Angela Bassett to join 'ER' cast

BURBANK, Calif., April 30 (UPI) -- NBC has announced that award-winning Hollywood actress Angela Bassett is to join the cast of its long-running U.S. medical drama "ER" next season.

Bassett, who has starred in the films "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," "Malcolm X" and "What's Love to Do With It," will play a "tough-as-nails attending physician who is coming back to Chicago after doing tsunami relief work in Indonesia," the network said.

"Angela is a wonderfully talented actress who I've long hoped to work with," executive producer John Wells said in a statement. "We couldn't be more delighted that she's agreed to join us."

NBC renewed "ER" for a 15th and final season earlier this month.