"The O.C." returns to FOX on Thursday (March 9) night after an "American Idol"-enforced hiatus, a month-long absence that has given the show's fans plenty of time to wonder about Nikki Reed's newly arrived Sadie Campbell and the potential havoc she might wreak.

In January, at a party thrown by FOX, Reed was also wondering about her presence.

"I fought it for a while, to be perfectly honest with you, even though I shouldn't be perfectly honest with you," Reed says of her transition from art house movie prodigy to popular television guest star. "I guess I lost the battle that I was having with my team, which was that new experiences and change is not a bad thing."

In 2004, at the age of 16, Reed won an Independent Spirit Award for her debut performance in the feature "Thirteen," a harrowing girls-gone-wild drama. She was most recently seen in the gritty skater film "The Lords of Dogtown." It's that pedigree that caused her to hesitate before committing to FOX's sudsy drama.

"Are people going to lose respect for me because I'm doing a television show and not only that, but I'm doing 'The O.C.,' which is a wonderful show, but it's very different from 'Thirteen' for example and so are people going to bash me for that?" She ponders. "Possibly. But people also bashed me from making a film like 'Thirteen,' just on the other end of the spectrum."

Plus, it was that same pedigree that attracted the "O.C." team to Reed.

"Nikki Reed, she's just a great naturalistic actress," says the show's creator, Josh Schwartz. "She comes from indie film, so she has a different approach. She's excited to be a part of the show and I think she's going to be a really nice presence for Ryan, for Ben McKenzie, showing a different side of his character, challenging his savior complex, allowing us to do different kinds of stories."

Sadie, cousin of recently deceased surfer-boy Johnny. first appeared in the episode titled "The Heavy Lifting." and immediately caught the attention former-rebel Ryan, suggesting a love triangle with eternally angsty Marissa (Mischa Barton) can't be far off.

"We're going back to a nine o'clock time slot, so they're making it a little bit racier, supposedly," Reed promises. "I can't give it away, but in the one we're shooting this week, it's definitely a little bit racy between Ben McKenzie and I."

Reed, who just completed her second screenplay, has four indies in the can. She knows she has a lot to learn about navigating between her artistic and commercial instincts.

"I'm doing extremes right now," she says. "I'm doing what I love by doing independent films and writing constantly, but I'm also doing television that's very PG and so I'm doing both ends. I'd love to do find a studio film that has independent edge and pays, which would be all three at once, but I may be asking for too much too soon."