Steven Prusakowski
When CBS submitted Elsbeth as a comedy for the upcoming Emmy season, some people were surprised. But if you’ve watched even one episode of Carrie Preston at work as the titular character, Elsbeth Tascioni, this category choice is no surprise at all.
For three seasons, Preston has entertained audiences as the whimsical, unorthodox crime-solving lawyer who is equal parts Columbo and Lucille Ball. The character solves crimes in reverse – that is, the audience knows who the killer is and we watch Elsbeth put together the pieces to catch up. In season three, Elsbeth is given even more opportunities to let her comedic flag fly. The actress is already the owner of a Primetime Emmy for her work on another Robert and Michelle King series, The Good Wife.
When the actress was my guest on TV Topics, she was every bit as joyful as Elsbeth herself. Quick to laugh, deeply thoughtful about her craft, and clearly having the time of her life playing a character who chooses wonder and positivity in a world that often doesn’t.
Our conversation flowed easily across her lifelong love of television (including a deep X-Files obsession) and her comedic heroes like Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball, who inspired her exploration and invention of physical comedy moments on set. Listen to it in its entirety below.
“Watching a lot of Carol Burnett, I was like, I want to do her, I want to be her, I want to do what she does. I want to become somebody different each time,” shared Preston. “And if I’m playing somebody different, shouldn’t they sound different and move differently and all that stuff?”
When it came to the category shift for Elsbeth, Preston found it overdue. “I mean, the character was always comedic. So that was why it was a little perplexing that we were in the drama category from the beginning. The character is a very delightful, positive, joyful, daffy, spacey person who, you know, can run and will run into walls and slip on couches and do all those things that are quintessentially Lucille Ball,” shared Preston. “I think the writers understand how to find that balance. And they do find a lot of dramatic moments. But ultimately we’re trying to give people a little something joyous to experience.”
This injection of joy into a crime scene is unexpected, throwing off suspects with her resilient spirit as she pieces together the crime while choosing to stay positive. “What makes it stand out from the other sort of crime procedurals is her attitude towards everything,” expressed Preston. “She’s very decisive that she’s deciding to be that. That’s not everybody’s instinct, you know, and you have to really choose to be that in this world. You have to be curious, because it’s so easy to shut down. That’s what I love about her, is that even when she’s down, she can say, ‘Yeah, I feel down, that’s okay. But I’m choosing the next moment.’”
Preston makes deliberate choices as she taps into Elsbeth’s mindset, exploring what drives her and discovering the humor in each scene. “When I was dancing with the little kids, wearing the tutu and the whole thing, I was like, Elsbeth would take this very seriously, really trying to do good. She’s not making fun of this. She really wants to be a good dancer. And that to me, then, is where the comedy comes out. The more committed and truthful you are with it.”
One of the emotional highlights (series spoilers ahead) was the assassination of Judge Milton Crawford, an unexpected twist that sent shockwaves through the show for multiple reasons. Not least because the character was played by Preston’s real-life husband, Michael Emerson (Lost, Evil) triggering some real emotion in the actress.
“To see your husband lying on a cold set of steps with blood coming out of his chest was not something that you want to keep in your mind for very long.”“It was a great moment for the character, because he’s the one that got away,” expressed Preston. “It brought up a lot of conflicting feelings for her. It gave the character some depth and range that we hadn’t maybe seen. And I appreciated that, being able to mine the character in a deeper way than I had anticipated being able to.”
Be sure to check out Carrie’s work on Elsbeth. The season 3 finale airs this Thursday on CBS. All other episodes which are packed with an array of great guest stars like Stephen Colbert, Amy Sudeikis, and Andy Richter (and that’s just in one episode) are now streaming on Paramount+.
Just as importantly, listen to our full conversation where she talks about the TV that connects with her from The X-Files which captured her “ in sort of an obsessive way” to the point she was taping every episode on her VCR to the NBC classic, Parenthood. It is a fun conversation that will make you appreciate her work on Elsbeth more and what it is like to sit on the couch and watch some TV with the actress.
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