‘Elsbeth’ First Look: Laura Benanti & André De Shields Guest Star in Season 1 Finale (PHOTOS)

Meredith Jacobs May 16, 2024, 8:00 am

Laura Benanti as Nadine Clay, Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni in the 'Elsbeth' Season 1 Finale — Michael Parmelee/CBS

Did Elsbeth save the best for last? Well, let’s just say that it’s continuing a trend. A season filled with amazing guest stars—Stephen Moyer, Jane Krakowski, Blair Underwood, Keegan-Michael Key, and Elizabeth Lail, to name a few—caps it off with a finale of more. (The good news: The show’s already been renewed for Season 2!) Laura Benanti and André De Shields guest star, and TV Insider has an exclusive first look at photos from the May 23 episode as well as series star Carrie Preston behind the scenes.

In the very aptly titled “A Fitting Finale,” which airs at 9/8c instead of in the usual 10/9c time slot, when an unlikable fashion photographer is murdered in the middle of a fashion show, Elsbeth (Preston) and the team suspect the killer to be either the photographer’s college ex — and leading model of the show, Nadine (Benanti) — or her jealous husband. Meanwhile, Elsbeth’s role at the precinct is thrown into question.

When TV Insider spoke with Carra Patterson (who plays Officer Kaya Blanke), she raved about all the guest stars this season, especially De Shields. “He really is just an icon and legend of stage and now of film and just watching him work…. The scenes that he does are really powerful, and I was like tearing up filming them,” she shared. “I think that that’s going to be a real treat.”

Preston couldn’t name a favorite guest star when co-creator Robert King asked her just that question when we spoke with them earlier this season. “Everybody has brought a different energy to the set, so I love that,” she explained. “It’s like, ‘What’s behind the door?’ each week. It’s fun for me because it makes my performance stay fresh.”