How Carrie Preston Went from The Good Wife ‘Side Dish’ to Making Elsbeth ‘a Full Meal’ (Exclusive)

Carrie Preston is enjoying her hosting attention Elsbeth.

In CBS’s latest spinoff A good womanPreston reprises her role as the eponymous lawyer whose eccentric observations and goofy personality give her a unique perspective as she partners with the NYPD to fight crime.

Although Elsbeth Tascioni is a role that seems familiar, Preston reveals that there were “very different” aspects of stepping back into the shoes of the character.

“There are some things that are very similar, obviously, the way her mind works, the unconventional way she approaches things and sees things,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It was there from the beginning, but if you go back 14 years to when we first met Elsbeth A good womanI managed, as did the screenwriters and directors.”

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Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni in ‘The Good Fight’.

Jeff Neumann/CBS via Getty

If fans were to “go back and watch” previous episodes of the original drama series, the 56-year-old actress points out that viewers might “see” her cautious approach to the character.

“I wasn’t sure how far to go,” she admits. “I wasn’t sure how to take it. When you’re a guest on a show, you rely on the way the show is done and what the other actors are doing on the show. You’re there to serve up their story.”

Throughout A good womanOver the course of seven seasons, Preston eventually managed to find a “wonderful rhythm” playing Elsbeth, although there were times she couldn’t return to the role for years. When Elsbeth’s story continued in the Good fightPreston says she “adjusted herself” and her approach once again to accommodate the tone of the show.

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Now it is spreading A good woman the multiverse once again. After years of serving as filler to the protagonists of other shows, Elsbeth is entering leading lady territory — and she’s ready to enter it.

“I was excited to get back into her brain. It’s just such a great character. I have a lot of creative freedom with her, and there’s a comfort level because I’ve played her for so long,” she explains. “I also couldn’t wait to see what it would feel like to be a full meal and not just a side dish, so to speak.”

Carrie Preston and Wendell Pierce in ‘Elsbeth’.

Elizabeth Fisher/CBS

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Preston also tells PEOPLE how show creators Robert and Michelle King have been “hugely helpful” in helping her step back into Elsbeth’s shoes.”I felt in good hands with them because, obviously, we have this shared institutional memory of this character and where was she at the beginning and how far she has come,” she says. “This series, in my opinion, is definitely a comedy, so we’re going to focus on that.”

“It’s definitely lighter in tone, so we develop with the ease that Elsbeth brings to situations and just run with it,” adds Preston.

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Elsbeth airs Thursdays at 10pm ET on CBS.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education