Grey’s Anatomy is officially adding a fan-favorite Yellowstone veteran to its list of recurring guest stars.
Per Variety, Yellowstone star Piper Perabo, who portrayed Summer Higgins in Seasons 4 and 5 of the hit neo-Western series, has officially signed on for a recurring role on Grey’s Anatomy. Perabo will portray Jenna Gatlin, a fiercely dedicated mother to a 9-year-old girl named Dylan who is awaiting high-risk brain surgery. Perabo willl make her Grey’s Anatomy debut in the episode “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” which will premiere on May 1 on ABC. She will return for the following two episodes, “Love You Like a Song” and “How Do I Live,” the latter of which will serve as the Season 21 finale for the fan-favorite medical drama.
The official logline for the final two episodes promises Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 will close out with all manner of major developments. As the logline notes, “Jo and Link’s wedding day arrives, along with some visitors. Meanwhile, Teddy and Owen are met with a familiar face seeking treatment, and Lucas disagrees with Simone on how to approach a patient’s worsened condition… While the interns are excited to transition to second-year residency, an ordinary day at Grey Sloan takes an unexpected turn when a medical emergency unfolds in the operating room, endangering lives inside the hospital.”
Grey’s Anatomy Remains One of TV’s Biggest Shows
Grey’s Anatomy has been counted among the biggest hits in modern TV history since its premiere on ABC in 2005. The series largely revolves around the life of Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Grey, the daughter of a world-renowned surgeon who is thrust into the surgical residency program at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital at the outset of Grey’s Anatomy. Apart from Pompeo, Grey’s Anatomy has featured a star-studded if occasionally revolving cast over the years, with Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. standing as the only original stars besides Pompeo herself to have stayed with the series from the very beginning through its currently ongoing 21st season.
Pompeo recently opened up about why her diminishing presence on Grey’s Anatomy is in no way an indicator that she is going to be leaving the show anytime soon. Pompeo explained that leaving Grey’s Anatomy “would make no sense, emotionally or financiallly. The show was streamed more than a billion times in 2024. More than a billion times.” Pompeo went on to note that walking away from the series would leave any potential payments regarded to her likeness entirely in the hands of the studios and streaming platforms. Pompeo added, “To me, it doesn’t make any sense that everybody [else] gets to profit off of my hard work. And emotionally, the show means a lot to people. I want to have an attitude of gratitude toward the show.”
