Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 8 has a plethora of guest stars ahead of its midseason break which includes the likes of Laurie Metcalf (The Big Bang Theory), William Finkelstein, and Dominic Fumusa (Nurse Jackie).
The midseason finale of the popular CBS series, "Toil and Trouble," sees Elsbeth being pulled into the world of murder-of-the-week police procedurals as the titular lawyer is tasked to investigate the death of a showrunner who was killed by the series' lead star.
Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 8 premiered on CBS on December 19.
Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 8 Cast: Feature Actors & Guest Stars
Malachy Cleary - Sgt. Adam Hooks
Malachy Cleary joins the cast of Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 8 as one of the guest stars of the in-universe police procedural called Father Crime. Cleary plays a character named Sgt. Adam Hooks.
Cleary has credits in Manifest, The Deuce, Demolition, and The Mysteries of Laura.
Laurie Metcalf - Regina Coburn
Laurie Metcalf guest stars as Regina Coburn, the lead star of Father Crime who ends up murdering the showrunner after not agreeing to the supposed ending of her character where she falls into a coma.
It turns out that she was accepted to star as Lady Macbeth in a play in London, and changing the ending would mean that she would not be given the chance to join the production.
The Big Bang Theory fans may recognize Metcalf for playing Sheldon's mother, Mary Cooper. The actress also appeared in The CW's Supergirl, Roseanne, and The Conners.
Dominic Fumusa - Jack Wilson
Another notable guest star in Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 8 is Dominic Fumusa as Jack Wilson, Regina's co-lead star in Father Crime who is a well accomplished actor unlike her.
Wilson plays the titular priest who solves crimes and works in tandem with Regina's Detective Felicity.
Fumusa's most recognizable role is playing Kevin Peyton in over 70 episodes of Nurse Jackie. The actor can also be seen in Homeland, The Report, and 13 Hours.
William Finkelstein - Cal Reed
William Finkelstein stars as Elsbeth's victim of the week, Cal Reed.
Cal is the tyrannical showrunner who is despised by everyone from the cast and crew due to his attitude.
He gets murdered in cold blood by Regina after an argument over her character's ending.
Finkelstein is an executive producer of many notable TV shows, such as East New York, The Good Fight, and Law & Order.
Amy Keum - Gia
Amy Keum portrays Gia, Cal Reed's assistant who helps Elsbeth with the investigation by providing her details of her boss' routine and the script that was used as inspiration for Cal's murder.
Keum previously appeared in Evil, The Kill Room, and What a Drag.
Daniel Oreskes - Detective Flemming
Daniel Oreskes returns as Detective Flemming after appearing as part of the cast of Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 5.
Flemming is the investigator assigned to spearhead the investigation surrounding Cal's murder.
Oreskes starred in Law & Order: Organized Crime, The Sopranos, and Only Murders in the Building.
Robert Ariza - Blake Balsam
Robert Ariza plays a prominent role as Blake Balsam, a background actor and scriptwriter whose script is used by Regina as an inspiration to murder Cal.
Ariza's other major credits include Poker Face and Girls5eva.
Sullivan Jones - Dr. Cameron Clayton
Dr. Cameron Clayton is a new employee who works at the coroner's office. The character is played on-screen by Sullivan Jones.
He joins the conversation of Elsbeth and Kaya about potentially moving in as the latter's new roommate because he is new to town. It appears that he could be Kaya's romantic interest this season.
Jones is best known for his roles in The Gilded Age, Interior Chinatown, and Harlem.
Marc Webster - Pete (The Director)
Marc Webster plays Pete, the director of Father Crime who helped Elsbeth and Kaya with providing behind-the-scenes footage that proved crucial in confirming that Regina was the one who murdered Cal.
Webster previously starred in The Mysteries of Laura, FBI: Most Wanted, and Manifest.
Meredith Holzman - Delia
Meredith Holzman returns as Delia, the accused party in the previous episode who assists Elsbeth in getting the expedited request of the trial's transcript to help her with her investigation involving Judge Crawford.
Holzman has credits in Inventing Anna, Alaska Daily, and Only Murders in the Building.
Kevin Townley - Dane
Kevin Townley plays Dane, a member of the Father Crime crew who despises Cal Reed.
Townley is known for his roles in Law & Order, FBI: Most Wanted, and Madam Secretary.
Alexandra Templer - Heidi
Alexandra Templer plays Heidi, the masseuse that Cal hired but didn't show up because Regina canceled the appointment.
Templer previously played Helga in Only Murders in the Building Season 4.
The actress can also be seen in WeCrashed and Evil.
Michael Emerson - Judge Crawford
Michael Emerson returns as Judge Milton Crawford after making his debut in Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 7.
Judge Crawford is Elsbeth's new rival who is scheming behind the scenes to bring her down.
Emerson is the husband of Elsbeth lead star Carrie Preston. The actor is also known for his roles in Fallout, Evil, and Saw.
Here are the series regulars who appeared in Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 8:
- Carrie Preston - Elsbeth Tascioni
- Carra Patterson - Officer Kaya Blanke
- Wendell Pierce - Captain Wagner
Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 8 Plot Summary & Ending Explained
Only Murders in the Father Crime Set
Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 8, "Toil and Trouble," begins with a preview of an upcoming episode of an in-universe police procedural called Father Crime where a crooked sergeant is being hunted down by Detective Felicity Watts and Father Garvey.
After an intense shootout, Felicity gets shot before Father Garvey pleads with her to stay alive, but the actor completely forgets his line.
Father Crime is quite similar to Elsbeth, with the only difference is that the in-universe TV series uses a priest to solve the murders instead of a lawyer.
It is headlined by franchise mainstay Regina Coburn as Felicity Watts and Jack Wilson as Father Garvey.
After the scene, Regina is called into the office of Father Crime showrunner Cal Reed where they argue about Felicity's ending in the series. Instead of going into a coma, the network wants a "splashier" ending, meaning that Regina needs to be on set longer than expected.
The only problem is she has rehearsals for a play in London in the coming weeks, and changing the ending would mean that she woud miss out on that opportunity.
After an extreme back and forth, Cal tells her to accept her character's fate and expect new pages of the script tomorrow.
The next day, Cal is expecting a masseuse to come in for some alone time, but she ends up being murdered by Regina instead by driving a heel through his eye and using an award to hammer it in.
Another Case to Solve for Elsbeth
Elsbeth arrives on set to investigate Cal Reed's death alongside the ever-reliable Officer Kaya Blanke and the investigator-in-charge, Detective Flemming.
Flemming tells them that Cal's assistant, Gia, was the one who found the body. Cal was supposed to have a massage appointment, but the security on set told them that the masseuse never showed up.
An officer arrives to tell them that the assistant called to cancel the appointment, making them suspect that she is the one behind the murder.
However, it wasn't Gia since the masseuse said that the caller had a weird accent. Her alibi also checks out since she was away from her desk the whole time while eyewitnesses saw her having lunch with the rest of the crew members.
Elsbeth's snooping made her realize that whoever canceled the massage was familiar with Cal's routine since he didn't put the appointment on his calendar.
They begin questioning the crew, and they realize that all of them hates Cal Reed, making it hard to narrow down the list of suspects.
Elsewhere on the set, Elsbeth and Kaya meet Dr. Cameron Clayton from the coroner's office who is looking for a new place to stay while he's in New York.
Luckily, Kaya has a spare room, but she isn't sure if she needs a new roommate (and a potential romantic interest) amid her busy schedule. Still, Elsbeth pushes her to think about it.
Elsbeth Thinks Regina Killed Cal (& She's Right)
After the director, Pete, announced Cal's death to the cast and crew, Elsbeth notices that Regina is eating ice cream, which is confusing because Gia told them earlier that she doesn't eat dairy during filming.
This tidbit raises suspicion from Elsbeth, and it dials up even further after Regina's co-star, Jack, told them that Cal has always been "weird" about his lead actress.
Elsbeth and Kaya asks Regina some questions, and they notice that she is not quite upset about Cal's death despite their closeness together.
They also find out about Regina's London opportunity about playing Lady Macbeth, and how the would-be ending of her character in a coma would allow her to leave and be part of the West End production.
Once Elsbeth and Kaya leave, Regina then brings out the murder weapon and the script that she used as inspiration for the murder to frame Blake Balsam, the background actor and the writer who wrote it.
Did Regina's Plan Work?
The next day, Elsbeth is busy calling Delia (the accused from the previous episode) to help her get the transcript of the trial so that she can use it against Judge Crawford.
Meanwhile, Captain Wagner comes in to tell her that Regina sent her some evidence to look into, which ends up being the script with Cal's blood on it.
It turns out that the script is about an episode that doesn't exist and it is a play-by-play depiction of what happened to Cal since the victim in it was killed almost the same way.
They arrest the script's writer, Blake, but he is adamant that he is innocent. While Detective Flemming considers the case as closed, Elsbeth doesn't think so because of how the evidence lined up so perfectly, especially considering that Blake's email is on the script.
If he did indeed murdered Cal, then he would've taken an effort to peel off the page where his email is imprinted.
Elsbeth then outright tells Captain Wagner that she thinks Regina is the killer, and she has 48 hours to prove it before Blake gets fully indicted.
Before swinging into legal action, Elsbeth accompanies Delia in the courthouse to get the needed transcript for her own investigation against Judge Crawford.
Regina Gets Busted
Regina confronts Elsbeth and Kaya upon seeing them on set, with her being defensive and all by saying that the case is closed since Blake "had motive, means, and opportunity" to kill Cal.
Elsbeth points out that Regina wasn't on the list of people that Blake sent the script to, and what makes it even more suspicious is the fact that she slips up by mentioning the "murder script."
After Regina mocks Elsbeth and Kaya, they continue to investigate and they end up in Jack's dressing room where they ask the costumer, Dane, about the script.
While he admits that he didn't read Blake's script, Dane tells them that the heel that was used to kill Cal was stolen from the costume department.
They then turn to Gia to ask for help in learning more about Regina's whereabouts during Cal's murder, confirming that Regina was with Cal when he received Blake's unsolicited script meaning that she could've been the one who stole it and use as inspiration for the killing.
Regina's Weird Accent Backfires
The missing piece in the puzzle is the "weird" accent that the masseuse told them about the person who canceled Cal's appointment.
After hearing Regina's accent dubbed by ADR in a random episode playing in the background, they confirm with Blake that does a lot of different dialects in the show, which is why she often uses a dialect coach.
They bring in Heidi, the masseuse, to listen to the different accents of Regina in Father Crime, but none of them matches to what she heard.
Back on set, they ask the director if he has behind-the-scenes recordings of Regina showcasing her accent on-screen. Upon seeing the video, they notice that she has a weirdly different accent unlike from what they heard in the episode they were watching earlier.
Elsbeth then tells Regina that Gia helped her find the new ending for her character, meaning that the cast and crew now have time to shoot it to honor Cal.
However, Regina tells them that she already booked a flight to London, and she will not have the time to shoot it. Elsbeth has one last request for Regina, and that is to ask her to give a sample performance of Lady Macbeth to the cast and crew.
Just as Regina comes into character and yells "Out damned spot" with a weird accent, Heidi interjects and tells Kaya that that was the accent that she heard on the phone, meaning that Regina was the one who canceled the appointment.
While this is more than enough reason to arrest Regina, there is more.
It turns out that Cal and Regina's dialect coach, Hannah Basich, has been secretly dubbing her accents for 20 years since hers was not good, and Regina has no idea. This is why Cal is overprotective of her and he doesn't want her to go to London since it would ruin her career.
Regina is still confident that Elsbeth can't prove that she murdered Cal. However, our resident lawyer/NYPD consultant points out that the script didn't mention that the victim was stabbed with a shoe.
Instead, it mentioned a stiletto knife, and anyone wouldn've noticed the word "knife" written on pages 3, 12, 20, and 34 unless that person was in the habit of only reading Felicity's lines (which is in fact Regina's way of reading the script).
Judge Crawford Targets Elsbeth
Elsewhere in the episode, Judge Crawford meets with Captain Wagner during a gala event to let him know that Elsbeth visited the courthouse during working hours, implying that he wants his rival to be reprimanded by the NYPD captain.
However, Wagner seems ready to join forces with Elsbeth to investigate Crawford since they both want to take him down.
Wagner argues that she knows Elsbeth's suspicions are 100% right so he agrees to join her while also reminding her that they need to be careful because Crawford is a powerful man.
Meanwhile, Kaya notices a newscast about the Van Ness divorce case, and it reveals that Elsbeth was one of the lawyers involved in the case.
The same newcast also catches Crawford's attention, and his eerie smile suggests that he can use the Van Ness case as a tool to get rid of Elsbeth once and for all.
The next episode of Elsbeth Season 2 will premiere on CBS on January 30, 2025, at 10 p.m. ET after a six-week hiatus.
The first eight episodes of Elsbeth Season 2 are streaming on Paramount+.
