Elsbeth Season 2 is really making the most of its increased episode count, with seasonal episodes for every occasion. The latest of these is Episode 11, “Tiny Town,” which sees Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) team up with Angus (Ioan Gruffudd), a Scottish musician who witnessed a murder in New York City via The Iris, a Portal-style installation that connects his coastal town with the Big Apple. As the two work together sparks fly across the ocean, leaving us with what is possibly the swooniest episode of the series thus far.
Collider had the chance to chat with Elsbeth star Preston about the latest episode in the series to see just how they pulled off that transatlantic investigation. We also spoke about working with Gruffudd and whether the two had time to build up the chemistry and connection between their characters. And you know we couldn’t let the interview end without asking for a little tease about what exactly is up with the crafty Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson). Read on for our full interview with Preston.
This episode of Elsbeth has got an interesting setup. It kind of plays on that Portal installation that was in New York last year, and it changed the pace of the investigation this time around. How was it from your point of view in filming this remote investigation, so to speak?
CARRIE PRESTON: It was really challenging technically, but really fulfilling creatively. We had Robert King, who’s the creator of the show, directing, so that was really fun because we knew we were in great hands with him. He’s always like a kid in the candy store whenever he directs. He just relishes it. He spends a lot of time in the writers’ room, so it’s so fun when he gets to actually be boots on the ground. So, he had all these wonderful ideas about how to shoot it and what to do with the technical challenges.
Then I had Ioan Gruffudd, who was incredible, who was coming in to play this new little love interest. We had to shoot those scenes at the Portal on two totally different days. We had to do all of the Scotland stuff first, and then he and I would rehearse in front of [what] was basically like a big, giant picture frame the size of what the Portal is. He would just be standing in it, or sometimes it would be a green screen plug in there, depending on what the shot was going to be. So he and I would rehearse so that we got really comfortable with what the other one was going to do, because once rehearsal was done, then we had to act with just the camera with the voice of whoever was doing the scene behind the camera. So I couldn’t see him whenever I was actually finally doing the scenes with him, but I had the memory of what we had just rehearsed. So we did all the Scotland stuff first, and then it was a week before we did my side, but it was kind of great because those scenes then kind of percolated in my mind, so by the time we got to my side of it, I felt like I got a little second chance at the scenes, which you don’t usually get on TV.
Carrie Preston and Ioan Gruffudd Had Time To Build Their On-Screen Chemistry in ‘Elsbeth’
Did you feel as though, having the time to ruminate on this scene, the way you approached it the second time around had changed, or were you really trying to stay true to where you were in the moment, filming the Scotland stuff?
PRESTON: I tried to give it the same energy that I did when I was there for him off-camera, but at the same time, I’m always open to new things happening, and this just gave me the opportunity to have even more new things happen, which was a real gift because, like I said, usually you only get one shot. You do a scene one day, and then it’s over, and that’s it. You don’t get to do it again. So, I did enjoy that side of it. That was really fun.
I want to talk about working with Ioan Gruffudd as this new love interest for Elsbeth. You did get to work with him prior to him coming to New York to see her. Was that done in that order, so you had the time to build up that dynamic prior to shooting their actual face-to-face meeting?
PRESTON: Yes. Thankfully, the scheduling worked to our advantage in that we did his, the Scotland stuff, first, earlier in the schedule, like almost at the beginning of the schedule, and then my stuff with him, including meeting him in person, was towards the end of the schedule. So that did help us this time. You can tell that our relationship was building. Sometimes, we have to start with the last thing first, and that’s always very hard to do, especially for the guest stars because they’ve never been on the show before and they’re playing a character they’ve never played. I’ve been playing this character for 15 years, so it’s not an even playing ground. But in this case, we did get to build it together.
It really did come through because, by the time I got to the end of the episode, I was giggling like I was watching a rom-com.
PRESTON: Yay! It was a rom-com episode.
I love that we are getting so many seasonal episodes on Elsbeth. We had Halloween, we had Christmas, and we have Valentine’s Day. I know there’s a murder happening in the episode, so it’s still quite serious, but they always feel so lighthearted, like a special occasion. Does it feel similar on set when you’re doing this kind of seasonal episode? I know you’re filming it months ahead of the actual holiday.
PRESTON: Yes, it does. It does feel that way. And that’s largely to do with our crew. One of our second ADs, her name is Teena Marie, and if there’s a theme for an episode, and she’s the second AD on it, she will blanket us all with treats and costumes and fun novelty things. So when we were doing the Christmas episode, I want to say it was early October, but we were all walking around wearing Santa hats that she’d gotten everybody, and everybody was in the Christmas spirit, even though it was not even close to even Thanksgiving. In the Valentine’s [episode], of course, we had Valentine’s heart candies, and we had Valentine’s cakes and things on set. Our production really does try to pick up the themes of the show and inspire the crew, who work long hours, to have fun and take inspo from the material.
We’ve never seen Elsbeth in this kind of mutually flirty space before. A lot of firemen think she’s cute, but it’s never been a reciprocal thing. Then she’s got this friendship-turned-something-more with this charming musician/fireman. What was it like getting to play this side of the character, and how did you make it uniquely Elsbeth in your process?
PRESTON: I think the last time we saw her embroiled in any kind of romance was during The Good Wife, when she had the spark with Josh Perotti, who was played by Kyle MacLachlan. We were guests and visitors in that universe, so it had a certain tone to it. Then with this, we really wanted to honor the tone of our show, but also maybe add—or at least I did—that this feels a little more like a more serious connection and not just a kind of work spar that turns into a one-night stand. So I think, because our show is really making Elsbeth more three-dimensional, that made sense. Also, it’s the Valentine’s Day episode, so we knew that we wanted to make something that would make everybody’s hearts melt a little bit, and so I hope that we accomplished that.
I’m a big romance person, and I can say yes, absolutely. I’m hoping he comes back.
PRESTON: [Laughs] Even the crew was like, “Aww!” They were standing around the monitor and going, “Aww,” rooting for the two of them.
Elsbeth Reminds Everyone What a Brilliant Lawyer She Is in Season 2
This week on the show, we’ve put the season-long troubles that Elsbeth’s having with Van Ness and Judge Crawford to the side, but I want to go back to the episode prior to this one for just a second. We’ve seen Elsbeth go to bat for everybody else before, and she’s finally gone to bat for herself because she’s now finally legally able to go to bat for herself. Is it fun to get back into that lawyer-y Elsbeth mindset on such a personal level for the character?
PRESTON: Yeah. That’s a good way to put it. I like the way you just put that. I’m always mindful of making sure that I and the audience remember that she comes from decades of working as a brilliant lawyer. That’s what I loved when we went to the courthouse. We got to see her being in a legal situation but without the power that she’s used to having in that situation. So, in this case, yes, it’s always good to do these callbacks to her legal mind, and when the writers put things in where she does think more like a lawyer than a detective, and she’s able to use her legal expertise to make her an even stronger detective.
You mentioned earlier you’ve been playing this character for 15 years now, on and off. But now, with Season 2 being in its eleventh episode, this has surpassed Season 1 in terms of episode runtime, and this is the longest back-to-back that you’ve been in this role. Has that changed anything for you in the way that you play her?
PRESTON: It’s largely to do with just being able to live inside the character for 14 hours a day, every day. You have an ease with it where sometimes I think, “Am I doing the character anymore?” Because it’s becoming more second nature. Whereas on The Good Wife, I would only appear, like, once a year, if that, for maybe one or two episodes, and then I would be doing many other things, and then I would come back and have to refamiliarize myself with the character. Also, the writing is just deeper. We’re finding more little tics. I love getting the episodes because I learn more about her. I try to find fresh choices.
I try to be consistent with the character, but also maybe try out things that you wouldn’t think, like in Episode 9, the one with Eric McCormack in the spa. I had this very vulnerable scene sitting in front of a fire with the great Marcia DeBonis, who was playing Elsbeth’s journey partner, and the writing was beautiful. Then I thought, “Let’s just slow this whole showdown for a second and drop down into a place that is maybe more vulnerable than we’re used to seeing.” Because we have the real estate to do that now. Whereas when I was guesting, there was only so far I could go with that kind of thing.
I know you can’t say much about what’s coming up for the rest of the season, but what can you tease?
PRESTON: Judge Crawford is not going away. His power and his reach are pretty epic. He’s definitely a formidable foe for Elsbeth, and we’re going to continue to see the stakes ratchet up higher and higher for the rest of the season.
