For The People's Wesam Keesh Reveals His Shondaland Universe Experience - Exclusive

A television series is not only brought to life by its actors; it, in some ways, depends on them to succeed, with their acting choices and permutations representing themselves and the project. Therefore, when an actor puts their all into a role, it translates to viewers, transcending past the screen and into hearts and lives. Such is often the case for Wesam Keesh, who undoubtedly puts his all into each role he receives, and whose career shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. 

Keesh has most recently been known for his work on "Law & Order: Organized Crime," but he's also appeared on other criminal justice procedurals, including "NCIS: Los Angeles" and even the OG "NCIS" in 2011 (via IMDb). However, in this sub-genre, he's best known for his work on the Shonda Rhimes-created "For the People," a court drama likely set in the Shondaland universe, even if it never directly crossed over with "Grey's Anatomy" or "How to Get Away with Murder," for example. ("How to Get Away with Murder" did cross over with "Scandal," though, per ABC.)

In "For the People," Keesh portrayed Jay Simmons, and he starred alongside Hope Davis, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Ben Rappaport, and Ben Shenkman, among other regular cast members. However, while "Grey's Anatomy" has been on the air forever, "For the People" lasted just 20 episodes, premiering in 2018 and ending the next year. Luckily for us, we recently sat down with Keesh, who told us not only about his experience on "Law & Order: Organized Crime" but also his experience entering the Shondaland universe.

For Wesam Keesh, each new project he takes on allows him to explore deeper layers of his craft, and he's always forging new and strong connections with the cast and crew of each series, too. The same is true for his work on Shonda Rhimes' "For the People." "First of all, I'm so proud of being part of the show 'For the People,'" Keesh told us. "The stories we were telling were amazing, incredible, illuminating. Things that were going on in our world currently, in our country, within our communities, and the writing was so special because it was so good."

Unlike other series, Keesh ensured us that working on "For the People" meant he "didn't want to improv" because everything about it was already important and meticulously crafted. "Shondaland Productions are some of the most well-oiled machines out there," Keesh continued. "You're going to work on some productions that have a little hiccups here and there, but I'm telling you, it was smooth sailing, at least from my perspective, during the whole process. It holds a special place in my heart."

"They're some awesome people, and a lot of awesome actors came from 'For the People,'" Keesh added. Ultimately, working on "For the People" was a dream for Keesh, and he had just one finite thing to say about it. "There's not one negative thing I can really say about the entire production," he concluded.

You can catch Wesam Keesh on NBC's "Law & Order: Organized Crime." New episodes air Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET.