We’re nearing the premiere date for Elsbeth season 3, and there’s much to be excited about. For example, we’ve just learned that a beloved character from the Good Wife/Good Fight universe is making a surprise return.
If you weren’t aware, Elsbeth is a spinoff of those two amazing shows. Emmy Award-winning actress Carrie Preston reprises her role as Elsbeth Tascioni from those series in this spinoff. Elsbeth is a brilliant yet quirky lawyer who leaves Chicago behind to move to New York City, where she finds herself working with the NYPD to crack high-profile cases.
In Elsbeth season 3, Sarah Steele is set to make an appearance. The Good Wife and The Good Fight fans will remember her as Marissa Gold, the smart, witty investigator whose clever insights and quirky personality made her an instant fan favorite. The last time we left off with Marissa in The Good Fight was in the series finale, where she had just gotten married and was preparing to start a new job at a D.C.-based all-female law firm with Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski).
However, it looks like she has taken a completely new career path in Elsbeth season 3. According to Entertainment Weekly, viewers will see Marissa appear in the episode “Poetic Justice.” In this episode, Elsbeth runs into Marissa at a charity benefit and discovers that she has a new job as a campaign manager for Alec Bloom (Ivan Hernandez), a candidate running for New York mayor.
It’ll be interesting to find out what led Marissa to leave law behind and dive into the high-stakes world of politics. Did a personal passion drive her decision, or did circumstances push her toward this new path? Whatever the reason, her return is sure to delight fans who have been waiting for another Good Wife/Good Fight crossover.
Christian Borle, who previously crossed over in season 2 as Carter Schmidt, was the first actor from the Good Wife/Good Fight universe to reprise their original role on Elsbeth. Of course, that’s if we’re not counting series star Carrie Preston. Hopefully, there will be many more returning fan-favorite characters in future episodes.
Elsbeth season 3 will also feature guest appearances from The Good Place’s William Jackson Harper and Emmy Award-winning talk show host Stephen Colbert. It will start airing on CBS on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, at 9:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. CT.
