LOS ANGELES β Carrie Preston didnβt think her husband, actor Michael Emerson, was interested in her series, βElsbeth,β until she heard him laughing in another room of their home.
Michael Emerson, Carrie Preston's husband, joins "Elsbeth" as the attorney's adversary.
βI was like, βWhat are you doing?β and heβs like, βI just wanted to see the detail work again, the stuff I missed the first time.ββ
That interest led to a recurring role on the CBS whodunit. Now, Emerson is Judge Milton Crawford, a nemesis for Elsbeth Tascioni, the unconventional attorney whoβs working with the New York Police Department to catch murderers.
The Crawford/Tascioni storyline plays out throughout the season, suggesting she has a suspicion about his motives.
Emersonβs addition is true to the showβs quixotic creation.
During the pandemic, a New York Times reporter said she watched reruns of βColumboβ but didnβt feel it needed a reboot: βJust give Elsbeth Tascioni her own show.β
Preston was shocked. βI was just sitting there going, βWhat did I just read?ββ
Elsbeth's fashion sense has been a point of conversation for fans of the show. Carrie Preston loves the offbeat style.
βThe Good Wifeβ creators Robert King and Michelle King took note and set to work, crafting a show for their breakout character.
βElsbethβ hit with audiences and became a home for a host of New York actors. Some of Broadwayβs biggest names have turned up as suspects, enabling Tascioni to play in a host of venues β from fashion galas to New York landmarks.
βItβs been an embarrassment of riches with the talents of New York actors,β Preston says. βI think the word is out that weβre a fun place to go to work. These brilliant guest stars get to come on and be a series regular for a couple of weeks and turn the reins back over to us.β
For co-star Wendell Pierce, who plays Elsbethβs boss, Capt. C.W. Wagner, the show is a way for him to stay in New York and continue his stage career.
Wendell Pierce plays the police captain in "Elsbeth."
Most recently, he starred in an acclaimed revival of βDeath of a Salesman.β He also directs and produces theater (he has a Tony for producing βClybourne Parkβ) and finds the βElsbethβ schedule conducive to doing films as well (heβs in the new version of βSupermanβ). The lure, though, was Preston.
βI get to watch her do work on the level of a Mary Tyler Moore, a Carol Burnett and a Lucille Ball,β he says.
While many thought heβd be the first season villain (not unlike Emerson in the second), he was content keeping audiences guessing. βIt was an epiphany for me because it was this little suspense thriller murder that happened at the beginning of every episode,β Pierce says. βI was taken for a ride with that. I realized I needed to look at the stuff that happens after the murder, too. It speaks to the humanity in the show.β
Preston says Elsbethβs fashion sense has also resonated with viewers. The first season made much of her offbeat style and played off it. Now, fans have noted she dispenses with her collection of bags sometime in each episode.
What's in all those bags? That shouldn't matter, says Carrie Preston, who plays Elsbeth (here with Carra Patterson) in the CBS drama.
βOnce Iβve got the killer and Iβm ready to go in and frame them, I donβt have the bags,β Preston explains. βI find it fascinating how many people are interested in whatβs in the bags but, you know, arenβt you interested in whatβs in Elsbethβs brain, too?β
Thatβs where a Rolodex of information whirls. Soon after the experts are pulled in, Elsbeth begins connecting the dots and figures out how to trap the suspect most likely.
βThis show is named after one character, Elsbeth, but it takes 200 people to lift her up and bring her out to you,β Preston says. βIβm very humbled.β
"Elsbeth" airs on CBS.Β
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