Will More Good Wife Alumni Appear On Elsbeth? Showrunner Explains Why 'It's Very Tricky' To Bring In Familiar Faces

Elsbeth Tascioni got a blast from her "Good Wife" past earlier this year, when her and Marissa Gold's paths unexpectedly crossed. It wasn't the first time that Elsbeth's former life in Chicago paid her a visit in New York City — but it might be the last for a while.

As "Elsbeth" showrunner Jonathan Tolins tells TVLine, he and the writers aren't creatively opposed to bringing in more "Good Wife" and "Good Fight" alumni in the future, but their appearances would need to make sense in Elsbeth's current world.

"We've only really had one character [from the 'Good Wife' universe] recur, which is Sarah Steele as Marissa Gold, and that was because it felt like a natural use of her," Tolins says. "I believe she would have gone into politics. Christian Borle [came back] as an attorney, Carter, in three episodes. But it's very tricky because first, we're in New York, and [those shows] took place in Chicago. We're a cop show, that was a legal show."

There is one loophole of sorts that "Elsbeth" has found during its run: Several "Good Wife" and "Good Fight" veterans, including Nathan Lane and Hamish Linklater, have guest-starred on the CBS procedural as brand-new characters. But more prominent faces from the "Good Wife"-verse, like Christine Baranski's Diane Lockhart and Matt Czuchry's Cary Agos — both of whom have been mentioned but not seen on "Elsbeth" — would need to return as those same characters, "and a lot of those people, we can't afford," Tolins laughs.

"Our budget is set up that our guest budget usually goes to the murderer," he explains. "So unless Diane Lockhart wants to kill someone, it's tricky."

"Elsbeth" will return to CBS' primetime lineup with Season 4 this fall. An exact premiere date has yet to be announced, but new episodes will air Thursdays at 9/8c. (See all of the broadcast networks' full fall schedule here.)