With the Elsbeth Season 2 finale showcasing several upheaving moments in the life of the titular character, including the departure of her best friend, series creator Jonathan Tolins has come out to answer if Carra Patterson’s Kaya will be replaced in Season 3. The episode saw Kaya Blanke leave the precinct to join a task force on an undercover assignment. As such, Patterson exited Elsbeth as a series regular. However, Tolins has confirmed that the actress will return in the show’s third installment in guest appearances. In a recent discussion, he also revealed the plans for filling her vacated spot in Season 3.
Jonathan Tolins on how Elsbeth Season 3 will replace Kaya
As conveyed by The Twilight of the Golds co-writer, the creative team will not introduce an out-and-out replacement for Kaya in Elsbeth Season 3. Instead, Jonathan Tollins and the writers intend to “experiment and find the ways to go” in the already confirmed third edition of the CBS series.
While speaking with Variety on the possibilities of replacing Patterson’s Kaya Blanke in Elsbeth Season 3, Tolins noted, “We’ve started introducing some new uniformed officers with Ethan Slater and B coming on. The one thing I’ve decided is that we’re not just going to try to shoehorn someone into the exact role that Kaya played in Elsbeth’s life,” the Buyer & Cellar author said.
Tollins also shed light on the importance of the relationship that Carra Patterson’s Kaya and Carrie Preston’s Elsbeth share. He stated, “I think that was a very unique, special relationship between Elsbeth and Kaya, and Carrie and Carra. So we’re going to sort of experiment and find the ways to go.”
Despite Jonathan Tollins negating the prospect of replacing Kaya in Elsbeth’s forthcoming season, he did highlight the impact of the former’s departure on the show’s protagonist. “It makes it so much more meaningful that we know it’s not just easy for her to be Elsbeth all the time, and it makes me love the character even more,” Tollins explained. While CBS has renewed Elsbeth for Season 3, the installment has yet to receive an official word on its release schedule.
