CBS’ Elsbeth is running out of episodes in the 2024 TV schedule, but all signs point toward Season 2 ending the year on a strong note. In fact, the last episode before the fall finale and 2025 TV schedule will deliver some developments that plenty of fans have been waiting for: Carrie Preston’s real-life husband Michael Emerson in an “almost untouchable” – to quote the leading lady – role and the return of Ben Levi Ross for a full episode of Teddy Tascioni. The actor playing Elsbeth’s son opened up about his first full episode and what his “worst nightmare” would be despite a great experience on the show.
Ben Levi Ross debuted in the sixth episode of Season 2, which you can stream now with a Paramount+ subscription. Teddy only got a cameo at the end as Elsbeth’s Christmas surprise, though, and the actor had to keep his arrival a secret. At the time of writing, we can only say for sure that he’ll appear in Episode 6 and the upcoming Episode 7, and Teddy could well be gone by the fall finale on December 19. When I spoke with Ross about coming on board the hit drama, I asked if he’d seen his two episodes yet, and he shared:
I haven’t, actually! I think I’ll probably watch them alone, if I choose to watch it. I think for me, my worst nightmare is watching with a lot of people, in any regard, in movies or TV. When you’re doing theater, that’s just not an option because you’re on stage. [laughs] But yeah, I don’t know if I can watch myself with others in the room, even if it was the people that I love the most in the world.
It doesn’t reflect poorly on his time filming Elsbeth that watching his episodes would be a “nightmare.” In fact, he described working with Carrie Preston as his on-screen mom as “so wonderful and so natural and easy,” and it’s not uncommon for actors to just not want to watch themselves. Ben Levi Ross also knows what he’s talking about when he mentioned theater, as he has appeared in a number of stage shows over the years of his career, including playing the title character of Dear Evan Hansen on the national tour. (Ben Platt starred in the divisive film adaptation.)
He also won’t only be working with Carrie Preston in the next episode, although you’ll have to tune in on December 12 to see for yourself. After he very briefly shared the screen with Carra Patterson as Kaya and Wendell Pierce as Wagner in the Christmas episode, he confirmed that Teddy will be around more of the team in his first full ep. Ross previewed:
I get to meet most all regulars in Episode 7. Teddy is in the world of the show now, and the more characters I get to interact with, the better. That’s just so fun as an actor, to be able to jump into a show that’s been long-standing, and really play and see how this person interacts with these characters that have existed on the show before.
While Elsbeth as a show hasn’t even been running for a season and a half at the time of writing, it’s not hard to see why Ben Levi Ross would describe it as “long-standing.” The origins go all the way back to Season 1 of The Good Wife in 2010, when Carrie Preston made her first appearance as Elsbeth Tascioni.
She would go on to appear in a total of fourteen episodes, win an Emmy as guest star, and reprise the role for The Good Fight. Elsbeth herself goes back almost fifteen years now, which is certainly long-standing in TV! So, with so much material going back so far, how did Ross prepare to play Teddy? He shared:
There’s this sort of line that you have to walk when you’re entering a show, especially playing a family member of a character who is so long-standing. You want to understand how you fit into the world. And at the same time, I wanted to come at it with fresh eyes, and just make the relationship with Carrie as an actor, and just sort of see what she was giving me and talk about it with her in person. So I came in pretty fresh and tried to erase most preconceived notions I had about her on the show, and feel actually what it was like to be with her in the room.
The character of Teddy has been something of a blank slate, as he never appeared in the flesh over the course of any of the three show’s featuring Elsbeth until last week’s holiday episode. Ross made the most of that, and went on to say:
But all that being said, it is also really helpful and fun to have watched the show prior to coming into it and know sort of the tone of the show, and think as a fan, what I would want Elsbeth’s son to be like and how I would want him to interact with her.
Fans will get to actually see what Teddy is like beyond his willingness to put on a Santa suit to surprise his mom in the next new episode, called “One Angry Woman.” Elsbeth has a big challenge ahead of her thanks to Judge Milton, played by Michael Emerson. Take a look at the promo below:
“One Angry Woman” airs on Thursday, December 12 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, following the fall finale of Matlock. Elsbeth‘s fall finale isn’t until next week, though, with the last episode of 2024 on December 19 at 10 p.m. ET. If you want to revisit earlier episodes of Elsbeth (and/or The Good Wife and The Good Fight), you can do so streaming via Paramount+ now.