Elsbeth cast: Who stars in the Good Wife spin-off?
By M.N. Miller
If any character on The Good Wife was screaming for their spin-off, it’s the utterly delightful Elsbeth Tascioni! The beloved guest character of the hit CBS series now gets the titular character treatment in her series, aptly titled Elsbeth.
CBS announced that Wendell Pierce and Carra Patterson would join the series in crucial supporting roles. The series also has some notable guest stars, including True Blood’s Stephen Moyer, 30 Rock’s Jane Krakowski, and Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Will this next entry into The Good Wife universe be another hit like The Good Fight? Tune in on Thursday, Feb. 29, to find out!
Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni
Carrie Preston is back as Elsbeth Tascioni, the unconventional and astute lawyer who is also part of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The character was a beloved guest star on The Good Wife, which ran from 2009 to 2016. Preston won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for the series in the middle of the run.
Preston has had a long career in Hollywood, starring in such film and television series as The Holdovers, Claws, and True Blood. She's married to fellow Emmy winner Michael Emerson (Lost, Person of Interest). Besides acting in Elsbeth, she has directed several episodes of television series The Good Fight and Your Honor.
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Wendell Pierce as Captain C.W. Wagner
Wendell Pierce plays C.W. Wagner, a captain in the New York City Police Department. In the CBS series, the character Elsbeth Tascioni is assigned by consent decree by the Department of Justice. Her main job is to observe and make sure Wagner's investigative units follow their performance improvement plan.
Pierce has been a veteran actor in film, stage, and television for over 25 years. Besides starring in notable films such as Malcolm X, Waiting to Exhale, Ray, Selma, and Clemency, Pierce's breakout role came as Detective William "Bunk Moreland" in the acclaimed HBO drama series The Wire.
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Carra Patterson as Officer Kaya Blanke
In Elsbeth, Carra Patterson plays Officer Kaya Blanke. Her character is a New York City policewoman who reluctantly has to guide Elsbeth and report back to her superiors. However, the more she works with the delightfully quirky lawyer, the more Elsbeth grows on Carra.
In such Broadway smash hits as Jitney and Wit, Patterson cut her teeth on the New York stage. Besides her theater work, Patterson has starred in high-profile projects like Rustin, Straight Outta Compton, and The Arrangement. She is also set to star in the new season of the Paramount+ series, Evil.
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Stephen Moyer (Guest Star)
The former True Blood co-star of Carrie Preston, Stephen Moyer, guest stars on the new CBS legal drama. According to Paramount Television, in the pilot, he plays the womanizing director of student plays who enters a game of wit against New York’s newest investigative lawyer.
As mentioned above, Moyer is best known for his role as Bill Compton on the HBO series. He won a Saturn Award for Best Actor in Television for the role that ran from 2008 to 2014. Nowadays, you can catch Compton in the new Paramount+ streaming series Sexy Beast.
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Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Guest Star)
Former Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson plays Skip Mason in the second episode of Elsbeth titled "Reality Shock." According to Paramount Television, the character is a brilliant creator and producer of Lavish Ladies, a popular reality TV show featuring wealthy women and too much white wine.
Ferguson has received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his Mitchell Pritchett on Modern Family. Since then, he has starred in the horror comedy Cocaine Bear and Paramount+ series The Good Fight.
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Jane Krakowski (Guest Star)
The former Ally McBeal star, Jane Krakowski, guest stars in Elsbeth's third episode, "A Classic New York Character." According to Paramount Television, she plays Joann, a high-powered Manhattan real estate broker with huge clients and even bigger secrets.
Krakowski is best known for playing fictional comedy star Jenna Maroney on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. Since her time in the Tina Fey satire, she has starred in the Netflix film Your Christmas or Mine 2. She also continued her career in television with the Apple TV+ series Dickinson and Schmigadoon!.
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Retta (Guest Star)
The former Good Girls star, Retta, guest stars in Elsbeth's fourth episode. She plays Margo, the top matchmaker for New York’s rich and impossible to please. Perhaps best known for her role as Donna Meagle on NBC'sYork's Parks and Recreation, Retta has gone on to star in such hit films as Good Boys and 80 for Brady, as well as the upcoming Richard Linklater film Hit Man, starring Glen Powell.
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Blair Underwood (Guest Star)
According to Paramount Television, Blair Underwood guest stars as the father and coach of a rising tennis star. Underwood is best known for starring as attorney Jonathan Rollins in the NBC hit legal drama L.A. Law from 1987 to 1994. You can see him in the critically acclaimed Ava DuVernay film Origin, starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, and Vera Farmiga. You can currently watch him in the Starz television series Three Women.
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Elsbeth is set to air on Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on CBS. Next day streaming is available on Paramount+. Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more news and coverage!
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