‘Elsbeth’ Exclusive: First Photos From Christmas Episode — Is Vanessa Bayer the Killer?

Kelli Boyle October 21, 2024, 5:10 pm

Vanessa Bayer as DeeDee Dasher and Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni in the 'Elsbeth' Season 2 Christmas episode - 'Gold, Frankincense, and Murder' — Michael Parmelee / CBS

This is no way to get on the nice list. Christmas becomes a deadly time of year in Elsbeth Season 2 when Vanessa Bayer guest stars as a holiday-season fanatic who’s wronged by her husband. After previously announcing Bayer and Dan Bucatinsky’s casting, TV Insider can exclusively reveal the first photos from the Elsbeth Christmas episode — aptly titled, “Gold, Frankincense, and Murder” — as well the air date and episode description.

The Elsbeth Christmas episode will air on Thursday, December 5 at 10/9c on CBS. As previously reported, Bayer plays Deedee, who puts on the act of the doting, supportive, crazy-for-Christmas wife so that she and her husband, Dick, can keep selling their Christmas goods and keep the image of holiday cheer going. But behind the scenes, Deedee is tired of playing a supporting role in her own marriage. When Dick sidelines her request for a divorce, Deedee takes matters into her own hands. No one is going to stand in the way of Deedee and the life she wants for herself. Not her husband, or the holiday season.

Vanessa Bayer as DeeDee Dasher in the 'Elsbeth' Season 2 Christmas episode - 'Gold, Frankincense, and Murder'

Michael Parmelee / CBS

The official plot description reveals more details about this dangerous Christmas business. “Celebrity Christmas curators Dirk and DeeDee Dashers (Vanessa Bayer), go from tinsel to tragedy after Dirk is killed in a freak accident and Elsbeth begins to suspect his wife is behind the murder,” the logline says. “Meanwhile, Elsbeth gets a holiday surprise courtesy of Wagner [Wendell Pierce] and Kaya [Carra Patterson].”

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Bucatinsky will play Kidder Hawes, super agent and branding expert for the Dashers’ Christmas empire. Kidder has definite ideas about Deedee’s life as a Christmas widow.

Elsbeth Season 1 consisted of 10 episodes but got a major bump up to a 20-episode order for the second season. With all that extra time, the series is able to have more themed episodes such as the upcoming Halloween episode (airing on Halloween) and the December 5 Christmas episode.

See Preston, Bayer, and Patterson in more photos from “Gold, Frankincense, and Murder,” below.