‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Casts ‘The Gifted’ Actress Amy Acker To Play Fourth Shepherd Sister
Fans of Grey’s Anatomy have known since the beginning that Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) had four sisters. When the series first started out, none of those sisters worked at what was back then Seattle Grace Hospital. Over the years, however, we have slowly been introduced to three of them.
So far, we have met Liz, Nancy, and, of course, Amelia, who is a series regular these days after first making her appearance in Grey’s Anatomy spin-off Private Practice. But we have yet to see Kathleen, and little is known about her except that she is a practicing psychiatrist.
Over the weekend, it was announced that Grey’s fans would finally get to see the elusive fourth Shepherd sister, and on Wednesday it was confirmed that Amy Acker, who is currently a series regular on the Marvel spin-off series The Gifted, would be taking on the role, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Although it hasn’t been confirmed exactly when Kathleen will be popping in, showrunner Krista Vernoff has said it will be during the current season. During the winter break, it was announced that Season 15 would be expanded by an extra three episodes, and one of those episodes will be used to delve deeper into Amelia’s life.
#GreysAnatomy Enlists Amy Acker for Key Role https://t.co/keyjnKoY6D pic.twitter.com/ymvvguTuM4
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 13, 2019
So far, Season 15 has focused mainly on titular character Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) who has been caught in the beginning of a love triangle with Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Giannotti) and Atticus “Linc” Lincoln (Chris Carmack).
On the sidelines, Amelia and her ex-husband Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) have taken in a young teenage mother Betty (Peyton Kennedy) who is addicted to drugs, along with her infant son. While Owen and Amelia have been rekindling their relationship, Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) came back into the picture, pregnant with Owen’s baby.
The most recent episode has seen drama in that department, with Betty admitting she gave Amelia a fake name after running away from home when she fell pregnant. Previews for Friday’s episode seem to indicate that the teenage runaway’s parents have finally come looking for her, and their arrival could threaten to take baby Leo away from Owen, who is fostering the little boy.
Friday’s episode will no doubt be another tear-jerker for fans, who may have to watch Owen lose the baby he’s wanted for so many years after months of raising him.
Whether or not Kathleen will come onto the scene because she gets a distress call from Amelia is being kept a closely guarded secret by the writers, but that could be a bit of a stretch as we haven’t seen Amelia call on her psychiatrist sister before when she’s been in a bad place.
