ELSBETH: Jonathan Tolins Teases ‘Delicious’ Trouble of Elsbeth Behind Bars and the ‘Big Swing’ Musical Number in the Season 2 Finale

May 8, 2025 by Marisa Roffman

“Ramen Holiday” – Elsbeth finds herself in prison with some of the same high-class criminals she put away. When one of them is stabbed to death, Elsbeth sets out to find the killer’s killer, while her colleagues back at the precinct fight to get her released, on the season two finale of the CBS original series ELSBETH, Thursday, May 8 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs)* Pictured (L-R): Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Alyssa Milano as Pupetta Del Ponte Photo: Michael Parmelee/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

ELSBETH ends its second season with a star-studded finale, with many of the memorable guest stars from the first two years reprising their roles. Unfortunately for Elsbeth (Carrie Preston), it comes at her own expense: The lawyer spends the hour in jail.

“We all thought it would be really fun to see what happens to her there,” ELSBETH showrunner Jonathan Tolins tells Give Me My Remote. “And also the different attitudes of the people who blame her for ruining their lives. [Elsbeth] being stuck behind bars with those people just felt kind of like a delicious situation.”

The people the lawyer encounters behind bars? Alex (Stephen Moyer), Margo (Retta), Dr. Vanessa Holmes (Gina Gershon), Quinn (Elizabeth Lail), Joe (Arian Moayed), Matteo (André De Shields), Pupetta (Alyssa Milano), and Freya (Mary-Louise Parker). (She also has to make nice with the warden, AKA Mama, played by Donna Lynne Champlin.)

As if the walk down memory lane with past foes isn’t enough, the show takes things to the next level with an elaborate take on CHICAGO’s “Cell Block Tango.”

But despite bringing back so many familiar faces and staging a performance, the writers didn’t choose their returning guest stars with the show-stopping number in mind. “I sort of trusted that when we talked to people, if they heard what we were doing and they still wanted to do it, then we’d be safe,” Tolins says. “Fortunately, it’s not that demanding musically, the ‘Cell Block Tango,’ because it’s spoken monologue and then the chorus. And we can help out if people want to not be singing alone.”

“We just sort of jumped and prayed that the pool had water in it when we got there,” he continues. “I mean, it was a big swing. It was a lot to pull together. And I had to start writing the script before we knew if we would be able to do it, which was crazy. And I had to write the musical number as early as possible so we could get the approvals that we would need to be able to do it. So [even now], when I watched the sound mix…at the end of every act, I went, ‘I can’t believe we did this. I can’t believe we did it.’”

ELSBETH, Thursdays, 9/8c, CBS

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ELSBETH: Jonathan Tolins Teases ‘Delicious’ Trouble of Elsbeth Behind Bars and the ‘Big Swing’ Musical Number in the Season 2 Finale

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