Richard Greenberg to headline Take Me Out television adaptation

Richard Greenberg’s Tony Award-winning play Take Me Out is getting a limited television series adaptation at Anonymous Content, with Grey's Anatomy actor Jesse Williams attached to star.

While Greenberg adapts his play for the small screen, the series will be directed by Scott Ellis.

Set in the early 2000s, Take Me Out is a story that follows Darren Lemming (Williams), a mixed-race star center fielder for the fictional baseball team Empires. Darren decides to come out of the closet about his sexuality, however, it sparks controversy and soul searching for American’s favorite pastime, revealing long-held, unspoken prejudices both on and off the field. Facing some hostile teammates and fraught friendships, Darren is forced to confront the reality of being a gay person of color within the framework of a classic American institution. As the Empires team rally toward a championship season, the players and their fans begin to question tradition, their loyalties and the price of victory.

Notably, the play is also getting a Broadway revival, with Williams headlining and Ellis directing. The revival play, which also stars  Patrick J Adams and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, is set to begin at Second Stage’s Helen Hayes Theater in Spring 2022. The original play premiered at The Public Theater in 2002 before making its way to Broadway. It was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize and won the Tony Award for Best Play.

Director Ellis is known for directing episodes of shows including The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Modern Family.

Meanwhile, Williams is set to star in the upcoming film Marked Man and is currently filming Secret Headquarters. The actor is best known for his roles on titles like Grey’s Anatomy, The Cabin in the Woods, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Band Aid, and Selah and the Spades.