The best Jessica Williams movies and TV shows are not deep in quantity, but they have been incredibly impressive in her short time as an actress. Williams actually got her start as a teenager when she first appeared on the Nickelodeon television series Just for Kicks in 2006 when she was only 17. This soon led to her big break when she joined the cast of The Daily Show in 2012, which was huge for her since she was only 22 when she signed on there, the youngest correspondent ever on that news show.
It didn’t take long after that for the world of Hollywood to come calling. While she was still young and had little to no acting experience, she signed on for some movies and TV shows and ended up carving out a role as an actress. She has taken control of her career, as well, with one of her biggest starring roles coming in a movie that she worked as executive producer on (The Incredible Jessica James), and she has since taken part in both the Harry Potter universe and a TV show with Harrison Ford.
10 Road House (2024)
Jessica Williams Plays Frankie
Road House is a remake of the original 1989 film, which followed protagonist Dalton, a Ph.D. educated bouncer at the roughest bar in the south known as the Double Deuce. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Dalton, with two major changes including Dalton being a retired UFC fighter and the bar locale being in the Florida Keys.
- Director
- Doug Liman
- Release Date
- March 21, 2024
- Distributor(s)
- Prime Video
- Cast
- Jake Gyllenhaal , Daniela Melchior , Billy Magnussen , Jessica Williams , Joaquim De Almeida , Conor McGregor , Lukas Gage , Arturo Castro , B.K. Cannon , Beau Knapp , Darren Barnet , Dominique Columbus , Bob Menery
- Runtime
- 121 Minutes
In 2024, Jessica Williams joined the cast of a reboot of a classic Patrick Swayze action movie with the remake of Road House. In this new movie, Jake Gyllenhaal plays the role Swayze played in the original. He is a former UFC fighter named Elwood Dalton, who is asked to take a job as a bouncer at an unruly roadhouse in the Florida Keys to help clean the place up. When he accepts, he realizes the biker gang running the place down works for a powerful crime boss who will do anything to hold onto his power.
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Jessica Williams stars as Frankie, the bar’s owner. In the original, the owner was a man named Frank (Kevin Tighe), but here, it is a woman who owns the bar and needs Dalton to help her save it. She is a great replacement since the crime boss, Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen), making threats toward her ups the stakes even more, and it’s nice to see her in a positive, powerful role as a business owner, but not as a romantic interest.
9 Fantastic Beasts And The Crimes Of Grindelwald (2018)
Jessica Williams Plays Lally Hicks
The second film in the Harry Potter prequel franchise, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald delves deeper into the machinations of the titular villain. With the dark wizard Grindelwald intent on sparking a war between magical and non-magical societies, it falls to magizoologist Newt Scamander and a young Albus Dumbledore to stop him.
- Director
- David Yates
- Release Date
- November 16, 2018
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Cast
- Eddie Redmayne , Dan Fogler , Kevin Guthrie , Callum Turner , Katherine Waterston , Ezra Miller , Ingvar Sigurdsson , Jude Law , Johnny Depp , Alison Sudol , William Nadylam , Ólafur Darri Ólafsson , Claudia Kim , Zoe Kravitz
- Runtime
- 134 Minutes
Jessica Williams joined the Fantastic Beasts franchise with the second movie in the series, Fantastic Beasts And The Crimes of Grindelwald. Her role in this second movie was very small, and it wasn’t until the third movie that she got a chance to show what she was capable of. In this second movie, things shifted from Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and his adventures to more of a storyline with Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law)and the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen).
Lally was the Charms professor at the North American wizarding school, Ilvermorny. It was in this movie that she gave her faith in Nicholas Flamel as he was trying to warn everyone about Grindelwald’s plans for a rally in Paris, one which Newt and his friends showed up to try to thwart. As mentioned, she had a small role here, but it was nice to set her up for her bigger moments in the next movie, although the franchise ended after that without finishing the story.
8 Love Life (2021)
Jessica Williams Plays Mia Hines
Love Life is a comedy romance series created by Sam Boyd and starring Anna Kendrick and William Jackson Harper. The series acts as an anthology series, with each season following different romantic partners from their first love to their final relationship. The series was an HBO Max original that lasted for two seasons.
- Cast
- Anna Kendrick , Zoe Chao , Peter Vack , William Jackson Harper , Jessica Williams , Keith David , Lesley Manville , Sasha Compère
- Release Date
- May 27, 2020
- Seasons
- 2
- Creator(s)
- Sam Boyd
The first television series in which Jessica Williams played a main role came in 2021 with the HBO Max series Love Life. In this series, Anna Kendrick stars in the first season, which shows her trek from her first romance to her last and how the people she meets along the way influence who she finds in the end. The show was set up as an anthology series that would follow a different person each season but HBO Max canceled it after just two seasons.
For her credit, the second season with Williams as one of the leads has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, up from 63% for the first season.
Jessica Williams appeared in that second season. She played Mia Hines, a character who found love with William Jackson Harper’s Marcus Watkins. While the first season was about Kendrick’s Darby, the second was about Marcus, who meets Mia in the first episode and has several relationships before ending up with Mia. For her credit, the second season with Williams as one of the leads has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, up from 63% for the first season.
7 Fantastic Beasts And The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
Jessica Williams Plays Lally Hicks
In the third and final installment of the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, the threat of Grindelwald grows ever larger. To defeat him, Albus Dumbledore recruits Newt Scamander, along with other talented witches and wizards, to fight Grindelwald and his acolytes before their plans to destroy the non-magic world come to pass.
- Director
- David Yates
- Release Date
- April 8, 2022
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Runtime
- 142 minutes
While the Fantastic Beasts franchise ended up concluding early when there was still more story to tell, it also presented the first time that Dumbledore and Grindelwald went to battle against each other. It was also the movie where Jessica Williams went from a small supporting guest role with little to do and transformed into a fully formed character who joined the battle to go to war to fight against Grindelwald.
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Lally joined the army set up to help Dumbledore in his battle to stop Grindelwald’s rise to power in the wizarding world. In this movie, she meets Newt Scamander and joins them to battle Grindelwald’s followers in the streets. “I modeled a lot of her wand work after Serena and Venus Williams,” the actress said when describing her character. “I like that she does this really cool, strong magic like she really means it.“
6 People Places Things (2015)
Jessica Williams Plays Kat
After a small role in the 2013 Vince Vaughn comedy Delivery Man, Jessica Williams signed on for a bigger role in the 2015 Jemaine Clement movie People Places Things. In this film, Clement plays a graphic novelist named Will, who is divorced from his wife, who cheated on him with another guy and only sees his twin daughters on the weekends. He wants more time with the girls, but his ex doesn’t think he can handle it, and he has to prove himself to both her and the courts if he wants to be a more active father.
Jessica Williams has a big role as Kat, an art student who Will teaches. She asks him to come to dinner at her place so he can meet her single mother, Diane (Regina Hall). However, Diane doesn’t respect her daughter’s art studies, Will’s career as a graphic novelist, or his struggles as a single father. The film premiered at Sundance and then was released to a nice 77% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with praise going to the cast and the script.
5 Booksmart (2019)
Jessica Williams Plays Miss Fine
Booksmart is a comedy film directed by Olivia Wilde and follows two studious and by-the-book high school seniors who decide on their final day of school to shake up the formula and break some rules. Having lamented missing four potential years of fun and friendship, the best friends attempt to cram four years of the “high school experience” into a single night.
- Director
- Olivia Wilde
- Release Date
- May 24, 2019
- Distributor(s)
- United Artists
- Cast
- Lisa Kudrow , Michael Patrick O’Brien , Beanie Feldstein , Diana Silvers , Will Forte , Eduardo Franco , Kaitlyn Dever , Mason Gooding , Jessica Williams , Molly Gordon , Noah Galvin , Jason Sudeikis , Billie Lourd , Skyler Gisondo
- Runtime
- 105 minutes
The best movie that Jessica Williams ever appeared in was the 2019 coming-of-age comedy-drama Booksmart. Olivia Wilde directed the film about two high school seniors who have done everything right over their high school career and were both Ivy League-bound, but realize they missed out on having fun as teens. As a result, they decide to make up for all the fun they missed on the night before graduation, getting into all sorts of trouble along the way.
It’s a small role, but it is also a great performance from Williams as she plays a young and supportive teacher to the girls…
Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever star as the teens, Molly and Amy, but Jessica Williams also plays an important role as Miss Fine. She is Molly and Amy’s favorite teacher at school, and she ends up giving the girls a ride to a party they want to attend. It’s a small role, but it is also a great performance from Williams as she plays a young and supportive teacher to the girls and someone who knows that they deserve to have a night of fun before moving on to college.
4 Girls (2014)
Jessica Williams Plays Karen
Created by Lena Dunham, Girls is a coming-of-age comedy-drama series that follows a group of four twentysomething-year-old girls now discovering that they’re on their own and must find their way through life. Central to the show is Hannah Horvath, who, after graduating college, is cut-off financially from her family. Hannah will soon discover trying to make it as a writer in Brooklyn is far more challenging than she thinks.
- Release Date
- April 17, 2012
- Seasons
- 6
- Showrunner
- Lena Dunham
The first TV show that Jessica Williams took on as an adult after her role on The Daily Show was the HBO comedy-drama Girls. The Lena Dunham series was critically acclaimed as a more unfiltered and honest depiction of adulthood from a female perspective, although it also had detractors for its more controversial depictions of sex and relationships. Despite that, its BAFTA and Golden Globe wins show that it accomplished what it set out to do.
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Williams played a small part in the series, appearing only as Karen in four episodes. In season 3, she starred alongside Amir Arison and Michael Zegen as Hannah’s (Dunham) colleagues at GQ. One of the complaints about Girls was that there were few women of color. Williams said she appreciated the role, saying, “Her show has always been put through a magnifying glass, and I always take it with a grain of salt. It’s her art and it’s her voice. It’s not her responsibility to write from my experience” (via Huff Post).
3 The Daily Show (2012-2016)
Jessica Williams Plays Herself
The Daily Show is a late-night talk and satirical news television program that offers a humorous perspective on current events, politics, and various social issues, often through a blend of scripted segments and guest interviews.
- Cast
- Jon Stewart , Trevor Noah , Michael Showalter , Nancy Carell , Brian Unger , Rachael Harris , Samantha Bee , Matt Walsh
- Release Date
- July 22, 1996
Jessica Williams became a star thanks to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. She became a correspondent when she was 22, the youngest person ever to play the role on that specific comedy news series. She went on to appear on the show from 2012 to 2016 for 141 episodes. She also made a special one-episode return in 2024. It was here that she worked on and perfected her comedy timing and dialogue that she carried into her 2 Dope Queens podcast with Phoebe Robinson.
On The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Williams became famous for her satirical news reports on topics such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. “In general, what I cared about were women’s issues, issues for people of color and LGBT issues,” Williams said about her time on The Daily Show (via NPR). “And so once I did that, then I felt a lot more confident about what I was doing.“
2 The Incredible Jessica James (2017)
Jessica Williams Plays Jessica James
The Incredible Jessica James stars Jessica Williams as an aspiring playwright in New York City navigating the aftermath of a breakup while pursuing her career ambitions. Directed by James C. Strouse, the film explores themes of resilience and self-discovery as the protagonist confronts various personal and professional challenges. Chris O’Dowd co-stars as a potential romantic interest, contributing to the film’s exploration of contemporary relationships and personal growth.
- Director
- Jim Strouse
- Release Date
- June 28, 2017
- Runtime
- 83 Minutes
Possibly the most important movie role of Jessica Williams’ career came in 2017 when she starred as the titular character in the film The Incredible Jessica James. Williams also served as the executive producer of the film, which sees her playing a strong woman who has just broken up with her boyfriend Damon (Lakeith Stanfield), but she is having trouble letting go, even spending a date with Boone (Chris O’Dowd) talking about her breakup and the problems with her ex.
In the end, this is not a movie about Jessica finding a new boyfriend or lover but is instead a movie about a woman trying to find herself and what she is meant to be in life. The film premiered at Sundance before Netflix acquired it for a streaming release. Critics praised the movie, giving it an 89% fresh rating and crediting the “star making performance” by Jessica Williams as a reason for its success.
1 Shrinking (2023- )
Jessica Williams Plays Gaby
In this series, a therapist grappling with personal tragedy begins to employ a radically candid approach with his clients and in his personal life. As he navigates his roles as a father, friend, and professional, his newfound method leads to unexpected consequences and self-discovery.
- Cast
- Jason Segel , Luke Tennie , Michael Urie , Lukita Maxwell , Harrison Ford , Jessica Williams , Christa Miller , Ted McGinley , Heidi Gardner , Devin Kawaoka , Lilan Bowden , Kimberly Condict , Lily Rabe , Tilky Jones , Rachel Stubington , Wendie Malick , Sawyer Jones , Mike C. Nelson , Matt Knudsen , Kenajuan Bentley , Adam Foster Ballard
- Release Date
- January 26, 2023
- Seasons
- 2
- Showrunner
- Bill Lawrence
In 2023, Jessive Williams began co-starring in the Apple TV+ series Shrinking and finally got her first major awards recognition. Shrinking stars Jason Segal as Jimmy Laird, a therapist who is grieving the death of his wife. He then takes on a very unorthodox manner of working with his patients, which involves him breaching ethical boundaries by telling them what he really thinks. Harrison Ford is also in the series as a senior therapist at the center.
Williams received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance in 2023 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
As for Jessica Williams, she stars as Gaby, another therapist working at Jimmy’s center alongside him. Unlike Jimmy, who starts to bluntly give his thoughts to patients, Gaby is very empathetic, often to her detriment. She was also Jimmy’s wife’s best friend before her death and is very protective of Paul. Williams received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance in 2023 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
