The season 3 premiere of CBS’ Elsbeth addressed that surprise solid exit — but could the fan favorite character return in the longer term?
Throughout the Sunday, October 12, episode, Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) returned to work without Kaya (Carra Patterson) by her side. It was a notable change as Kaya adjusted to an undercover task in Washington D.C, which allowed the show’s creative team to expand the world of the hit police procedural.
“I wish I could say there was some grand plan but a variety of it’s we have now to simply see the way in which the conversation goes within the writers’ room,” executive producer Jonathan Tolins exclusively told Us Weekly on the season 3 screening in partnership with Know Your Lemons and Tribeca at AMC Lincoln Square. “When there’s a surprise for us, that excites us. We all know that’s what we must be pursuing.”
Tolins teased that Captain Wagner’s (Wendell Pierce) life is not going to get more screen time, adding, “We [also] introduce some recent characters who test Elsbeth’s feelings about honesty and trust. She is cultivating recent friendships due to Kaya’s exit.”
When asked whether Kaya will return, Tolins confirmed we are going to “definitely see” more of Patterson’s character, which stills from previous episodes have already teased. Preston also spoke to Us about how the show will roll with the changes.
“[This season] it really works so well with the detectives. But with every case that Elsbeth goes on, it will not be going to be the identical detective each time. So we already had that arrange with different detectives stepping in and now we’re doing the identical thing with the uniformed officers,” Preston, 58, explained. “She’ll click with people in other ways.”
The actress went on to share that she enjoyed the shakeup three seasons into the hit CBS show.
“It keeps the show fresh and it keeps Elsbeth on her game more. She’s working with newer people, younger people and people who she hasn’t met before. So she’s attending to know people,” she noted. “I don’t know if we are going to ever land on only one. Anything can occur. But I actually love the brand new people who we’re working with now.”
Elsbeth, which premiered in 2024, reintroduced the title character after she originally appeared on The Good Wife and The Good Fight. The primary two seasons showed Elsbeth becoming a de facto detective who aids NYPD investigations. Preston stars alongside Pierce and Patterson.
Michael Parmelee/CBS Who knew that Carrie Preston‘s quirky CBS procedural Elsbeth can be secretly sensible at throwing subtle — yet fun — celebrity shade? After originally appearing on The Good Wife and The Good Fight, Preston was reintroduced as Elsbeth Tascioni, who became a de facto detective that aids the NYPD of their investigations. The […]
Fans were in for a surprise when season 2 ended with Patterson departing the show as a series regular.
“It’s been in development for the reason that starting of season 2,” Preston exclusively told Us in May. “We desired to honor her and elevate her to detective. So it was very exciting when that happened for the character. Not as exciting for us though because we love Carra. I really like Carra and I obviously love fidgeting with her.”
Preston promised that wasn’t the last we are going to see of Kaya, adding, “She’s still on the show — it’s just in a unique capability. It’s nice since it adds some conflict and it adds some stuff for Elsbeth to wrestle with. It’s going to deepen my character.”
Elsbeth airs on CBS Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET. Recent episodes stream the subsequent day on Paramount+.