‘The Good Place’ star opens up to PEOPLE about how excited she is for the release of her “modern rom-com” and why she decided to get back to TV after taking a few years off

Kristen Bell is very excited for the debut of her new Netflix romcom Nobody Wants This.

“It’s a modern romcom,” Bell, 44, says of the show, which premieres on Sept. 26 and also stars Adam Brody as her love interest.

“I love that the characters are what, 38? And that it addresses everything from the perils of dating apps to what it actually means for people with different backgrounds and outlooks on life to bridge those differences in the name of love,” she continues. “It’s a grown-up rom-com.”

As much as she loved filming, the mom of two says she was equally excited to take a recent hiatus from work to spend quality time with her family.

“I’m certainly enjoying it right now,” she says of getting back to work. “But before that, I had taken a few years off and loved that too.”

Nobody Wants This. (L to R) Kristen Bell as Joanne, Adam Brody as Noah in episode 102 of Nobody Wants This

Kristen Bell and Adam Brody in Netflix’s Nobody Wants This.Stefania Rosini/Netflix

Bell’s return was solely based on the fact that she loved the Nobody Wants This script, which is loosely based on the real-life of show creator and producer Erin Foster (daughter of musician David Foster.)

“I just go with my gut,” Bell says of how she decides to work on projects. “If it seems funny enough and like it would be fun to shoot, it’s like, let’s do it!”

After getting her start in theater in New York while she was studying at NYU, Bell moved to Hollywood in her early 20s and says things lined up for her work-wise. She starred in films like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Frozen and shows like Veronica Mars and The Good Place.

“I know that’s not the norm!” she says with a laugh, about her career taking off pretty seamlessly.

Kristen Bell seen at Netflix's "Nobody Wants This!" Photo Call at The Aster on September 18, 2024

Kristen Bell.Eric Charbonneau/Netflix via Getty

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But after she married Dax Shepard in 2013, and they became parents to daughters Delta and Lincoln, Bell wanted to make family a priority.

“I don’t work outside of L.A.,” she says of her secret to balancing both.

“The aftershocks affect too many people, so I can’t. My husband works here; my kids go to school here. It’s not an option for me to leave them, and it’s not an option for me to bring them with me without it being incredibly disruptive,” she explains.

She also makes sure she hustles during the daytime so she can be present for the girls when she’s not working. Still, she’s also trying to be mindful about giving herself little breaks too.

“I’ve been practicing trying to say no over the last couple of years, and it’s very hard, but I have to remind myself that time is the only non-renewable resource I have,” she says, noting that she’s a “people-pleaser.”

“I always want to be helpful,” Bell adds. “But if I have an hour to myself, truly with the pace I feel like I’m running at sometimes with a career and two kids and two dogs and all the things, sometimes I just sit. I like Audible, so I’ll listen to a book just to sit, just to pause. I like pausing a lot. I find it vital.”