Elsbeth's Kaya Is Already Returning For Season 3 After Her Exit, And I Can't Get Enough Of Carrie Preston And Carra Patterson's Reactions

Toward the end of Elsbeth Season 2, we learned that Carra Patterson would no longer be a regular on the show. After her character, Kaya, was promoted to detective, she got the opportunity to join a task force that couldn’t be passed up. While I love that for her character, I was bummed that it meant she would be exiting the cast as a regular. However, she’s already returning for Season 3, and the interaction Patterson had with Carrie Preston about it was adorable.

I’ve always been of the belief that Elsbeth hinges on the friendship between Elsbeth and Kaya. So, while I knew Patterson’s character would return in some way, I was still worried about her not being there all the time. However, the fact that she’s already back makes me feel way better, and it’s images like this that have me counting down the days to Season 3’s premiere on the 2025 TV schedule:

Ah! My favorite besties are back together! Again, while I knew Patterson would return eventually, we had no clue when that would happen. So, I’m thrilled that it’ll presumably be pretty early in Elsbeth’s third season, considering production only started three weeks ago (via Preston’s Instagram).

While this image got me fired up for this reunion, it was Patterson and Preston’s comments about it that really made me excited. In the caption of the Elsbeth Tascioni actress's post, she wrote:

I can’t wait to see them “ride again,” and Patterson can’t either, as she responded to her co-star’s post with the following comment:

I was so bummed when it was announced that Kaya wouldn’t be on Elsbeth in a regular capacity, and truly, I was worried about when she’d return. So, this confirmation that she’ll be back likely early in Season 3’s run brings me immense joy.

This confirmation also sparks some curiosity, because if you zoom in on the nametag Patterson is wearing, it notably does not say Kaya Blanke. It says Denise Jackson. We learned last season that the new detective was leaving the precinct to join a task force as an undercover agent, so this photo makes me think we’ll get to see her in undercover action, and that’s very exciting.

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Along with Patterson’s return being exciting by itself, it is also a meaningful addition to an already stellar lineup of guest stars. So far, we know Stephen Colbert will guest star on the series, and so will David Cross, Amy Sedaris, Andy Richter, Lindsay Mendez and Julia Fox. We also know from Elsbeth’s track record with guest appearances that the list will surely continue to grow in an impressive way as the season continues.

So, get excited, folks! Season 3 of Elsbeth will feature some incredible new guest stars alongside another very important and meaningful one. Speaking of that last one, we don’t know when exactly Kaya will be back. However, we do know that Season 3 will premiere on CBS on Sunday, October 12 at 10 p.m., before returning to its normal Thursday night slot, and you can stream old seasons as well as new episodes with a Paramount+ subscription.