So, here’s the thing, I’m new to the world of Elsbeth. I was not fully aware of Carrie Preston before tuning into the show, and I also didn’t know she was married to Michael Emerson until he appeared in Elsbeth during the last couple of episodes of 2024. Now, I’m in love with them, their relationship and this face-off their characters have going on in the CBS show. However, I didn’t know this wasn’t the first time the married couple had worked together, and I’m genuinely shocked I wasn’t aware of their past collaborations.
Long before Emerson came onto Elsbeth to play the “almost untouchable” murderer and judge Milton Crawford, Preston appeared in two major shows he was a mainstay on. That’s right, she guest-starred on both Lost and Person of Interest.
The two have been married since 1998, and they’ve worked together on a handful of projects, including one of the best dramas of the early 2000s, Lost. In 2007, Preston was cast in one episode of the megahit drama to play Emily Linus, the mother of Emerson’s character Ben. While she showed up in a flashback, not one of her real-life husband’s present scenes, it’s still an odd relationship to play out.
During an interview with Variety, the two humorously addressed that wild situation with the following back and forth:
- Michael Emerson: A Freudian nightmare.
- Carrie Preston: Yeah, that’s something when you give birth to your husband in the woods. Not many people can say that they’ve done that.
- Michael Emerson: At least I didn’t have to play that scene.
Later, they even joked that Emerson should play Preston’s father in a flashback at some point.
Then, after her one episode of Lost, The Good Wife actress was on one of her husband’s popular shows again, Person of Interest. Between 2012 and 2016 she appeared in eight episodes of the beloved thriller as Grace Hendricks, the fiancée of Emerson’s character Harold Finch.
On top of Preston playing characters in the two shows Emerson is arguably best known for, he also guest starred on her show Claws in 2017. Plus, the couple worked on a few smaller projects. This included the 1998 TV movie Grace and Glorie, the 2004 film Straight-Jacket and the 2008 movie Ready? OK! So, it’s safe to say these two are no strangers to working together both personally and professionally.
Now, while Elsbeth isn’t even close to the first time Preston and Emerson have collaborated, it is the first time they’ve played enemies. However, it’s quite fitting for them, as they reflected on how the Elsbeth lead tends to take “light-hearted” characters while her husband is more often than not playing someone evil. To that point, the Person of Interest star described this collaboration on the CBS series perfectly, saying:
It’s like a collision of universes.
Honestly, as Preston described, Judge Crawford is like “the Moriarty to [Elsbeth’s] Sherlock,” and it’s been extremely fun to watch.
Now, while we wait for Elsbeth’s return to the 2025 TV schedule (it will be back on January 30, by the way), I’ll need to go back and watch some Person of Interest and Lost to see this married couple’s careers collide. They made for wonderful screen partners on the CBS series and their 26-year-long marriage proves they are marvelous together in real life, and now I’m dying to see more of them working together.
So, to accomplish that goal, we can all go back and watch Carrie Preston and Michael Emerson's collaboration highlights by streaming Elsbeth with a Paramount+ subscription, Lost with a Netflix subscription and Person of Interest with an Amazon Prime subscription.
