David Cross pulls a gun on ‘Elsbeth’ in preview for new season 3 [Exclusive]

Season 3 of Elsbeth is about to reach new levels of danger for Carrie Prestonthanks to a comedy icon. Collider can share an exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming episode 2, titled “Doll Day Afternoon,” in which Elsbeth Tascioni becomes embroiled in a murder case at a famous New York toy store where she meets a curious man named Nolan, played by Mr. Show And Arrested development favorite David Cross. When the situation quickly turns into a hostage crisis, she is tasked with exposing the ex-convict and getting everyone out unharmed. Our clip depicts the moment when everything goes wrong inside the store and the pink-clad perpetual optimist finds himself on the wrong end of a gun.

The sequence opens with Elsbeth talking with Nolan about the Spirited Girl doll he brought to trade. From the moment their conversation begins, he seems anxious and a little bored by this chatter, hinting to the detective that something is wrong with the situation, especially when she looks at the doll itself. However, alarm bells really start to go off when she spots her ring, which has a peculiarly shaped empty slot like a gemstone she spotted on the ground at a crime scene. Eventually, the store manager comes out with the collector doll Nolan was supposed to receive, but his name was strangely crossed out on the order. Elsbeth’s new inexperienced police partner, Officer Summerville (Angus O’Brien), tells in a completely indiscreet way that the store owner went out last night to sell the doll to a customer. In true Elsbeth fashion, she uses a puppet to signal that Nolan is their target, but Summerville makes another rookie mistake and attempts to call for backup within earshot of the crook, who snatches the officer’s gun while he’s distracted.

Elsbeth is no stranger to facing dangerous enemies, but when faced with a hapless criminal like Nolan, who seems prone to doing something irrational, it’s unclear if she can extricate herself from this predicament. It certainly doesn’t help that she and Summerville can’t even get on the same page on how to negotiate with him. To make matters worse, episode 2 will also see Captain Wagner (Wendell Pierce) clashing with one of his rivals, whose reckless methods threaten to turn the situation deadly at the toy store. Cross’ comedic presence will make things a little lighter, as the Season 3 trailer hints, but the stakes are pretty high for the detective in her second case back on air.

Elsbeth season 3 is back and more star-studded than ever

The return of CBS’ hit murder mystery procedural has not disappointed so far in terms of star power. Cross enters the series after a busy premiere headlined by The late show host Stéphane Colbert in a fitting role as the tyrannical talk show director, Scotty Bristol, with Amy Sedaris playing his editor-in-chief and Andy Richter like her husband. The future also looks promising, with Julia Fox ready to face Elsbeth in episode 3 and Annaleigh Ashford playing a murderous suburbanite in a spooky Halloween-themed episode 4 that showrunner Jonathan Tolins told Collider that it was “really, really fun.” Although the absence of Kaya Blanke (Carra Patterson) will be felt for most of this season, the series will ensure that there will be plenty of new faces for Preston to branch out and interact with as she figures out her latest roster of color cases.

Elsbeth Season 3, Episode 2 premieres October 16 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. New episodes follow every Thursday. Check out our exclusive preview in the player above.