Elsbeth's mini break in the fall 2024 TV schedule continues with no new episode on Thanksgiving, but the CBS hit will be back to start December with a holiday episode. The series will also hopefully pick up on the plot introduced in the most recent episode, with Lt. Connor's watchful eye causing some anxiety for Wagner on the job and – possibly more urgently – threatening Kaya's living situation with Elsbeth. Despite the two women attempting to follow the rules as roomies, it seems that Elsbeth may not be actually asking for half the rent from Kaya, and that could be a problem when it comes to NYPD regulations.
All in all, I see why Carrie Preston said that the new lieutenant would "rub some people the wrong way" and what showrunner Jonathan Tolins meant in his preview of the new character. If the characters thought that they'd be in for an easy ride after getting rid of Noonan, that's definitely not the case as Season 2 approaches its fall finale and beginning of the 2025 TV schedule!
I spoke with Carrie Preston earlier in the fall ahead of Season 2 about topics ranging from Elsbeth's friendship with Kaya to that Season 2 premiere cliffhanger. (You can rewatch the premiere streaming with a Paramount+ subscription.) When asked about her character finally getting an office and a welcome in the NYPD, Preston at the time previewed the man who would turn out to be Lt. Connor. She said:
As far as the office, it's wonderful just to have a little more space to spread out in. [laughs] But a new lieutenant immediately comes in and throws a different energy into the proceedings. It's never going to be surefooted when you're not a detective, and you're walking onto crime scenes acting like you are. That's gonna rub some people the wrong way.
I initially thought that the new lieutenant would be more of a villainous character, if not quite as bad as Noonan back in Season 1, and "rub some people the wrong way" might have been an understatement to avoid spoilers. Instead, Connor is a character who really seems to just want to enforce the rules as strictly as possible. He's not wrong in what he does... he's just not very much fun for Wagner, Kaya, and Elsbeth.
That hit me more than ever in the last episode before the mini break, in which Pamela Adlon played a prestigious chef-turned-murderer. Showrunner Jonathan Tolins had previewed Adlon's arrival, and that's not all he told us ahead of the Season 2 premiere. When I asked back in October what kind of trouble fans should expect from the new lieutenant, Tolins shared:
Lieutenant Connor is played by a wonderful actor, Daniel Isaac, who people may know from Billions. What's great about him is he's hard to read, and yet, even though he's tough and a stickler for rules and regulations, there's also something kind of appealing about him and vulnerable about him. We're finding, as we go along, all different sides of that character.
Elsbeth is five episodes into Season 2 with the sixth set to air on December 5, and it remains to be seen if the show is going to reveal more sides of Connor's character in the foreseeable future. It's worth noting that even though Elsbeth and Co. may not love having the stickler around, that clearly doesn't extend to the returning cast members welcoming Daniel Isaac. Take a look:
So, how does dealing with Lt. Connor compare to when Elsbeth had to deal with Noonan and all of her secrets in Season 1? Carrie Preston noted that a bond was forged between her and Wagner ahead of Season 2, and that friendship may only grow as the episodes continue airing. The actress said:
There's a sense of relief that she doesn't have to lie anymore about what her ulterior motive was. She can just concentrate on doing her job and doing it well, and that she weathered this storm that she had with Wagner and with Noonan and all of that, and was able to help Wagner not be put away for something that he didn't do. So there's this mutual respect between the two of them that's there. I think a more intimate friendship is going to start to blossom between them.
Wagner has certainly been more open to friendship in Season 2, with gestures that include raffling off a lunch and hosting a poker game. I'm not sure I see Lt. Connor scoring a sincere invitation to a poker game at Wagner's house anytime soon, but I do now see what Carrie Preston said about Connor rubbing the people the wrong way as well as Jonathan Tolins' preview of him as "tough and a stickler for the rules." Connor's not a bad guy; he just could be very inconvenient for Kaya's living situation if he sticks to the rules 100%.
For now, you can officially count on Elsbeth's return on Thursday, December 5 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, following Kathy Bates' Matlock. The installment will have a holiday flair, with a duo of celebrity Christmas curators being cut down to one after a murder. Per CBS' episode description, Wagner and Kaya will also have a surprise for Elsbeth, so be sure to tune in!
