Season 3 of Elsbeth is about to escalate to new levels of danger for Carrie Preston’s titular investigator, thanks to a comedy icon. Collider can share an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming Episode 2, titled “Doll Day Afternoon,” in which Elsbeth Tascioni gets involved in a murder case at a famous New York toy store where she meets a curious man named Nolan, played by Mr. Show and Arrested Development favorite David Cross. When the situation quickly devolves into a hostage crisis, she’s tasked with talking down the ex-con and somehow getting everyone out unscathed. Our clip depicts the moment when everything goes south inside the store and the pink-clad perpetual optimist winds up on the wrong side of a gun.
The footage opens with Elsbeth chatting up Nolan about the Spirited Girl doll he’s brought in to exchange. From the moment their conversation starts, he seems anxious and a bit annoyed by the small talk, hinting to the detective that something isn’t right about the situation, particularly when she looks down at the doll itself. Alarm bells really start going off, however, when she spots his ring, which has an empty slot shaped peculiarly like a gem she spotted on the ground at a crime scene. At last, the store’s manager comes out with the collector doll Nolan was supposed to receive, but his name was strangely crossed out on the order. Elsbeth’s inexperienced new police partner, Officer Summerville (Angus O’Brien), completely indiscreetly tells that the store’s owner went out to sell the doll to a customer last night. In true Elsbeth fashion, she uses a hand puppet to signal that Nolan is their target, but Summerville makes another rookie mistake and tries to call in back-up within earshot of the crook, who snatches the officer’s gun while he’s distracted.
Elsbeth is no stranger to dealing with dangerous foes, but against a hapless criminal like Nolan, who seems prone to doing something irrational, there’s no telling if she can talk her way out of this tight spot. It certainly doesn’t help that she and Summerville can’t even get on the same page about how to negotiate with him. To make matters worse, Episode 2 will also see Captain Wagner (Wendell Pierce) sparring with one of his rivals, whose reckless methods threaten to turn things deadly in the toy store. Cross’s comedic presence will make things a bit more light-hearted, as teased in the Season 3 trailer, but the stakes are quite high for the detective in just her second case back on the air.
‘Elsbeth’ Season 3 Is Back and More Star-Studded Than Ever
The return of CBS’s hit murder mystery procedural hasn’t disappointed so far in terms of star power. Cross enters the show after a loaded premiere headlined by The Late Show host Stephen Colbert in a fitting role as tyrannical talk show head Scotty Bristol, with Amy Sedaris playing his head writer and Andy Richter as her husband. The future looks exciting, too, with Julia Fox set to square off against Elsbeth in Episode 3 and Annaleigh Ashford playing a murderous suburbanite in a spooky Halloween-themed Episode 4 that showrunner Jonathan Tolins told Collider is “really, really fun.” Though the absence of Kaya Blanke (Carra Patterson) will be felt through most of this season, the series will ensure that there are plenty of fresh faces for Preston to branch out and interact with as she cracks her latest slate of color cases.
Elsbeth Season 3, Episode 2 airs on October 16 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. New episodes follow every Thursday. Check out our exclusive sneak peek in the player above.
