Greenwich Doctor Brings Medical Expertise To New CBS Show

GREENWICH, CT — A Greenwich doctor is bringing her medical expertise to television, joining the production team for "Y: Marshals," a spinoff of the popular series "Yellowstone," where she advises on medical scenes and even steps in front of the camera herself.

Dr. Karen Soika, who is trained in plastic and reconstructive surgery, and is a wound care specialist and currently a cosmetic surgeon, has been working on the show since early September.

"With the Yellowstone Ranch behind him, Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) joins an elite unit of U.S. Marshals, combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana, where he and his teammates must balance family, duty and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defense in the region’s war on violence," the official show logline reads, according to Variety.

The original "Yellowstone" show aired from 2018 to 2024. It won several awards; Kevin Costner notably won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama - in 2023.

Directed by Christopher Chulack, best known for his work as the producer on the hit show "ER" from 1995 to 2008, "Y: Marshals" is currently filming season one in Park City, Utah, and is slated to premiere as early as later this year, or perhaps in spring 2026 on CBS.

Soika, a longtime Greenwich resident, moved to Park City during the COVID-19 pandemic, but she often commutes back to her practice in Connecticut.

Known in the Park City area, she was called upon to deliver supplies to what she later found out was the set for "Y: Marshals" at a local filming studio.

After first chatting with someone on-set and explaining that she was a real-life doctor, Soika was encouraged to meet with the casting department. She was eventually hired to play the role of a nurse and other miscellaneous background parts as needed, and she is now the show's medical scene expert.

"It just sort of snowballed," Soika told Patch in a recent phone interview about her involvement in the show.

Soika is tasked with making sure medical scenes are portrayed as accurately as possible. For example, she provides guidance on how wounds should look, how patients would be situated in certain scenarios, and how to use medical equipment properly.

She also works with the props department and is constantly advising Chulack.

The new job has come naturally to Soika, who has essentially taught others her whole life. She was a teaching assistant in college and in medical school where she was the main TA for histology and anatomy. She has trained over 3,000 doctors worldwide, according to her profile with Saba University School of Medicine.

Soika's work schedule varies throughout the week, but it's not uncommon for her to spend 12-14 hours on the set on any given day.

Throughout the experience, she's noticed some similarities between the operating room and the TV studio set.

"They're both theaters," Soika said, noting the term "theater" in the operating room is used "because there is a respect to how things are done."

"The setup is extremely important, and that's paramount to a surgical operation. If you're not prepared and you don't have everything you need, it doesn't come out well. You really need to be organized," Soika explained. "There's also a chain of command, and we have the same thing in surgery. You want to be focused, you want people on their game knowing exactly what they should be doing."

The attention to detail in her new role has also been a surprise for Soika.

"They have hired makeup and hair people that are responsible for making sure one piece of hair does not move, because if they cut and splice different scenes together, the hair has to be exact," Soika added. "We're executing a surgery, they're executing a scene, and there's a lot of details involved."

Soika's involvement in the show was almost meant to be.

She has rented out her Park City home as an Airbnb only a few times, and this past July, she received a request from someone who wanted to stay for multiple days. She turned out to be one of the main actresses on "Y: Marshals."

Filming is set to run through Dec. 15, and Soika said she's looking forward to the final product and seeing how everything comes together.

"I can't wait. It will be really interesting to see," Soika said.

The entire experience has been enriching for Soika, who said she couldn't have believed even several weeks ago she'd be helping to bring a television show to life.

"It's an honor. I really enjoy it," she added. "It's a nice dynamic, so it's really a fun thing to be a part of. Everyone is really friendly and it's teamwork."