<\/p>\n
Carra Patterson<\/a> will be back on\u00a0Elsbeth<\/a><\/em> before you know it. The Season 2 finale in May was Patterson\u2019s final episode<\/a> as a series regular (at least for now). Detective Kaya Blanke\u2019s exit was explained by her snagging her dream job and going off to Washington, D.C., for training. An update on Kaya\u2019s new investigative work will come in\u00a0Elsbeth<\/em> Season 3, premiering October 12 on CBS<\/a>. Showrunner Jonathan Tolins<\/a> previously promised that Patterson won\u2019t be gone for good. Now, Carrie Preston<\/a> shares when to expect Patterson\u2019s return, which Preston confirms has already been filmed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll see her. She\u2019s going to periodically come and be a part of our world, and so that\u2019ll be fun,\u201d Preston tells TV Insider. \u201cI love Cara so much, and I miss her too. So when she is there playing Kaya, sometimes the lines are blurred because I\u2019m as excited to see Cara as Elsbeth is to see Kaya.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe filmed her return. She shows up in \u2014 they all seem like one episode to me, but I think it was [Episode] 4.\u201d<\/p>\n Elsbeth isn\u2019t a cop, so she can\u2019t walk onto any crime scene without a police escort. A rotating list of characters will fill the space Kaya\u2019s absence leaves behind in Season 3, starting with Lindsay Mendez<\/a> as Officer Grace Hackett. Preston confirms that they\u2019ll have Ethan Slater<\/a> back as Officer Reese Chandler, as well as B as Officer Nikki Reynolds.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re back for a couple of episodes,\u201d Preston says of B. \u201cAnd then we have our recurring detectives that are coming back in. Danny Mastrogiorgio<\/a>, who plays Mullen, and Daniel Oreskes<\/a>, who plays Buzz Fleming. And we\u2019re going to get Micaela Diamond<\/a> back [as Detective Samantha Edwards]. So yeah, we have our little stable, and then they\u2019re also trying to bring in new flavors to keep things interesting. It is fun for Elsbeth, and it\u2019s fun for the audience too.\u201d<\/p>\n Additional guest stars include Stephen Colbert<\/a>, Amy Sedaris<\/a>, and Andy Richter<\/a> in the Season 3 premiere. David Cross<\/a> appears in Episode 2, with Julia Fox<\/a>, William Jackson Harper<\/a>, and Annaleigh Ashford<\/a> set to appear in later episodes. Ben Levi Ross<\/a> will be back as Elsbeth\u2019s son, Teddy, this season as well. Wendell Pierce<\/a> returns in his series regular role as Captain Wagner.<\/p>\n