Kyra Sedgwick

OF “TEN DAYS IN THE VALLEY” ON ABC

As its story begins to wind up, you’ve been an executive producer as well as the star of “Ten Days in the Valley.” Had you expected to have that behind-the-scenes role as well?

No, I didn’t. (Creator and executive producer) James Duff and I were really close when we were doing “The Closer,” and I knew what it was like to be him. I’d catch him between meetings and he was getting pulled in a million different directions, and I knew he was always behind the eight ball, always struggling to catch up. It’s overwhelming, and I feel like I know what feeding the beast of a television series is.

What drew you to “Ten Days” in the first place?

It’s got a lot of deep, complicated, confusing characters who surprise you. I think you have to have a certain level of excellence in TV now, because everyone is so savvy. Audiences “get” things, and you don’t have to repeat things. I’m really happy with the way it turned out, and happy that I was able to work with a female writer-creator (Tassie Cameron) and all the women at (production company) Skydance. If I’m going to talk about how hard it is for women to get work in this business behind the camera, I have to start walking the walk and actually make the choice to work with them.

You also made your directing debut this year on the Lifetime movie “Story of a Girl.” Was it a challenge for you to go back to acting after that?

What was more of a busman’s holiday for me, honestly, was that I wasn’t in every scene (of “Ten Days”). I loved being in every scene of “The Closer,” having that sort of weight and import, but there’s something great about being in a group of actors and letting them do their thing, too. That gave me room to breathe.