Elsbeth Teaser Reveals Season 2’s First Killer Guest Star (Exclusive)

A new season of CBS’ Elsbeth means a new crop of superfun guest stars in (usually) killer roles — and TVLine has your exclusive first look at the Emmy Award and Tony Award winner who will get things rolling in the Season 2 premiere.

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Based on the character featured in The Good Wife and then The Good Fight , Elsbeth stars Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni, the astute but unconventional attorney who finds herself working with the NYPD to catch New York’s most well-heeled murderers, all whilst employing her unique point of view.

Season 2 of last season’s second-most watched new d r a m a brings new cases and challenges when mistakes of the past come back to haunt Elsbeth, her boss Captain Wagner (played by Wendell Pierce), and detective-in-training Officer Kaya Blanke (Carra Patterson).

Season 1’s guest star roster included no less than Jane Krakowski, Stephen Moyer, Gina Gershon, Keegan-Michael Key, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Blair Underwood, Retta, Linda Lavin, André De Shields, Elizabeth Lail, Arian Moayed, Laura Benanti, Micaela Diamond, Gloria Reuben and Tim Gunn.

How does one follow up such a stellar slate? Press play above to watch an exclusive Season 2 teaser, which reveals the Only Murders in the Building vet who in the Season 2 premiere plays Phillip Cross, an obsessed opera lover driven to murder by… a ringing cell phone.

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Season 2’s first guest star of course played lawyer/accountant Clarke Hayden in more than a dozen episodes of The Good Wife , but as with Linda Lavin, Elsbeth creators Robert and Michelle King have said they have no problem casting franchise vets in new, different roles.

Elsbeth Season 2 premieres Thursday, Oct. 17 at 10/9c, where it will now lead out of the freshman drama Matlock , starring Academy Award winner Kathy Bates, Skye P. Marshall ( Good Sam ), Jason Ritter ( Parenthood ), David Del Rio ( Maggie ) and Leah Lewis ( Nancy Drew ).

Want scoop on Elsbeth , or for any other TV show ? Email InsideLine@tvline.com , and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!

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