As the eponymous unconventional attorney/quasi-detective Elsbeth adapts to a changing dynamic with NYPD officer and friend Kaya following the latter’s promotion, so will lead Carrie Preston adjust to a dramedy that will see a little less of co-star-turned-guest-star Carra Patterson.
Thursday’s episode of the CBS police procedural spinoff saw a major turning point for Kaya, who was promoted to join a special task force as an undercover agent in Washington D.C. Season 2’s finale, May 8’s episode “Ramen Holiday,” will feature a roster of guest stars and a celebratory toast in Kaya’s honor.
Speaking to TVLine about the change, Preston said the cast shocker allows “some wonderful stories” for the show’s world, adding that working alongside Patterson has been “such a gift.”
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“What I love about our show is that we don’t get too comfortable in anything, and so we enjoy those moments together [between Elsbeth, Kaya and Wendell Pierce’s Captain Wagner] when we have them, and we will continue to enjoy them more when we get them, and we’ll probably appreciate them even more because we won’t be getting them every day,” she said. “So I think it’s an opportunity to really enrich the character and the storylines, to have a fresh new take on what Elsbeth is like when she doesn’t have someone like Kaya to lean on. How is she going to walk onto a crime scene without her? What’s that going to look like?”
Preston continued, “They so brilliantly and deftly just took [Kaya] to this place where it became a natural thing for her to be elevated and promoted. And it’s just the structure of our show [that] Elsbeth doesn’t work with the same detective on every case. And so, we came to this point, as well, story-wise, where Kaya needed to fly and echo, in some ways, what Elsbeth has been doing, which is reinventing herself. And so, we have this wonderful little parallel now between what Kaya is doing and what Elsbeth is continuing to do.”
As reported by Deadline in an extensive interview with showrunner Jonathan Tolins, the show — already renewed for Season 3 and set to reconvene its writers room in a few weeks — has “no intention of forcing” another character into occupying Kaya’s role.
“We’re going to go with the flow and see what happens and try some things. The wonderful thing is that Carrie Preston is wonderful with everybody,” Tolins said, adding, “Kaya is irreplaceable. She’s not gone; she’s still part of our world. So we’re going to see what happens.”
Meanwhile, Patterson shared in a statement, “My character, Kaya Blanke, is embarking on a new adventure as the story continues to unfold, and I am excited to do the same. But we will see Kaya again – fans will find out what she’s been up to in her new role as ‘Detective’ next season when I come back to guest star and play with Carrie and Wendell. I am beyond grateful to the cast, crew, and producers, and of course, the fans, for all the love and support.”