Alas, mothering briefly got the best of “Otherhood” when its premiere was pushed from April to August after Huffman was arrested and pleaded guilty in a college admissions scandal. “We all make mistakes. None of us is perfect,” Bassett said. “I think Felicity handled these unfortunate circumstances in a mature, responsible way. She held herself accountable and didn’t make excuses for her decisions, and I can only respect that.”

These days, Bassett is hoping to win an Emmy to match that of her husband, Courtney B. Vance, with her nomination as narrator of “The Flood,” a National Geographic special about the Okavango Delta in Africa. Calling from Los Angeles, she happily chatted about how she’s trying to guarantee that Bronwyn and Slater, their 13-year-old twins, never let Mother’s Day go unnoticed.

These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

It’s been a while since you hung with girlfriends onscreen. How did you find your groove with Patricia and Felicity?

They were both warm, wonderful, delightful, talented, hard-working women that made you laugh. It was easy to establish a camaraderie.

What are the joys to be found in the female squad-com?

I’ve done it a couple of times — “Waiting to Exhale” and then this. And the film “Gunpowder Milkshake,” which I just finished my portion of in Germany, is a female-driven action thriller, with the wonderful Michelle Yeoh and Carla Gugino and Lena Headey and Karen Gillan. It’s such a delight to be around women who get it — full of life, full of laughter and love. No egos. They just shared the best of themselves, their knowledge of their experiences.