‘Toast’: Jono Kenyon To Star, Tessa Ferrer To Co-Star In Shondaland ABC Pilot

Jono Kenyon (Step Dave) has landed the male lead in Toast, ABC’s hybrid comedy pilot from Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers’ Shondaland, Scott Foley and Greg Grunberg. Also cast in the project is Grey’s Anatomy alumna Tessa Ferrer, reuniting with Grey’s creator Rhimes, Shondaland and ABC.

Written by Foley and Grunberg and directed by Gail Mancuso, Toast revolves around engaged couple Max Leeds (Kenyon) and Paige (not yet cast), who, over their wedding rehearsal dinner, have their eclectic family and friends give toasts recalling anecdotes about the couple — but flashbacks reveal that the toasts don’t always get it right, as we watch the true story of their complicated, funny and relatable road to marriage.

Kenyon’s Max is awkwardly handsome, charming and unassuming, and worried about what his bride-to-be’s family thinks about him. After all, they couldn’t be more different: Paige is a sorority girl from a close-knit wealthy Austin family, and he’s a college dropout with a questionable credit history and a father in prison.

Ferrer is Jules, an up-for-anything Texas tomboy who is Max’s closest friend, his biggest champion and business partner. Fiercely loyal and protective, she knows Max better than he knows himself, and worries that he is too focused on the wrong things when it comes to meeting the right woman. Gregg Mettller serves as showrunner.

This marks the first Hollywood gig for Kenyon, originally from the UK, who is best known for playing the title role in the popular New Zealand comedy-drama series Step Dave. He is repped by Bohemia Group, Paradigm and GCM in New Zealand.

Ferrer played Dr. Leah Murphy on Grey’s Anatomy on Seasons 9 and 10, and she recurred on CBS’ Extant and on Stephen Falk’s FX comedy You’re The Worst. She is repped by APA, The Lasher Group and attorney Paul Mayersohn.