. “I am incredibly honored by the opportunity to expand on such a profound narrative,” Williams said in a statement published by Deadline. “The questions and challenges presented by Richard’s material are crucial and seemingly limitless, going to the heart of ‘masculinity marketing’. What are we really, if our own peace is so easily threatened by the peace of others?”