Katherine Heigl Reveals Why She Is Now Returning To TV In NBC’s 'State of Affairs'

Katherine Heigl is returning to TV with NBC's new political drama State of Affairs, and four years after she left Grey's Anatomy, the 35-year-old actress is revealing why she decided to come back to television at this point in her career.

"Why now? This project is an extraordinary opportunity for me," Katherine told TV Guide in a recent interview. "I made a difficult decision [to leave Grey's], but it was the right decision for me at the time. I really just wanted to spend more time with my family and my new baby and extend my family and I'm really grateful to have been able to do that and I'm very grateful for these last couple of years."

The 27 Dresses actress left Grey's Anatomy in 2010 where she played Dr. Izzie Stevens and won an Emmy for her role. In State of Affairs Katherine will be playing chief CIA analyst Charleston Tucker, which is a real challenge for her, but it was exactly what she wanted when returning to TV.

"To play such an intelligent woman who is a real patriot, who really believes that she can make a difference and help protect her country and help her President do her job, and the idea that this is rife with all kinds of fascinating stories about this country and this world and what goes on that we don't really know much about. It all felt like the perfect extraordinary role and story to tell for me," the actress explained at the TV Critics Press Association summer press tour in July via the Hartford Courant.

She continued saying, "I'm not sure why I feel this way, but acting and performing has always felt a bit more like kid's play to me because it's something I've always loved, and I love the opportunity to tell stories and be imaginative, and the executive producing angle of it feels more like a grown-up job."

State of Affairs premieres on NBC on Monday, Nov. 14 at 10 p.m.