Cheryl Hines, who plays the enormously patient wife of Larry David on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," will step into "Scrubs" this season as the sister of the enormously impatient Dr. Cox.

Elsewhere, Laura Harring ("Mulholland Dr.") has signed on to a recurring part on "The Shield," which returns to FX in January.

Hines, who last year lent her voice to NBC's "Father of the Pride," will play Paige Cox in an episode of "Scrubs" later this season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Paige, the sister of Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley), is a devout Christian who comes to town for the baptism of Cox's son.

NBC hasn't yet said when or where season five of "Scrubs" will premiere, although the series is in production.

Harring, meanwhile, will play a lawyer named Becca Doyle on "The Shield." She's the second addition to the cast for the show's fifth season, joining Forest Whitaker, who will play an internal affairs officer looking to take down rogue cop Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis).

FX recently tacked on eight episodes to "The Shield's" original order of 13 for the coming season. It's not clear yet whether all 21 will air consecutively or if there will be a break prior to the new batch, similar to what HBO will do with "The Sopranos" when it returns next year.

In addition to "Mulholland Dr.," Harring has appeared in "John Q" and "The Punisher." She co-stars in the forthcoming HBO movie "Walkout," directed by Edward James Olmos.