PASADENA, Calif. – Calista Flockhart says it's time to get back to work.
The "Ally McBeal" star has spent the past five years caring for her boyfriend Harrison Ford and her 5-year-old adopted son.
She returns to TV this fall as a right-wing radio host turned pundit in the new drama "Brothers & Sisters." The show, which co-stars Sally Field and Rachel Griffiths, debuts Sept. 24 on ABC.
Click Here for the Television Center
"I really want to go back to work. It just seemed like the perfect time and the perfect project," Flockhart told the Television Critics Association's summer meeting this week.
She said she was especially happy to find a show with an ensemble cast of top actors.
"I wasn't going to be responsible for carrying the show and I would have a better schedule," she said.
Field also has kept a lower profile in recent years.
"It's a very interesting time in television," she said. "Television obviously is having to compete with a lot of other things and it's having to change and grow and try new things."
Griffiths has taken time off for motherhood.
"I was thinking of not doing television for a while for many reasons, mainly the kind of schedule and being away from my homeland," the Aussie actress said. "Calista was a big draw for me. She's an icon. I watched that show ("Ally McBeal") and it carried me through my lonely 20s, and so it just felt right."
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.