Carrie Preston & Michael Emerson Talk Going Toe-To-Toe In ‘Elsbeth’

Exclusive: CBS Elspeth is set to introduce the newest addition to the recurring cast, Michael Emerson, who will play an enemy unlike any the series' heroine has ever encountered.

On December 12 at 10 p.m. in the Season 2 episode titled “Angry Woman,” Emerson's character, the unusually difficult Judge Milton Crawford, has the pleasure of meeting Carrie Preston's Elspeth, a brilliant legal mind who ends up in the courtroom when… A real New Yorker by serving jury duty. The murder trial easily pushes Elspeth – now an NYPD consultant – into lawyer mode, marking a return to the character's character. The good wife Years. Unfortunately for Crawford, Legal Eagle Elsbeth is ferocious and will cause him an unnecessary headache.

Deadline is getting a first look at Preston and Emerson, who have been married for nearly three decades Elspeth. Below is a Q&A about their collaboration on the drama and potentially dangerous dancing their characters engage in this season.

Delivery time: You previously starred in Person of Interest, how did this latest collaboration come together?

Carrie Preston: Journalists have always asked me who I want to be on the show because we have such exceptional guests. So of course I said, “Oh, it would be fun to have Michael.” I won't say it was my idea because anyone is lucky to have Michael. We were opposed by John Tollens, W [show creators] Robert and Michelle King wanted to find something designed specifically for Michael, so they found Judge Crawford.

Delivery time: This Judge Crawford is quite the character. I've played some bad guys before, and Crawford is definitely one of them. What idea can you offer for what he brings to the series?

Michael Emerson: He is arrogant and ambitious. He's kind of a blue-blooded Ivy League member. He is someone who thinks highly of himself, seems to crave higher positions, and will do almost anything to achieve it.

Delivery time: Carrie, Elspeth meets Judge Crawford when she is appointed as an alternate juror in a courtroom murder case. She returns to her legal roots after becoming frustrated with the defense team's attorneys. Did you enjoy doing it again?

Preston: I've been really excited since we started working Elspeth To find an opportunity to see her in her legal sweet spot, her comfort zone. You see it in that world again, the legal world. She's usually the smartest person in the room and uses that to great advantage. In this case, she met her match with this judge. It's always fun to play Elsbeth off her game and see how she gets back into the game. Michael's character certainly does that to her. When a show has a little risk, it always increases the risk.

DEADLINE: Elspeth's Michael proved to be a real thorn in Judge Crawford's side, throwing him for a loop. Are you saying it keeps him on his toes?

Emerson: Oh yes. I think he's been a judge so long that he's gotten into the habit of never being cross-examined. He feels that he is a kind of law to himself, like anyone who belittles himself. “Elspeth, when she came through the interrogation, thought, 'Ah, here's another stupid woman to be manipulated.' I'll stick it in there and it'll be putty in my hands. But he will be horrified to find that she is a legal miracle and not intimidated by authority figures.

Delivery time: Without giving too much away, Elspeth and the judge will compete in this case. How was it playing with that?

Emerson: It's fun. I have to say it's a little more after work because part of me has to put aside the fact that I know Carrie and that I got out of bed with her that morning. So I have to clear that and that requires some brain power. I have to pretend it's someone I don't know, but it's actually someone named Elspeth Tascioni.

Preston: The fun thing about working with Michael is that we've been together for 30 years. We've been married for 26 years, so we have this ease with each other. We didn't even talk about the scenes at home or work on them together. We did the bare minimum, just checked the lines of the words in the truck on the way to work to make sure we knew the lines. And then we just showed up and were able to put each other's performances into each other's hands.

Emerson: We are accustomed to leaving the other alone in his work. We don't train together. I don't help her, as if she needs it, and she doesn't help me. We just keep our professional stuff separate and private, kind of.

Preston: It was so much fun to come in and see what Michael has prepared as this judge. I didn't know what he would do with it. He, of course, was watching me play Elspeth For 14 years. So he probably had a better idea of ​​what I was going to do, but I didn't know what he was going to do. So it kept the scenes very active, and there was a lot of spark and pop when we were working together.

Delivery time: Fans were so excited when your casting was announced, especially your fans who enjoyed seeing you both in person...

Preston: I got to play the love of his life [in Person of Interest]-You know? So we have to bleed a little bit about what our real relationship is. Fortunately, he's nothing like Judge Crawford, and I'm nothing like Elspeth, so we were inhabiting these very different characters together and it was fun.

Emerson: This will be the first time I've played against Carrie and I don't like her, as I don't have warm feelings for her.

Delivery time: We have this behind-the-scenes photo of the two of you together with Carrie on your lap (featured photo above). Since you're both busy actors, has working on Elsbeth given you more time to spend together?

Preston: Yes, because we don't see each other now during the week. I wake up at 4 a.m. and leave until after dark. Then when I get home, I'll be lucky if I can get a meal, shower, and go back to bed.

Emerson: Really, the only way for me to spend time with my wife is to have a concert.

Preston: He had to say yes, what are we going to do?

Emerson: Oh, hello? It's me, your husband. [Laughs]