In 2002, she appeared in the Broadway revival of "The Crucible" with Liam Neeson, Angela Bettis and Laura Linney. Bell then moved to Los Angeles in 2002 because of her friendship with writers Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney, and appeared in a handful of television shows as a special guest, finding trouble gaining a recurring role in a television series. Bell said she "tested like eight times and booked nothing and every show tested for got picked up", including auditions for "Skin" and a Norm Macdonald series.