#Abigail Spencer Joins Katey Sagal on Rebel

Abigail Spencer is reuniting with Krista Vernoff, the showrunner of Grey’s Anatomy.

ABC announced Thursday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour that Spencer is joining the cast of forthcoming drama series Rebel.

Spencer will recur as Misha, “a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon who has a painful romantic history with Nate (Fear the Walking Dead‘s Keven Zegers), but can’t resist getting involved with studying the Stonemore heart valve for fear that she may have inadvertently harmed hundreds of patients,” reads the character description.

The series is inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich.

Annie ‘Rebel’ Bello (Sagal) is a blue-collar legal advocate without a law degree on the series.

She’s a funny, messy, brilliant and fearless woman who cares desperately about the causes she fights for and the people she loves.

When Rebel applies herself to a fight she believes in, she will win at almost any cost.

The expansive cast of Rebel also includes Andy Garcia (Ballers), John Corbett (Sex and the City), Dan Bucatinsky (Scandal), James Lesure (Las Vegas), Tamala Jones (Castle), Sam Palladio (Nashville), Lex Scott Davis (The First Purge), and Ariela Barer (Runaways).

Spencer is best known for her roles on Timeless, Reprisal, Grey’s Anatomy, Suits, and All My Children.

“Erin Brockovich has never stopped the extraordinary work she does fighting for her clients like they’re family, and Krista Vernoff’s take on her life today in ‘Rebel’ is undeniable,” said Karey Burke at the time of the series order.

“Katey Sagal is a powerhouse as ‘Rebel’ and with Andy Garcia, John Corbett and the rest of the phenomenal cast, viewers are going to fall in love with these characters and the world Krista has created for them.”

“The work that Erin Brockovich does in this world is so powerful and so important that it almost defies description,” said Vernoff of the show.

“Erin works tirelessly for social, legal and environmental justice despite the lack of a formal degree. She inspires everyone she meets to become their own heroes, and somehow, she also keeps us laughing.”

The series launches Thursday, April 8, in the 10/9c slot out of Grey’s Anatomy.

The series marks Vernoff’s third show on Thursdays for the network.

Rebel is taking over the slot from A Million Little Things, which is moving back to Wednesdays later this year.

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.