Oscar nominee signs for show's final season

George Clooney may not be coming back for "ER's" final season, but the long-running series has nonetheless upped the star wattage.

Oscar and Emmy nominee Angela Bassett will be a regular for the show's 15th and last season. She'll play an attending physician who returns to Chicago's County General after several years abroad.

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

Bassett has done some TV work in the past -- most recently in a recurring part on "Alias" -- but "ER" will be her first regular role on a series. The show is also bringing back at least one face from its past for the final season: Noah Wyle will reprise his role as John Carter in at least four episodes.

Bassett earned an Oscar nomination in 1994 for playing Tina Turner in the biopic "What's Love Got to Do With It." Her Emmy nod came in 2002 for the CBS movie "The Rosa Parks Story."

She recently appeared in Tyler Perry's film "Meet the Browns" and is working on "Notorious," a biography of rapper the Notorious B.I.G. Her other credits include "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," " Malcolm X" and "Waiting to Exhale."