How “Elsbeth” Season 2 became the craziest and biggest success story on television

The leading actress of the CBS procedural, a lawyer and investigator named Elsbeth Tascioni, played by Carrie Prestonis an accidental peacock of clashing patterns and textures that makes an impact in any room, not just because of her wardrobe, but also because she thinks outside the box so unapologetically that her colleagues forget where the box even was.

It is a spin-off of the drama series The good fightoutsourced itself The good womanfor which Preston won an Emmy Award for her portrayal of the crazy, brilliant puzzle solver who sees the world as different from how she exists in it.

While these series were praised for the forceful, immersive way they extricated storylines from real headlines – to the point that audiences wondered if the writers of The good fight were clairvoyant about what would happen in the political world –Elsbeth is a step backwards. And not just about the acronym Scramble of NCIS: Law & Order: SVU: Chicago: 9-1-1 procedural drama series that have metastasized on television. We're talking about a return to TV's bread and butter from decades ago: Columbo. The Rockford Files. Magnum PI

“Someone tweeted: 'Murder she wrote Gay, Elsbeth is for us,'” Preston tells The Daily Beast's Obsessed. “Brilliant. They know what we’re trying to do.”

We talk to Preston and Elsbethshowrunner Jonathan Tolins at the Television Critics Association press tour, a victory lap that doubles as the launch of her surprise hit show.

Season 1 was a Ratings blockbuster This was a rare breakout success for CBS, made all the more remarkable by the fact that it featured a decidedly unconventional female lead rather than a tried-and-tested star. The series' mystery-of-the-week format – a murder is depicted in the first few minutes of the episode and the rest of the running time is spent following Elsbeth as she pieces together a suspect and motive – continues in Season 2, Now that she and Elsbeth are here, her peculiar working style is fully accepted by the police department she was tasked with monitoring.

“We’re tried-and-true comfort food Columbo kind of format,” says Tolins. “There is a ritual comfort in knowing that things will turn out well, that you will catch a murderer, and so on. But I'm amazed at how much we've been allowed to really pursue the things that the writers' room finds interesting and funny and quirky, and we miss out on writing about so many different things in this process that you wouldn't expect in a process.”

In Thursday night's season two premiere, Elsbeth tries to figure out who killed someone for using their phone too much at the opera. Both Preston and Tolins giggle at this suggestion Patti LuPone could be the basis for the suspect; The perpetrator is actually played by Nathan Lane – another in a long line of guest stars from the New York theater world who have come through and moved on Elsbeth.

There was no guarantee of that Elsbeth The gamble would pay off. Elsbeth is a character whose eccentricities endeared audiences even in small quantities The good woman And The good fight. The Elsbeth The Pilot achieved great success by keeping her characters amused and often disheartened by her unusual presence and unique work tactics. But could it last the entire season of a procedural drama in which the strange supporting character now stars?

“It was a side dish and now it’s moved to the center of the plate,” Tolins says. “A quirky supporting character, if you focus too much on her she could curdle. It might not feel entertaining. I was always very aware of really feeling like, “What's too much?” What feels right? Luckily, Carrie plays everything honestly, with real emotion and with intelligence. So it's never just been shit, it's just that I'm always worried. I always make sure it feels right in the bag that she’s in and that she’s fun and silly, but also her intelligence and her warmth.”

For Preston, whose TV career has included him appearing as the main character's best friend for a long time on shows like… True blood And ClawsIt was also my first time at the top of the list and anchoring a series – a challenge with its own pressures when you're not playing a character that everyone describes as a bit bizarre and takes some getting used to.

“I have a new position as a lead on a television show,” says Preston. “I've always been the supporting player, fortunately, so all those things have really gone hand in hand in a productive way, I think. Elsbeth had some ups and downs last season (with the police). She took on the task not like a fish out of water, but like a fish in water. But people wanted to treat her like a fish out of water.”

At the end of the first season, Elsbeth's self-confidence begins to waver when she is unable to solve a case and is almost forced out of her job. As season two begins, it's a relief to see that she's found her rhythm again – as unique as that rhythm may be to her.

“I like that it’s a single woman. She only has one boyfriend and one dog at most, but she is attached to her life,” says Preston. “She is committed to this work and really wanted it to continue. The danger of that being taken away from her will, in my opinion, never completely disappear. And it’s always good to have conflict.”

For both Preston and Tolins, it was a pleasant surprise that the viewers who came to see them didn't just talk about enjoying Elsbeth as comedic relief. They respond emotionally to the show, particularly to the way Elsbeth sees the world. Their strangeness is not portrayed with cynicism. She approaches every challenge and interaction with seriousness and enthusiasm. She is a Chicago transplant in New York who views the city, its sights and its people with an almost moving sense of wonder.

As a New Yorker myself, it has changed my perspective on the city in which I live. Preston says the role of Elsbeth did the same thing for her.

“I’ve lived in New York for over 30 years and don’t look up,” she says. “I’m looking up now, you know? I mean, I really do. I mean that literally, but also just metaphorically. I really take the time to absorb what this amazing city has to offer.”

The city itself has its own character. In the pilot, Elsbeth comes to the famous fountain at Lincoln Center in a red double-decker sightseeing bus. A memorable instance in Season 1 occurred during the running shows during New York Fashion Week. The second season premiere takes viewers to the Metropolitan Opera House.

Preston and Tolins dream of locations where they could set future episodes, such as the elevated walkways of the High Line or the Natural History Museum. Of course, the nature of the series complicates matters.

“You call a place and say we want to shoot a CBS show there, and they go. “Oh, sure, wonderful. What is it about?'” Tolins says with a laugh. “'Well, there's a murder happening…' Suddenly they lose their enthusiasm.”

Requests to film at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the US Open is being held, and at the Juilliard School for Performing Arts – Preston's alma mater – were met with conversations like these. Luckily, says Tolins, “every place in New York is special”—a very Elbethian way of looking at things.

“I've also noticed that I actually say things to people, like when I see someone who looks great, I just say, 'Wow, you look really great.' “I love this outfit in a way I wouldn’t have before,” says Preston. “This character rubs off on me in the best way. I think we should all have a little bit of Elsbeth in us.”

“I'm amazed at how often people say to me, 'She's what we need right now,'” Tolins says. “She brings a kind of warmth and joy into the world that people long for.”