Deschanel welcomed her first child with producer Jacob Pechenik this summer (15), and as she continues her maternity leave, the Transformers beauty will be filling in for her with a recurring role in the upcoming fifth season of the show.

Fox is set to play a pharmaceutical sales representative who rents out the room vacated by Deschanel's character Jess, who is sequestered on jury duty.

New Girl creator/executive producer Liz Meriwether reveals they created the role for Fox, telling Deadline, "I've been a fan of her comedic skills since This is 40, and I'm so excited to have her on the show. We had Megan in mind when we wrote this part - she's the perfect person to come in and shake these guys up."

Before branching into movies, Fox's early credits were on the small screen - she was a series regular on sitcom Hope & Faith.

The new TV role will be Fox's first since filing for divorce from her husband of five years, Brian Austin Green, in August (15).