Elsbeth Season 3 Brings Back a Fan-Favorite—Guess Who's Returning?
A fan-favorite from The Good Wife universe returns in Elsbeth Season 3 this fall, as a staple of both the original series and The Good Fight steps back in to spark new cases and fresh twists.
Good news for anyone who speaks fluent Good Wife-verse: Marissa Gold is coming to Elsbeth. Yes, Sarah Steele is suiting back up this fall, which is exactly the kind of crossover candy this franchise does well.
Why this return matters
Steele becomes the second alum from The Good Wife/The Good Fight to pop into Elsbeth, following Christian Borle, who turned up in Season 2 as Carter Schmidt. And here is your inside-baseball nugget: as of now, only three actors have appeared across all three shows — Carrie Preston, Christian Borle, and Sarah Steele. That is a tiny club.
A quick Marissa Gold refresher
Steele first showed up in The Good Wife Season 2 as Marissa Gold, daughter of Eli Gold (Alan Cumming). She wasn’t just around to roll her eyes at her dad — she pitched in during Peter Florrick’s (Chris Noth) political messes. Over on The Good Fight, she leveled up to series regular and worked as a private investigator. In Elsbeth Season 3, Steele is back as Marissa, sliding into the New York mix once again.
When and where to watch
Elsbeth Season 3 premieres Sunday, October 12 on CBS, with episodes also streaming on Paramount+. If you’re new here: the show follows Carrie Preston’s Elsbeth Tascioni, an unconventional attorney who partners with the NYPD on high-profile cases. It’s a case-of-the-week playground with Elsbeth’s very specific brand of chaos — in a good way.
Who else is in the mix
Carra Patterson, who played Kaya Blanke through the first two seasons, will return as a guest star after her character’s promotion in the Season 2 finale. Wendell Pierce is back as Captain Charles Wallace.
Guest stars to watch for
- Stephen Colbert as late-night host Scotty Bristol
- Andy Richter as Mickey Muntz, Bristol’s sidekick
- Amy Sedaris as Laurel Hammond-Muntz, executive producer of the show 'Way Late'
- Lindsay Mendez as Officer Grace Hackett
- Annaleigh Ashford in a Halloween episode as Sharon Norman, a violent, suburban homemaker
- William Jackson Harper as the director of a New York poetry journal
- Lois Smith in a key role
Bottom line
Bringing Marissa Gold into Elsbeth feels like the franchise stitching itself tighter — familiar face, new sandbox. With Steele back, a stacked guest roster, and the show’s fall return locked, October looks busy for this universe.