ELSBETH – Season 2 Key Art | ©2025 CBS
CBS’s ELSBETH is about to wrap up its second season on Thursday nights, with all episodes then streaming on Paramount+. The series, a ratings hit, was renewed for a third season back in February.
Created by Michelle King & Robert King, ELSBETH is a spinoff of THE GOOD WIFE and the GOOD FIGHT, centering on Elsbeth Tascioni, played by Carrie Preston. On the previous two series, Elsbeth was a recurring character, a quirky Chicago lawyer. Preston won a Guest Actress Emmy for THE GOOD WIFE.
ELSBETH finds our protagonist in New York City, working with the NYPD. In theory, Elsbeth is there to oversee the Consent Decree, making sure that the police are complying with the laws that govern them. In practice, Elsbeth actually spends most of her time helping her good friend, Officer-promoted-to-Detective Kaya Blanke (Carra Patterson) and other murder squad personnel solve homicide cases. The killings are presented to the audience in non-gory fashion COLUMBO-style, so that we see the crime up front, and then follow Elsbeth and company as they zero in on a suspect.
Georgia native Preston was a series lead on the four seasons of TNT’s crime manicure dramedy CLAWS. She was part of the ensemble cast for seven seasons of HBO’s TRUE BLOOD and played the love interest for real-life spouse Michael Emerson on CBS’s PERSON OF INTEREST.
Additionally, Preston has directed episodic television. She is also a partner in the production company Daisy 3 Pictures. Under their banner, she has produced and directed the narrative feature films, 29th AND GAY and THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID, and the documentary HAPPY LUCKY GOLDEN TOFU PANDA DRAGON GOOD TIME FUN FUN SHOW
When CBS has a Q&A session for ELSBETH as part of the Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour, Preston is on the panel. Later, at a party thrown by CBS for the TCA, Preston engages in some one-on-one follow-up discussion. This interview combines her comments from both.
In Season 1 of ELSBETH, the character had a hidden agenda. Now that this mystery has been resolved, would Preston say that Season 2 is similarly arced, or has more standalone episodes?
“There [is] an overarching theme, but they’re also really starting to uncover things from each of the characters’ pasts, so we’ll be dealing more with individual arcs, but I’m not one of the writers. I just show up and elevate their beautiful writing.”
Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni in ELSBETH – Season 2 | ©2025 CBS/Mary Ellen Matthews/
One of the Season 2 arcs has featured Preston’s real husband Emerson as Milton Crawford, a homicidal judge who doesn’t appreciate Elsbeth looking into his actions. Emerson has just finished up four seasons on EVIL, another show created by the Kings, in which he played demon-worshipping lawyer Leland Townsend.
Preston thinks it’s a shame there couldn’t have been a crossover. “That would be fun to see. Talk about good versus evil, Elsbeth versus Leland. That would be an interesting match.”
Emerson as Crawford of course is one of Preston’s favorite guest stars, but she says she’s excited about all of them.
“The thing that’s been so wonderful for me is, it’s like Christmas morning every episode. I don’t ever know [in advance] who it’s going to be. We all read the scripts and wonder. We’ve been blessed. It’s been an embarrassment of riches with the talents of New York actors. And I think the word is out that we’re a fun place to go to work.
“And certainly the writing – all the guest stars get incredibly rich, detailed, textured roles to play, and that’s what we want as actors. So, these brilliant guest stars get to come on and be a series [lead] for a couple of weeks, and then turn the reins back over to us, and it’s a great arrangement.”
Preston also expresses adoration for fellow ELSBETH regular Patterson. “I love her so very, very much. I want her to be recognized for all the things. She’s a really incredible person.”
Another recurring guest star is Gonzo, Elsbeth’s adopted dog, “played by the lovely Blossom. Blossom is a brilliant actor. Blossom is one of the best, if not the best, trained dog I’ve ever worked with.”
Preston and Emerson have their own dog at home. “He’s a little senior [in age], but he looms large, he’s the center of our lives.”
Elsbeth has a knack for getting under the skin of people she’s investigating. Does Preston think Elsbeth is being deliberately irritating, or is that just collateral from her asking questions that suspects don’t want to answer?
“I don’t think anybody is deliberately irritating. I do think that she’s someone who knows that the way she actually is sometimes rubs people the wrong way. She doesn’t intend for that to happen, but when it does, she can sometimes use that opening as a way to go in for the kill, so to speak.
“I think there’s a positivity, there’s wonder. She’s not being manipulative or Machiavellian in any way. She knows how she’s being perceived by the world, and yes, sometimes she uses that, but she doesn’t change herself to get that, she is that.”
ELSBETH shoots in New York, where it is set. “It’s where I live, so it’s fantastic,” Preston enthuses. “Usually, I have to go away to do jobs. It’s nice to be working at home.”
Besides her feature credits as a director, Preston has helmed episodes of CLAWS and THE GOOD FIGHT. Might she direct on ELSBETH?
“Not right now. I’m the lead on a TV show. It’s very demanding, and I wouldn’t want to try to direct and take away from what I need to do to play this role the way I like to play her. I don’t have a need to prove that I can do both right now. Maybe down the line, when I feel a little more comfortable in this position, I’ll consider it.”
Is being the lead on a network series what Preston expected?
“Yes. Because I’ve been on television shows for decades, so I see what it entails. But I haven’t [previously] done a series regular on a network show. Now that we’re in Season 2, we’re going to have twenty episodes. So, that stamina, I’m going to be curious to see how I withstand and thrive.
“This moment is not lost on me. I’ve been happy being a supporting player. I’ve played leads in movies, but happily being [in supporting roles] on incredible series like TRUE BLOOD and CLAWS and PERSON OF INTEREST, et cetera, I hadn’t realized that I had this dream until [the Kings] started approaching me with this idea. ‘Hey, what would it be like? What do you think? Are you available?’ And every time, I’m like, ‘I’m available, I’m available.’
“Then it was just a matter of finding the right timing for this to happen, and it seems like now is the time. Part of me wishes that it would have happened when I was younger, just because of stamina and more energy, but I definitely have a lifeforce in me that’s ready to take on something like this.”
“And I think now, we need a show like this. Somebody wrote something that said, ‘It’s the comfort show we didn’t know that we needed.’ And so, the readiness is all, and here I am humbly and gratefully taking this on with a sense of wonder and a sense of gratitude at all times.”
Related: Interview: The cast and creators of ELSBETH talk about the new CBS procedural
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Article: Exclusive Interview: ELSBETH star Carrie Preston on Season 2 of the CBS procedural and spin-off of THE GOOD WIFE
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