‘Elsbeth’ Exclusive: Laurie Metcalf Is a Cop Show TV Star, Plus New Look at Michael Emerson (PHOTOS)

Laurie Metcalf is coming to town in the midseason finale of Elsbeth Season 2, and she’s taking on a meta role in an episode that takes place on set of a popular fictional TV show.

The Conners star and four-time Emmy winner is the guest star of the week in Season 2 Episode 8 of The Good Wife spinoff, airing Thursday, December 19 on CBS, and TV Insider can exclusively reveal the first look at her character as well as the episode description. The episode also marks Michael Emerson‘s second appearance in his new recurring guest star role as Judge Crawford. He’s featured in the gallery below as well.

Metcalf fittingly plays a TV star named Regina Coburn in the episode. In “Toil and Trouble,” Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) is thrown into the world of television after the showrunner of a long-running police procedural, called Father Crime, is brutally murdered in his office, and although it appears to be the act of a disgruntled fan, she begins to suspect the show’s longtime star, Regina Coburn (Metcalf), who yearns for artistic fulfillment. Meanwhile, Judge Crawford (Emerson) continues to be a thorn in Elsbeth’s side.

Preston’s real-life husband, Emerson, makes his Elsbeth debut in Episode 7, airing Thursday, December 12. His character will be a foil for Elsbeth for most of this season. But while she’s being annoyed by the judge, she’ll have her son, Teddy, to help lift her spirits. Broadway actor Ben Levi Ross made his surprise debut as Elsbeth’s son on December 5, and he’ll be a recurring guest star on the series. Ross previously told TV Insider that Teddy will find something fishy about Judge Crawford in Episode 7.

“A fun door that’s opened here is that Teddy takes interest in Elsbeth’s line of work a little bit,” Ross shared. “We definitely see that he’s a questioner as well. He doesn’t just believe exactly what’s on the surface, so when he hears them talking about this case, he takes it upon himself to do some research.” This episode will show “the kind of mind [Teddy] inherited from his mom,” Ross noted.

Preston and Emerson previewed their first joint episode of Elsbeth to TV Insider as well. Read the full interview here, and below, see what’s to come when Metcalf joins in on the fun in the midseason finale.

Elsbeth, Midseason Finale, Thursday, December 19, 10/9c, CBS