Casting director Findley Davidson deserves tons of praise for all of the amazing guest stars she’s been able to land for the first two seasons of CBS’ Elsbeth. Everyone from Mary-Louise Parker and Matthew Broderick to Vanessa Williams and David Alan Grier has popped up to play alongside our quirky, pseudo-detective, brought to life by the impeccably talented Carrie Preston. Davidson was even able to cast Preston’s real-life husband, Michael Emerson (Lost), as an evil judge determined to take down Elsbeth in Season 2. But there’s one actor that Davidson would truly love to include in Elsbeth’s line-up next season.
‘Elsbeth’s Casting Director Is Hoping To Bring Phoebe Waller-Bridge Onboard
Davidson noted in a recent interview with Variety that it was difficult initially to pull in guest stars for the series. She’d call agencies, and they’d be confused by the non-traditional name of the show, often thinking Davidson was citing the name Elizabeth. However, as soon as Elsbeth became popular with critics and fans alike, it became much easier to book talent. Then, Davidson was able to read the scripts and imagine who would be the perfect guest star for each episode. She said, “There are certain scripts where I get chills because you read them, you think of a short list of names, and you just have an instinct that they’re going to respond to it.” The formula of each episode starting with a guest star committing a murder, and then Elsbeth being tasked to solve the crime has made the series a surefire hit. Because Elsbeth has changed things up by offering a ‘how-catch-um’ instead of a ‘whodunit’, they’ve created a fun playground for these guest stars to take part in. There are plenty of actors that Davidson would love to cast in future episodes, but there’s one that was on the tip of her tongue: Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge Would Make an Excellent Addition to the ‘Elsbeth’ Roster
Davidson noted that Waller-Bridge “is someone who I think would be interesting and a little bit of a departure from what we’ve seen.” This versatile actor would be a fantastic choice for the Elsbeth crew to include in a future episode. She’s done everything from voice the droid, L3-37 in the Star Wars film, Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018 to writing and producing the dark thriller series, Killing Eve (from 2018 to 2022). Waller-Bridge even showed off her action skills in 2023’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. But the reason the actor would be the perfect choice to play off of Elsbeth is her role in Fleabag, a Prime Video dark comedy which consisted of 12 episodes from 2016 to 2019. This project demonstrates Waller-Bridge’s ability to infuse comedy and drama (which is also something Elsbeth has mastered), and it shows off her hilarious, dry wit. Fleabag also managed to help Waller-Bridge land three Emmy wins.
Davidson noted that many guest stars love coming on the show because they can film one episode instead of committing to a longer run on the series (which amounts to about 10 days on set). This would work out well since Waller-Bridge is pretty much always booked and busy these days (including an intriguing upcoming Tomb Raider project). Waller-Bridge has created chemistry over the years with many famous actors, including Olivia Colman, Andrew Scott (who memorably played Hot Priest in Fleabag), and Harrison Ford, but acting alongside Preston would be another boon to her career. Davidson stated that Preston has become one of the draws for guest stars coming on the show, saying, “Carrie just sets the tone so beautifully on set. She’s been doing this for a long time; she’s friends with many of these actors. She’s just a big, big draw because people love working with Carrie.” And for fans of Elsbeth, who wouldn’t love to see Waller-Bridge’s subtle intensity in the same room with Elsbeth’s many tote bags and goofy enthusiasm?
Waller-Bridge, with her impressive comedic timing and flair for dark humor, would be a fun, compelling killer for Elsbeth to investigate. But there’s also the possibility that the actor could pop up as an entirely different type of character. Now that Elsbeth’s partner, Kaya (Carra Patterson), left at the end of Season 2, Waller-Bridge could always step in as a new detective that Elsbeth could work with. Even if Waller-Bridge is far too busy writing, producing, and acting to take on a long-term role on the series, it would be fascinating if Davidson could actually get her wish to have the genius actor take part in the show’s third season (which is expected to return this fall). If anyone would make a great addition to the show, it would be Waller-Bridge and her unique talent.
