Elsbeth season 3 is around the corner, and ScreenRant interviewed showrunner Jonathan Tolins about what to expect. The death of Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) in Elsbeth season 2 brought one big storyline to a close, but promised to reverberate well into season 3 and potentially cause problems for the title character. At the same time, a new potential love interest bloomed for Elsbeth in the form of Scottish musician Angus (Ioan Gruffudd).
With last season shaking things up, Elsbeth season 3 promises new challenges for everyone, from Elsbeth herself to the police department dealing with the fallout from Judge Crawford’s death. Along the way, the third-year show will continue to embrace the trademark quirky comedy of its protagonist as she stirs up the inner circles of New York City’s high society.
ScreenRant spoke with co-creator and showrunner Jonathan Tolins about Elsbeth’s comedic soul, what it’s like to land such huge guest stars, how last season’s characters could return, and more.
Tolins Wished He Could Have Let The Elsbeth Season 3 Premiere Guest Stars Riff A Little More
“It Would Be Wonderful If We Could, But We’re Under Such A Tight Schedule”
ScreenRant: The old adage is that film is a director’s medium, while TV is a writer’s medium. But when you have three comedy legends like you have in the season 3 premiere, is it hard not to let them improv and see what they do? What is it like working with people who are just such towering figures in comedy?
Jonathan Tolins: It’s hard for me to answer this question without sounding like I’m sort of being protective or self-aggrandizing. We shot the script. I think there were two ad-libs in the premiere, but everything else was scripted. We did let them go a little bit mean, and Amy Sari is just so delightful and hilarious always. But there was actually, there’s almost nothing that wasn’t, I can think of, I know off the top of my head, I know there are two lines that were ad-libs, but – partly it would be wonderful if we could, but partly we’re under such a tight schedule because we have a taste to shoot an episode. But these were legends and heroes of mine and I couldn’t believe we actually got them all together.
Tolins Reveals Why There Are So Many Comedians & Broadway Actors On Elsbeth
“There’s A Lot Of Overlap Between People Who Do Theater And People Who Do Comedy”
ScreenRant: To that end, it’s not that guest stars are uncommon on network shows, but Elsbeth, from the start, has had a particularly strong tradition of getting really big names in comedy. Is that something that was always part of the original plan all along, or did it just happen organically?
Jonathan Tolins: Well, I remember when Robert and Michelle [King] asked me to be the showrunner and we were talking about our approach to the show, they said, we think you should lean into the comic or element of the show. And we have. And I think part of it is that it’s a comic sort of take on a procedural cop show. Also, it’s a very theatrical show and I think we have a lot of theater actors. I think there’s a lot of overlap between people who do theater and people who do comedy, because we need people who are very comfortable with text and who have great timing and who can give you the fun of the cat and mouse scenes between their character and Carrie Preston.
I’ve always written it, even at my most serious – sometimes, actually, in some of my plays, people complain there were too many laughs for things that they thought shouldn’t have as many laughs. I think we spend most of our lives trying to make each other laugh as you go about your day. So I sort of lean into the comedy, but we also, right now we are shooting an episode with Dianne Wiest, who is a great serious actress. She’s great, but she is also hilariously funny in what she’s doing, and she’s just a delight. But I think that’s it. I think it’s the overlap between sort of a theatrical sensibility and comedy that is sort of the sweet spot for us.
Elsbeth’s Comedy Naturally Follows The Lead Of Its Protagonist
“If She Walks Into A Room, She Will Point Out The Absurdity Of The World She’s In”
ScreenRant: Elsbeth is sort of a throwback to the early- to mid-2000s comedy procedurals; I think of Psych when I watch it. Is that something that you find you really enjoy carving out your own space on? Because we have a lot of procedurals on network TV, but they’re mostly serious.
Jonathan Tolins. Well, I think High Potential has a little bit of that, and Poker Face is certainly sort of more comic, though it’s not network. But, for me, I think we were just following the lead of the character of Elsbeth Tascioni. When I started, and I was talking to Robert and Michelle about what I wanted to do with the show, I said that I thought it would be good that every episode would be a new slice of life of upscale New York. That there would be a satirical element, because one of the great things about Elsbeth is, if she walks into a room, she will point out the absurdity of the world she’s in, whether it be Wall Street or a funeral home, whatever it is. And that is an element of the show. It’s a satirical element and also something that just adds a little zaniness.
It wasn’t that we set out to be different. It’s that we set out to follow the lead of the character and also just to have the most fun we could have. And this is sort of where the [writers] room lands. But I think that it keeps it from being boring for us, that every episode we’re not only just doing a case, but we’re also saying everything we have to say about something we find absurd about life now.
The Door Is Open For Angus To Return To Elsbeth – And For Judge Crawford’s Story To Return
“Elsbeth Will Have To Deal With The Echoes Of What Happened Last Season”
ScreenRant: Questions have been swirling about whether Angus will return. And we now know that Carrie has been off in Scotland seeing him, her boyfriend – but maybe her boyfriend. She’s not sure. Can we expect to see him make his return this season or is that all up in the air?
Jonathan Tolins: I would love to get Angus back in the world and I hope to, but that’s all I can say.
To that end, Michael Emerson is such a wonderful character actor, but now that his arc as Judge Crawford is over, we don’t really have a central antagonist. Can we expect to see somebody step up to take his place? It’s hard to fill Michael Emerson’s shoes.
Jonathan Tollins: Yeah, I will say we have not created a new arch villain for Elsbeth to go up against like she had with Judge Crawford because we didn’t want to repeat ourselves. But I will say that someone from Judge Crawford’s life will make an appearance this season and Elsbeth will have to deal with echoes of what happened last season.
Tolins Knows Where He Wants Elsbeth Season 3’s Arcs To Go
“As Mike Tyson Said, Everyone Has A Plan Until They Get Punched In The Face”
ScreenRant: It’s hard to avoid spoilers as you’re in the middle of a network season, but is there already an idea of where you want this season to end up? Or are you much more open as you write throughout the season to seeing where it goes?
Jonathan Tolins: Well, we start the season by getting all the writers in a room, and we spend about two weeks doing a boot camp where we plan out the basic art for the entire season. We also pick all the basic worlds of our episodes. It’s a very productive first two weeks.
That said, last season, the plan was to end with Teddy’s wedding. So we have a plan, but as Mike Tyson said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. We do have really nice season arcs planned, and I think they’re going to work out the way we intended and that we planned for, but we also like to be open to what we’re seeing as the episodes are coming together.
Tolins Knows Who His Dream Elsbeth Guest Star Would Be – If He Can Land Her
“I Tried To Get Her On”
ScreenRant: If you could land any dream guest star, whether in comedy, a dramatic actor, anybody, is there anybody that you’ve really wanted to work with that you haven’t been able to get on the show yet? And who would it be?
Jonathan Tolins: Well, I will say someone I did work with years ago, and I tried to get her on.. I tried to get Bette Midler on, but she is not interested in doing a guest spot on Elsbeth. But I’ll keep trying! I used to write for her.
