Being an entrepreneur means uncertainty is a way of life, even more so if they’re trying to make it in the ultra-competitive wine and spirits business.
That’s why Jesse Williams is shining a light on Black-owned spirits brands with a new docuseries entitled Distilled, premiering on August 1.
The show — which he executive produced — follows Black entrepreneurs as they “bring their brands to market, offering an in-depth look at the passion, innovation and resilience required to succeed,” according to an official synopsis. The series debuts with a look at the Williams family (no relation to the actor) and their Delta Dirt Distillery in Helena, Arkansas, which opened in April 2021 and sells a refined sweet blend vodka and tail cotton gin.
At Distilled‘s Los Angeles premiere on July 28, Jesse peeled back the docuseries’ many layers.
“We’re talking about people who are making very high level products and existing in a space that we don’t often get to see reflected,” he says, referring to the spirits business, adding, “There are a lot of ways to be an entrepreneur that doesn’t involve entertainment, sports or TikTok. You can make something, and this is a beautiful example of a family coming together to make something that they can be proud of and that everybody can enjoy.”
Jason DeCrow/Invision/AP
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As Jesse, 42, worked on the project, he found himself identifying with the Williams family and their journey in a “myriad” number of ways.
“I had a real interest in watching a family be able to hang on to their resources through all of the ways that it can be stolen, willfully or passively, indirectly or directly, stolen from you,” he explains. “Land is wealth. Land is generational value that you can pass down to your family. You can do a lot with it. And a lot of us have had it taken from us … So to be able to watch the Williams family be able to cultivate something really special and personal and bring their extended family in to all chip in to make something together is really beautiful.”
Distilled is the latest project from Jesse, who has broadened and diversified his work since his departure from Grey’s Anatomy in 2021. Since leaving the long-running primetime medical drama, he starred in the Broadway revival of Take Me Out, which earned him a Tony nomination.
He also played Tobert, a documentarian, during the third season of Only Murders in the Building, working with Selena Gomez during much of the season, following the suspicious death of actor Ben Glenroy, played by Paul Rudd.
Patrick Harbron/Hulu
“I’m trying to be around people with an incredible amount of experience and wisdom to share,” he told PEOPLE in August 2023. “I am not somebody who looks to be the big fish in a small pond. I like to learn. I like to be wrong. That is how I see my career opportunities.”
The actor also opened up to PEOPLE then about why working with Martin Short and Steve Martin on the third season of the hit Hulu series was especially meaningful to him.
“It may be the first time I’ve ever been like, ‘Oh, this is the pinch yourself moment,” he said in August 2023. “Each of them, independently and together, were such comedy pillars for me and were just so present on my screens growing up.”
With Distilled, Jesse hopes viewers walk away after watching the first episode feeling “inspired” to “feel like they can have a more tangible impact on their lives” and to support the Williams’ business.
“There’s a lot of great stuff coming out of places we already live, but we like to put an extra shine to it if it feels like it’s from somewhere else exotic — and that’s fine. I get that,” Jesse says. “But we are really at a hinge point in our society where we need to return to making and creating for ourselves — with ourselves in mind — in a lasting way. We hope that we’re … inspiring to our audiences to feel involved and inspired by what we have at our doorstep.”
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Distilled premieres August 1 on AMC+.
