“Elsbeth is quite different from The Handmaid’s Tale and Shōgun and things like that,” the actress says about the category switch.
Elsbeth took a major gamble this season by switching from drama to comedy for awards submissions, and it paid off with two nominations at the Critics Choice Awards for Best Comedy Series and Best Comedy Actress for Carrie Preston.
As the actress and producer tells Gold Derby, she was on the set of Elsbeth “shooting a drag brunch scene” when the news of the noms was announced. “That was pretty fitting for our first comedy nomination,” she laughs, adding that she was relieved their category-switch gambit paid off.
Preston has played the character of Elsbeth Tascioni, a Chicago lawyer-turned-New York City police consultant, for 15 years — first on The Good Wife, then on The Good Fight, and now on Elsbeth. She won an Emmy for Best Drama Guest Actress for The Good Wife in 2013, and also received three Critics Choice bids for that original show.
“We try to add joy and positivity and all those things that you think of when you think of comedies,” Preston says about Elsbeth, explaining how it is “quite different from The Handmaid’s Tale and Shōgun and things like that.” She also explains why she always finds herself rooting for people like Ellen Pompeo (Grey’s Anatomy) and Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), because they’ve “been doing this for decades.”
Huge news — Elsbeth was nominated at the Critics Choice Awards for Best Comedy Series and Best Comedy Actress. What went through your mind when you heard the news?
Carrie Preston: I guess there was a little bit of relief, because CBS petitioned for us to be switched from drama. We had been in the drama category for Seasons 1 and 2 and, of course, Elsbeth is quite different from The Handmaid’s Tale and Shōgun and things like that. Luckily it wasn’t a no from any of the places that they petitioned, but when they did say yes, then there was the pressure of, “Oh my gosh, does this mean now we have to get nominated for something?” So, I was relieved that happened, and even if nothing else happens along the way, at least it was worth their effort to get that change.
Elsbeth herself is so quirky, so it feels like you’re better at home with these other comedy actress nominees than you would be with drama.
Yes, yes. I don’t think that people knew quite what to do when they would see us on the drama ballots. That doesn’t match with the other things. Even though Severance is a quirky thing, this is decidedly light and there’s a lot of levity, and we try to add joy and positivity and all those things that you think of when you think of comedies. As a matter of fact, when we all found out that the show was nominated and that I was nominated, we were shooting a drag brunch scene. So, there you go. That was pretty fitting for our first comedy nomination.
In your Best Comedy Actress category, you’re up against Kristen Bell, Natasha Lyonne, Rose McIver, Edi Patterson, and Jean Smart. What goes through your mind when you hear some of these names?
I love so many of those shows and those actors, so I feel honored to be mentioned with them. I know that sounds trite, but it’s true. Obviously Jean, but even being in there with Kristen Bell, who’s been doing this for so long, and I love her show, I’m like, “Yeah, she should get that award!” I find that I root for people who’ve especially been in the trenches for a long time. I often say after doing Elsbeth, now we’re in our third season and we do 20 episodes, I think, gosh, who deserves all the awards? Ellen Pompeo and Mariska Hargitay! They have been doing this for decades. You know what I mean? It requires a lot of you to be there for that long and to keep trying to make those scenes fresh and good and fun.
With the show being nominated, Elsbeth is probably going to have its own table at the Critics Choice Awards. You’re going to be the “cool table,” right?
I hope so! Michael [Emerson], my husband, is going to come out with me, so that’ll be fun, especially since he was part of the show in Season 2. And [showrunner] Jonathan Tolins will be there. I don’t know if Wendell [Pierce] is going to be able to make it, but the two of us are the only series regulars in the show, which is kind of fun. You look over at the Ghosts table and they have an epic cast. It’ll be just a thrill to be together and celebrate together all the hard work.
Elizabeth never gives up, even when everyone around her is saying she’s wrong. Is she kind of like the TV version of The Little Engine That Could?
That sounds about right. Yeah, she’s definitely tenacious. I think she gets her energy and her thrill off of that drive and off of that need to get to the bottom of a thing. She’s like a dog with a bone or a pig with a truffle. She’s just going to keep digging until she can get it. And that makes it fun to play. I mean, I can sort of relate to that. Some of my friends call me Tenacious P because I do tend to get focused on certain things and try to make a thing happen or make a thing work and chip away at something. I find great joy in that.
The Dec. 18 episode is called “A Hard Nut to Crack,” and the guest stars are Andrew Rannells and Willow McConnaughy. What can you tell us about that one?
This is such a fun episode. We had such a great time shooting. This is the Christmas episode and it has that title because it’s about a production of The Nutcracker. It does take a big, fun-hearted swing at some of the trends that are happening in New York theater right now. Andrew is just absolutely delightful. His sensibility, his comic timing, all that stuff just fits so perfectly into our show. I get to wear a tutu. I mean, what else do you want? It’s really fun, and our production design is insane. This production of Nutcracker, let’s just say it’s non-traditional. It required our production designer Nick Francone and our whole crew to create a really fun set. They went above and beyond what was required for it. So, I can’t wait for everyone to see that.
Yeah, you’re definitely wearing an oversized tutu!
It felt like I could set a couple of drinks down on it. [Laughs] It was like a shelf of a tutu. And that one was tamed. That one was option number three or four for the ones that Daniel Lawson, our brilliant costume designer, had gotten me. The first one I put on, he was like, “Oh, I think I’ve gone a little overboard on this one.” So, he found one that was going to be just a little bit more easy to wear, because some of them I couldn’t even sit down in. In the trailer, you might’ve seen that I’m dancing with basically six-year-olds, but just taking it so seriously and enjoying it as much as Elsbeth enjoys everything that she gets the opportunity to try to do.
I imagine Elsbeth has the biggest closet known to man because she’s always wearing something new. What is your favorite part about her style?
Elizabeth dresses for herself. She dresses because it makes her happy to wear those things. It makes her feel good. I know I do that in my life. If I’m having a rough day and I feel sick or I feel bad, I will put on something pink, or something that’s nice, or makeup, and it will change my attitude a little bit. She loves color in her life, and I think that’s something to aspire to and to be inspired by. She’s also very aware how others perceive that, and that in a way it can be like a suit of armor or a disarming thing. People don’t then take her very seriously when they see her dress with four or five different patterns, carrying three tote bags, and wearing a nice bright pussy bow, they’re going to think, “This is someone I shouldn’t take seriously.” And it will be at their peril.
As a fan of The Good Wife universe, I loved seeing Sarah Steele on Elsbeth. What was it like rekindling that relationship?
It was a thrill just to have somebody from that universe coming into ours. Our first day we looked at each other and we were like, “This is freaky.” She hasn’t played the role in a minute, and she’s in the universe, but it’s very different. She’s in a precinct, she’s not in a courtroom. She’s working as a campaign manager, not as a sleuth or one of those that she was doing on The Good Fight. It took a second for us to, but then as soon as we started talking, it was like we were right back there. All that history was there. I also happen to be a huge just fan of Sarah Steele as a person, and I had the great fortune of directing her as well as act with her in The Good Fight. And we also got to enjoy the fact that both of us are just a handful of actors who can say they played the same character in three different series.
Playing off of that, where do you think Elsbeth should be a guest star next?
I think Elsbeth and Matlock would work really well together. I think they would be able to understand each other’s game, because they both use a lot of the same skills, knowing that people are underestimating them and getting the goal that way. I think that Matlock would probably get a kick out of Elsbeth’s style and how she engages in cases and vice versa. I just think that’s an obvious crossover since it’s also the same network.
Before we run, I wanted to talk about Elsbeth having sort of a flirtation with Ivan Hernandez’s NYC mayoral candidate, Alec Bloom. Is that a fun storyline for you to play?
It is! We like to find ways that we can learn more about the character of Elsbeth, not through the case of the week. To see what she’s like on a personal level as a friend, as a mother, and then in a romantic situation. It’s also fun because she’s not like the other kids in any of those situations. And she’s certainly not going to be like the other kids in a romantic relationship. She has to find somebody who is a little bit unconventional himself. This is an unconventional mayoral candidate. Yes, he’s very handsome, but there’s more underneath that. But Elsbeth’s biggest romantic relationship is with her work. That’s where she really shines and where her heart is. I like that we aren’t automatically pairing her up or coupling her up with someone, because she’s enjoying reinventing herself and falling into this new relationship with this new work that she’s found that seems to be her life’s calling.
