'Crazy Rich Asians' Hunk Harry Shum Jr Set To Join 'Grey's Anatomy' Season 19

Hit medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" is expanding its cast for the next installment.

The long-running television series has added and killed off several characters since it aired on ABC on March 27, 2005. It is now the longest scripted primetime series on the network.

Created by Shonda Rhimes, the show centers on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they worked tirelessly to advance their chosen career path while juggling their professional and personal lives.

Big names like Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson, and James Pickens Jr. can boast of being on the show since its inception and are expected to reprise their role in season 19. The showrunners have recently announced that they would be joined by new cast members, including Costa Rican-born Chinese American actor Harry Shum Jr.

Ahead of the release of Season 19 of "Grey's Anatomy," ABC revealed on Wednesday that Shum has signed on to play a role in the upcoming sequel.

"Shum's Daniel "Blue" Kwan is sharp-witted, impatient, and brilliant. He is generous by nature but competitive to a fault, naturally gifted, and used to winning at everything. A family crisis interfered with his career plans, and now he's got a lot to prove," Deadline first reported.

The showrunners revealed that Shum's character was older than most of the typical residents at the hospital and hinted that they would be a back story to explain the narrative. Regarding speculations on whether Shum will guest star or join the main cast, ABC stated that the latter was the case.

In the new season, Shum and the rest of the new cast will play first-year surgical residents at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital after the review board ordered that its teaching program be changed due to several controversial issues.

For fans not yet acquainted with Shum, the actor is known for playing roles in the dance film series "Step Up 2: The Streets" and "Step Up 3D." The Hollywood star also has on his resume some Asian-inspired films like "Revenge of the Green Dragons, "Crazy Rich Asians," and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny."

In the latter, he will reprise his role of Charlie Wu in the upcoming spinoff movie, which will partly follow the blossoming relationship between Gemma Chan's Astrid Young Teo and his character.

However, among all his previous roles, he got the most critical acclaim for his portrayal of Mike Chang in Fox's "Glee" and as Magnus Bane on the supernatural drama show "Shadowhunters." He got nominated for four Screen Actors Guild Awards for the former and won an E! People's Choice Awards for the latter.

Shum will bring his wealth of experience to star opposite new cast members like Adelaide Kane, Alexis Floyd, Niko Terho, and Midori Francis.

According to Deadline, Kane plays "Jules Millin, a woman raised by drug-addled artists/hippies and somehow emerged as the only real grown-up in the family." She previously appeared as Mary Stuart on "Reign" and had a recurring role on the fantasy adventure series Once Upon a Time."

Floyd will play Simone Griffin, a humorous, brilliant, high achiever with a complex family dynamic. Terho, on the other hand, plays the role of Lucas Adams, a surgeon who comes from a family that views him as the black sheep, which makes him driven to succeed.

Midori will portray Mika Yasuda, who is extremely intelligent and self-assured but will have to balance the stress of residency with paying off her massive student loans from medical school.

Fans anticipate seeing what the new season holds after the extra cast announcement. Season 18 was left on a cliffhanger with the lead character Meredith Grey, played by Pompeo, choosing to stay with Grey Sloan Memorial and not move to Minnesota.

Pompeo, alongside Wilsen and Pickens Jr., will return in their main cast role for the upcoming season. It remains to be seen whether the new season will be the show's final run as ABC has not confirmed those details.

"Grey's Anatomy has a global impact that can't be overstated," showrunner Krista Vernoff said in January when the network greenlit the 19th season (via People.)

She added: "I'm excited to work with our extraordinary writers to dream up where we go from here, and I'm always grateful to our partners at Disney and ABC for letting us tell bold stories with real impact."