Carrie Preston brings her offbeat lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni from Chicago to New York City in the new CBS series, “Elsbeth,” which premiered Thursday, Feb. 29, at 10 p.m. The actress originated the character on “The Good Wife” and continued to play her on the original series’ first spin-off, “The Good Fight.”
Now Elsbeth, who’s always had an eye for details, shadows the NYPD on their investigations as an “outside observer” due to a court-ordered police consent decree. Although, as her new boss points out, the police are more often following her.
Here’s a complete “Elsbeth” cast and character guide for the quirky drama.
Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni
Preston nabbed an Emmy in 2013 for her guest role as Elsbeth in “The Good Wife,” a role she has now played for 14 years. She also costarred on “Claws” and “True Blood.” The colorfully dressed character may not exactly blend in, but she also cannot be ignored, either by skeptical police captains or smug criminals who think she’s some kind of a rube.
Wendell Pierce as Captain C.W. Wagner
Pierce is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Bunk Moreland on the acclaimed series “The Wire,” which he played from 2002-2008. Once again in uniform on “Elsbeth,” his character Captain C.W. Wagner does not approve of the determined former lawyer and has threatened to shoot her on at least one occasion if she doesn’t get out of his way.
Carra Patterson as Officer Kaya Blanke
The actress, whose film credits include “Straight Outta Compton” and “Rustin,” plays Officer Kaya Blanke, who is assigned to keep an official eye on Elsbeth. It’s no surprise, however, that she’s soon acting as the Watson to Elsbeth’s Sherlock.
Danny Mastrogiorgio as Detective Smullen
The actor, who played Frankie Carbone on “Gotham,” costars as the unsmiling Detective Smullen, who has to admit that Elsbeth is sometimes better than him at solving crimes.
Fredric Lehne as Lt. Dave Noonan
Lehne, who’s appeared on everything from “Murder, She Wrote” to “Lost” and “Supernatural,” plays Lt. Dave Noonan.
Stephen Moyer as Alex Modarian
The “True Blood” and “Sexy Beast” star plays theater director Alex Modarian, who murdered one of his students and made it look like a suicide in the pilot episode of the series.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Skip Mason
The “Modern Family” alum plays the reality TV producer of a show called “Lavish Ladies,” who turns to murder to cover up his misdeeds in the episode titled “Reality Shock.”
Jane Krakowski as Joann Lenox
The “30 Rock” star plays real estate broker Joann Lenox in episode “A Classic New York Character.”
Gloria Reuben as Claudia Payne
The “ER” and “Mr. Robot” alum joins the cast in a recurring role as Captain Wagner’s bubbly wife Claudia. She first meets Elsbeth in “Love Knocked Off” and declares the quirky lawyer to be “a slice of heaven.”
As Reuben told TheWrap, she took the role because she’d always wanted to work with actor Wendell Pierce. “I love him because he’s obviously one of the greats,” she said. She’s also a fan of Preston’s now. “I just adore her. I don’t know what energy source she’s plugged into, but she’s definitely plugged into her own source. She’s so generous in her personality and in her energy and just really, really lovely,” said Reuben.
Retta as Margo Clarke
The “Good Girls” star plays an elite matchmaker whom becomes a suspect when the hunky Aussie she matched with one of her clients is revealed to be just some guy from New Jersey… and he’s now missing.
Danny McCarthy as Agent Celentano
Agent Celentano is the one who sent Elsbeth to Captain Wagner’s office and who asks for frequent reports on her findings. McCarthy previously played Agent Daniel Hale on “Prison Break” and Rick on “Somebody Somewhere.” His films include “The Drop,” “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” and “The Exorcist: Believer.”
Micaela Diamond as Detective Edwards
The brusque Detective Edwards, who is in charge of the murder investigation in episode “An Ear for an Ear,” is initially dismissive of Elsbeth and her methods. Her previous credits include “The Gilded Age” and “tick, tick… BOOM!” The Tony-nominated actress and singer has appeared in productions of “Parade,” “The Cher Show” and Stephen Sondheim’s “Here We Are.”
“Elsbeth” airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST on CBS, with new episodes streaming the next day on Paramount+.
