The “Grey’s Anatomy” Texas spinoff is keeping it all in the Shonda Rhimes family with the latest casting announcement. It follows the news that the show will be the first of the ABC block of shows from Rhimes’ team to film outside of California.
The Texas spinoff, which still doesn’t have a name of its own, was originally set to premiere during the midseason of the 2026–2027 season. However, due to problems qualifying for the tax credits to film in California, there were delays in production. Now, ABC has pushed the show to the 2027–2028 season, and it will film in New Mexico. This has allowed the “Grey’s Anatomy” spinoff to start casting.
Karla Souza Joins the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Spinoff
“How to Get Away with Murder” star Karla Souza is joining the spinoff series as the leading lady. She will play Dr. Carolina “Lina” Hall, who Variety describes as a “haunted and cynical doctor who runs a medical center in a small town in West Texas.”
So far, all fans know about the series is that it will be set in a small medical center in a West Texas town, so the casting tells us nothing new. There were signs of how this type of show could run during “Grey’s Anatomy” Season 22. Owen Hunt and Teddy Altman visited a small medical center, seeing how it ran and how changes could be made to help it handle emergency situations.
After all, these places don’t have access to all the necessary medical equipment. They have to handle situations as they come through and, in some cases, hope for the best, while arranging transport to get them to a larger hospital when needed.
Due to that situation, it makes sense that Lina will be haunted and cynical. She’s likely seen many struggle with the lack of equipment and money invested in the small emergency center.
Where You’ve Seen Karla Souza Before
Souza is best known from her previous Shondaland days, when she starred as Laurel Castillo on “How to Get Away with Murder.” She was a series regular throughout the first five seasons, and then she dropped to a recurring role for the sixth and final season. She also starred in the ABC sitcom “Home Economics” for three seasons, so she’s keeping it all in the ABC family for now.
You may have also seen her in streaming shows and movies such as “Day Shift” on Netflix and “56 Days” on Prime Video. As she speaks fluent Spanish, she has also appeared in Mexican films, including “¿Qué culpa tiene el niño?” and “Nosotros los Nobles.”
Her Spanish could be extremely useful in the West Texas setting, as she’s likely to come into contact with immigrant families who may not speak fluent English.
This is the first casting news for the new “Grey’s Anatomy” series, and it highlights that everyone is ready to get working on it. For now, Meg Marinis will remain as showrunner, despite having to now switch between two states, as she also works as showrunner on “Grey’s Anatomy,” which will remain in California. Shonda Rhimes will remain as co-creator and executive producer, and Ellen Pompeo and Betsy Beers will also executive produce.
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Texas Spinoff Finds Its Lead in ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ Star