Carrie Preston says the season 3 finale of Elsbeth landed with an emotional punch, from Teddy’s proposal to Roy to Kaya’s undercover return and Patti LuPone’s late-season turn as a cabaret singer. In an interview, Preston also looked ahead to season four and reflected on where the CBS series may go next.
Preston, who stars as Elsbeth Tascioni and won an Emmy for playing the role in The Good Wife, said the finale’s blend of romance, mystery and surprise helped close out a season built around a strong guest list. Ben Levi Ross played Teddy, Hayward Leach played Roy and Carra Patterson returned as Kaya after being absent for most of the season, reappearing undercover and overlapping with Elsbeth’s case of the week. LuPone’s musical moment made a particular impression on Preston. “I don’t know how they edited it, but she made me weep,” she said.
The finale also underlined how much the show has leaned on guest stars this season, with appearances that included Stephen Colbert, Dianne Wiest, Amy Sedaris and Steve Buscemi. Preston said she is relieved that going forward, Elsbeth will be classified as a comedy at the Emmys, a change that should better fit the tone of the series. That matters because the show has spent its run balancing case-of-the-week plotting with character-driven turns that are far lighter than the drama category it had previously occupied.
There is also a clearer sense now that Kaya is not being left behind. Preston reflected after the finale on the character’s absence and the possibility of more appearances, suggesting the show is not done with her yet. Jonathan Tolins said he would like to see an entire season of Elsbeth with Tracey Ullman playing all the villains, after Ullman returned a second time in a completely different role. Preston said of her collaborators, “I don’t know what I did in life to be so lucky to have someone like you come and do this show with me. I don’t know.”
For now, the finale leaves Elsbeth with a clean mix of closure and runway: Teddy and Roy are engaged, Kaya is back in play, and season four has room to keep bending the show’s crime-of-the-week formula around its most memorable characters.
