Ethan Slater is returning to Elsbeth just in time for Jeff Hiller‘s guest appearance, a Meghan Markle mention and Carrie Preston trying on wigs.
In Us Weekly‘s exclusive clip from the Thursday, March 5, episode of the CBS series, Officer Chandler (Slater) is by Elsbeth’s (Preston) side as she interrogates a wigmaker — and gets a potential makeover in the process.
“Do you mind telling us what you and Domenico spoke about when he called you the other day? We noticed that when we checked Domenico’s phone records that he called you the night before he died,” Elsbeth asks while Felix (Hiller) chalks it up to a quick conversation about “lace closures.”
Elsbeth doubts Felix’s answer, saying, “Is that all it was? Then why did Domenico call you from the landline in his mother’s bedroom? … Don’t you think it’s strange that he didn’t call you from his cellphone? It’s almost as if he was trying to hide his communication with you.”
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Felix changes the subject by having Elsbeth try on a wig. Her response? It’s “very Meghan Markle,” which doesn’t seem to be the right fit for her.
According to the official synopsis, Thursday’s episode is focused on the murder of a celebrity wigmaker, at which point “Elsbeth must comb through a tangled mess of suspects — and some drag brunch mayhem — to clip a killer.”
Slater’s return as Officer Chandler comes after the show introduced several new police liaisons to accompany Elsbeth on cases after her former coworker Kaya’s (Carra Patterson) promotion.
“[The shakeup brought] change, growth, conflict, loss, and all of those things are enriching for any character. Our show for the first couple of seasons was also very much a romance where these two women were very much connected and they were so different and yet found this incredible common ground through their work together,” Preston told Us in February. “That doesn’t go away. So the longing for that — for her best friend — and to be with her has created some really fun and deep and touching scene work.”
The actress continued: “When Kaya does come back, then we get to see that reunion. We get to see them fall back into where they were, but both of them have experienced things apart that they can bring to the friendship. It’s been interesting, and the writers have done such a beautiful job of not trying to fill the shoes of Kaya because you can’t, but instead bringing in different sidekicks for Elsbeth and seeing her have relationships with those people, and those are different than what she has with Kaya. All of those things are doing nothing but making it a richer tapestry for the actors and hopefully for the audience.”
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In addition to Preston and Patterson, Wendell Pierce has been a consistent presence as each episode introduces new guest stars.
“That is what makes our show stand out is our ability to draw such incredible talent. We have people who come to us who want to be on the show and that makes me proud as, you know, the person playing the title character. Our reputation now is it’s a good place to come join in,” Preston noted. “You’re going to be safe there. The crew is going to take great care of you, and the writers are going to take really good care of you and give you a delicious character to play.”
Preston expressed her gratitude for the actors willing to sign on week to week, adding, “That’s what I get excited about sharing with the audience because they get to see these actors playing something that we don’t normally see them play, and they get to stretch their muscles that way too.”
Elsbeth airs on CBS Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Paramount+.
