Clear your Sunday night: the sharp, offbeat dramedy Elsbeth returns with a star-studded guest lineup and twisty new cases. Tony Hale, Dianne Wiest, and Lois Smith are set to appear in pivotal Season 3 episodes, adding even more prestige to a series that blends clever mysteries with razor-edged humor. The season premieres Sunday, Oct. 12 (9:30–10:30 PM, ET/9:00–10:00 PM, PT) on CBS, with episodes available to stream on Paramount+.
What to Expect When Season 3 Premieres
Spun off from The Good Wife and The Good Fight, Elsbeth centers on the brilliant yet delightfully unconventional consent decree attorney Elsbeth Tascioni (Preston). Now embedded with the NYPD, she deploys her singular perspective to unravel crimes among New York City’s moneyed elite—often spotting what others miss and disarming suspects with her disarming charm.
Wendell Pierce, a series staple since the beginning, continues as Captain Charles Wallace, Elsbeth’s pragmatic and ever-patient counterpart within the department. Carra Patterson, who portrayed Kaya Blanke through the first two seasons, shifts from series regular to guest star this year, signaling fresh dynamics without losing fan-favorite faces.
A Closer Look at the New Guest Stars
Tony Hale Plays a Paranoid FinTech Power Broker in Episode 6
Emmy winner Tony Hale steps into Season 3 as Craig Hollis, a FinTech CEO rattled by the current “eat the rich” mood. Determined to secure his safety, he installs a high-tech safe room beneath his opulent townhouse—a fortress that proves to be a flawed tool in a deadly scheme. As Elsbeth peels back the layers of Hollis’s anxieties and alibis, the episode turns the concept of security inside out, finding human fallibility behind even the fanciest fortress.
Dianne Wiest Leads a Convent With Steely Resolve in Episode 7
Two-time Academy Award winner Dianne Wiest appears as Reverend Mother Constance Mary Cabot, a leader tasked with protecting her convent and the community of sisters who call it home. When an irreverent pop star threatens to upend their peaceful life—and potentially force the sisters out—Mother Constance resolves to defend the convent by any means necessary. The resulting case weaves faith, fame, and fierce loyalty into a moral maze Elsbeth must navigate with her trademark empathy and insight.
Lois Smith Finds Drama in Poetry and Power in Episode 5
Stage and screen icon Lois Smith portrays Delores Feinn, a cantankerous but steadfast patron of the Pidgeon Press poetry journal. She has long promised a substantial bequest—eventually. Her presence brings old loyalties and new pressures into stark focus, especially as the journal’s founding director, played by the previously announced William Jackson Harper, scrambles for funding. When art, ego, and inheritance collide, Elsbeth’s attention to the smallest detail proves to be poetry in motion.
Returning Favorites and High-Profile Cameos
Fans of The Good Wife universe will be delighted to see Sarah Steele reprise Marissa Gold in an upcoming episode, reconnecting the series with its acclaimed lineage. The Season 3 premiere also boasts a late-night TV twist: Stephen Colbert guests as Scotty Bristol, a talk-show host whose on-air bravado meets off-air complications. Andy Richter co-stars as Mickey Muntz, Scotty’s hilarious yet long-suffering sidekick, while Amy Sedaris appears as Laurel Hammond-Muntz, the determined head writer and executive producer of the hit late-night series Way Late.
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More Season 3 Highlights You Won’t Want to Miss
Lindsay Mendez Brings Comic Timing to a Crime Scene
Lindsay Mendez pops up in the premiere as Officer Grace Hackett, a dedicated cop who moonlights as an aspiring stand-up. When a case takes Elsbeth into the comedy world, Hackett’s insider knowledge and hustle prove surprisingly useful—on stage and off.
Annaleigh Ashford Heats Up a Halloween Showstopper
Annaleigh Ashford guest stars in a special Halloween-themed installment as Sharon Norman, a picture-perfect suburban wife with deadly secrets. Ashford recently drew acclaim as the daughter of a serial killer in the Paramount+ series Happy Face, executive produced by Robert and Michelle King—who, alongside Jonathan Tolins, power the world of Elsbeth as well.
The Minds Behind the Mystery
Elsbeth is produced by CBS Studios and executive produced by Robert King, Michelle King, Jonathan Tolins, Liz Glotzer, Erica Shelton Kodish, Bryan Goluboff, and Gail Barringer, with Tolins serving as showrunner. The Kings co-created the series, continuing their tradition of character-rich legal and crime storytelling infused with wit and social bite.
Where You’ve Seen These Stars Before
Tony Hale’s Comedy Reign
Tony Hale is beloved for his Emmy-winning turn as Gary Walsh on HBO’s Veep, where his blend of anxious loyalty and pinpoint comic timing became a modern classic. He also achieved cult status as Buster Bluth on Arrested Development, a role that showcased his knack for off-kilter oddballs with heart. Recent credits include the Netflix dark comedy The Decameron and Angel Studios’ family thriller Sketch, which he both starred in and executive-produced. Hale is represented by UTA.
Dianne Wiest’s Award-Laden Career
Dianne Wiest currently appears in Season 5 of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building as Lorraine Coluca, the widow of slain doorman Teddy Coluca—placing her right at the heart of the season’s mystery. The role reunites Wiest with Steve Martin, Meryl Streep, and Nathan Lane, collaborators from a constellation of film and television projects. Her two Academy Awards, for Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters and Bullets Over Broadway, headline a resume that also includes The Purple Rose of Cairo, Footloose, and The Mule, and TV turns in In Treatment, Road to Avonlea, and Mayor of Kingstown. Up next, she reprises Aunt Jet in Practical Magic 2 and appears in Paramount Players’ Apartment 7A. Wiest is represented by CAA.
Lois Smith’s Stage-and-Screen Mastery
Lois Smith recently earned a Tony Award for her performance in Matthew Lopez’s The Inheritance at the Barrymore Theatre, cementing her status as a Broadway mainstay. On film, she’s appeared in Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, Marjorie Prime, East of Eden, The French Dispatch, Fatal Attraction, Minority Report, Twister, Fried Green Tomatoes, and The End. Her television credits include Law & Order: Organized Crime, Ray Donovan, On Becoming a God in Central Florida, The Affair, and The Americans. Smith also played the family matriarch Adele Stackhouse in HBO’s hit vampire drama True Blood. She is represented by Cornerstone Talent Agency in New York and AKA Talent Agency in Los Angeles.
Why This Season’s Casting Moves the Needle
Elsbeth thrives on character-driven puzzles and social satire—two elements that sing when top-tier actors bring them to life. Adding Tony Hale, Dianne Wiest, and Lois Smith to the Season 3 tapestry promises cases that are not only twisty and timely, but emotionally resonant and slyly funny. With fan-favorite faces returning, a playful late-night backdrop in the premiere, and a Halloween episode designed to thrill, the series looks primed to keep viewers guessing week after week.
Tune in Sunday, Oct. 12 (9:30–10:30 PM, ET/9:00–10:00 PM, PT) on CBS and stream on Paramount+ to see how Elsbeth Tascioni turns New York’s most confounding cases into elegantly solved riddles. If you’re new to the franchise or a longtime fan of The Good Wife and The Good Fight, Season 3 offers a perfect jumping-in point—and a reminder that in Elsbeth’s world, the smallest detail can crack the biggest case.
