Grey's Anatomy Star Sarah Drew Weighs In On A Japril Spin-Off
ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" is in its 19th season and is currently on the air as one of the longest-running primetime shows. The drama follows the personal and professional lives of the various medical personnel at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. While primarily an ensemble drama, the show's protagonists for the first 11 seasons were Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). Dempsey would eventually leave the show, and Pompeo has recently taken on a reduced role in the 19th season (via TV Line), paving the way for the ensemble to take more focus.
Yet, over its 19 seasons, several supporting characters have captured viewers' hearts. Two of them were April Kepner (Sarah Drew) and Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams), two doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial with a tumultuous romantic history. Married and divorced, then seeing their love rekindled again, April and Jackson has always been a favorite fan relationship. In the show's 400th episode, the couple – who had departed the series before fans knew for sure if they were together again – returned to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, confirming their love was reignited.
Since that reunion, Sarah Drew has commented on fans freaking out over "Japril" and what it is like being part of such an iconic pairing that fans have wholeheartedly embraced.
Sarah Drew says that her and Jesse Williams have talked about a spin-off following their characters
Chatting with Entertainment Tonight at Variety's Power of Women event, Sarah Drew talked about how much fans of April and Jackson's relationship would love to see them in their own TV show. "So many people ask me about a 'Japril' spinoff, and Jesse and I have both been very verbal about how much we would love to see something like that happen," she told Entertainment Tonight.
"We love working together. We love that relationship, and any opportunity to get to see them onscreen together more, I think a lot of people would be happy about that," she elaborated. "We'd be happy with that, so we'll see."
According to Drew, there aren't any current plans in the works for April and Jackson to return in Season 19, but she said that their Season 18 appearance only had about three weeks notice before filming, so truly, anything is possible.
Drew also remarked on Pompeo's exit from the show. "I mean, she has been killing it for so many years, building that show up from the ground up," Drew said. "Of course, she wants to go off and do other incredible things."