Carrie Preston has known Elsbeth Tascioni for 15 years.
She first played the quirky lawyer with a penchant for brightly colored clothing and unconventional thinking on an episode of
The Good Wife
in 2010, winning an Emmy in 2013 for the role and returning for guest appearances several times.
The character now has her own spin-off show — CBS’s popular procedural
Elsbeth.
She plays the title character, who moves from Chicago to New York City and works to investigate crimes with the police instead of defending the accused in court.
“I never expected I’d have my own show, or that Elsbeth would be the center of a show, but the character did stay with me,” Preston told Yahoo Entertainment. “She’s very infectious. She’s joyful and positive and curious and mercurial and has this brilliant mind. That just doesn’t leave you easily when you play it. It stays with you.”
Since Elsbeth was technically a guest character on
The Good Wife
and
The Good Fight
for many years, she was never sure when she’d be coming back onscreen.
“I look at every day as a miracle and as if it’s the last day that I get to play her, because I don’t want to waste a moment,” she said. “People really love that she’s unconventional. She’s not like any of the other detectives on TV.”
One of Preston’s favorite things about Elsbeth is that fans tell her she “represents a lot of people who are underrepresented.”
“Women who are reinventing themselves, who are relying on their brains to get through the day. They’re not attached to a particular man or person,” she said. “They have their own way of doing things that’s unusual, and their brains work in a different way than maybe the people around them.”
One of Elsbeth’s signature characteristics on the show is how she’s able to notice clues and quirks that other people can’t because of her unusual way of thinking. This has led
fans to speculate
Preston wondered whether Elsbeth might be neurodivergent, but he didn’t want to assign her a specific label.
We’re all extremely cautious about diagnosing her since she is so distinctive,” Preston stated. “She stands as uniquely herself, which I adore about her. If we attempted to assign any sort of diagnosis or tag to her, I believe it might restrict her potential, for eventually I wouldn’t meet the expectations set by the diagnosis, or it could lead to discussions without clear answers.
“I simply wanted to mention her name is Elsbeth,” Preston added.
She exudes joyfulness, positivity, curiosity, and exhibits changeable moods, possessing an exceptional intellect.
Carrie Preston discusses portraying Elsbeth
An endearing aspect of the character is her penchant for donning vibrant hues and an abundance of accessories. Preston acknowledged Dan Lawson, the show’s costume designer, who has meticulously refined Elsbeth’s appearance from her first episode onward.
The Good Wife,
for giving her such a prominent “visually distinctive” persona.
I admire her sense of fashion. I enjoy wearing colorful clothes; it’s always been a passion of mine throughout my life. I have a penchant for incorporating designs and hues into my wardrobe,” explained Preston. “Seriously, just check with my mother! She often referred to it as ‘comical styling’ since I would combine different prints and opt for looks that probably didn’t align with those of other children.
Elsbeth
took inspiration from Preston’s personal life in another way — the show cast her real-life husband, Michael Emerson, as her onscreen adversary. They’ve worked together many times over the years, but this is the first time he played the villain.
I would undoubtedly place this at the pinnacle [of our collaborative achievements],” she stated. “Since we’re directly competing against each other, it has led to several intriguing and charged scenes that we’ve never had the chance to portray before.
“And we definitely don’t share any of that in our everyday lives,” she said with a laugh.
Without spoiling Emerson’s character’s fate, Preston said it was “thrilling for the show,” albeit “sad and scary.”
She mentioned that it surprised every fan!
The
Elsbeth
The Season 2 finale will air on May 8 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.