Kyra Sedgwick returns to comedy for ABC's 'Call Your Mother'

Acclaimed for such dramas as "The Closer," which earned her an Emmy Award, Kyra Sedgwick also has comedy cred.

The actress shows it in returning to series work in ABC's "Call Your Mother," premiering Wednesday, Jan. 13. She plays Jean Raines, who comes to grips with how much she misses her grown children (Rachel Sennott, Joey Bragg) by traveling far to be with them ... and not just temporarily. Mixed emotions result for the offspring, though usually, they're happier than not to have Mom around again. Sherri Shepherd, a former resident of Hoffman Estates, also appears in the sitcom created by executive producer Kari Lizer ("The New Adventures of Old Christine").

"It's a great role," Sedgwick says, putting it on the level of "The Closer's" deputy police chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. "I've been thinking to myself, 'Who gets two great TV roles in their lifetime?' I think Jean is utterly adorable and incredibly funny and achingly real, and you feel for her. Anyone who is a mom or has a mom is totally going to relate to this." Sedgwick and fellow-actor husband Kevin Bacon have a son, Travis, and actress daughter Sosie.

Though she played it serious again in her post-"Closer" ABC series "Ten Days in the Valley," Sedgwick displayed humor in her recurring role on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," and she also has such comedy movies as "Singles" and "Something to Talk About" in her credits. "Especially as a female actor," Sedgwick reflects, "people often want to pigeonhole you and think of you as one thing, but I have a lot of notes on my keyboard."

"Call Your Mother" was slated for a fall debut until ABC moved up the season premiere of "black-ish," noting the relevance of that show's topics to the social climate. Believing "Mother" is "coming out at just the right time," Sedgwick reports that she and Lizer "had something we tried to make together at HBO, and we never ended up making the pilot, but we've stayed close and friendly. We understand each other's sensibilities, and there's no question that her voice is very much a part of Jean."

While Sedgwick is making "Call Your Mother" on the West Coast, Bacon is on the other side of the country, filming Season 2 of his Boston-based Showtime drama "City on a Hill." She says, "This has been the longest, hardest time we've ever been separated ... but we're both so grateful for the work."

Sedgwick also is a director, having called the shots on the Lifetime movie "Story of a Girl" and episodes of series including Bacon's "City." For now, though, she's content just to concentrate on acting in getting "Call Your Mother" launched ... "but," she muses, "maybe in Season 5!"

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"Call Your Mother"

Premieres at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, on ABC