Ryan O’Rourke

Published Oct 14, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT

Ryan O’Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided’s CubbiesCrib. Whether it’s taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what’s going on. Outside of entertainment, he’s a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor’s in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.

Sign in to your Collider account

Four seasons in, everybody still seems to want to be on Elsbeth. The CBS mystery procedural starring Carrie Preston has welcomed countless guest stars so far, from Nathan Lane to Steve Buscemi, Patti LuPone, Pamela Adlon, Steven Moyer, and many, many more. To kick off Season 4, Tony winner Nicole Scherzinger played the latest suspect — a famous marriage counselor who hides a messy passion beneath her collected facade. Yet this week’s mystery might be one of the most packed episodes in the series’ history, with six guest stars and a pair of special appearances in Ms. Tascioni’s world.

Episode 2, “Death of a Playwright,” has Elsbeth navigating the hustle and bustle of New York theater following the curious death of a young, rising-star “theater maker.” With the whole community rocked by the incident, the sleuth is presented with a collection of suspects waiting in the wings who could’ve been responsible. Yet, there’s one who makes themselves known early on as a particularly likely candidate to have done the deed and stopped the show. Collider can offer an exclusive sneak peek introducing a few of the guests, including the playwright Nelson Thibodeau, as brought to life by American Horror Story alum Isaac Powell, and showing an inciting moment that sets the stage for the case to come.

The footage opens on a trio in the theater business looking to congratulate the young playwright on a show well done. Among them is Jeremy Perrick, the overlooked son of a famous playwright played by Succession star Nicholas Braun, his mother, Sheila, played by Betsy Aidem, and Lenny Swift, embodied by Emmy-winning The Waltons and IT miniseries star Richard Thomas. Nelson is positively beaming to see them enjoying his play and shares the good news that the show is moving to the famed Lucille Lortel Theatre. While they all put on supportive fronts, Jeremy is clearly a little resentful of the success he wishes he could find outside his father’s shadow, and it doesn’t help when New York Knicks champion forward OG Anunoby shows up wanting to see Nelson courtside in the coming season. However, the mood shifts with the arrival of 13 Reasons Why star Tommy Dorfman as raving rival playwright Klea Zane, accusing Nelson of plagiarism.

Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose.

You believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.

You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world’s beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.

You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what’s right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.

You see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.

You believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.

It appears Elsbeth will have a lot to juggle, between a bitter Jeremy, a furious Klea, and everyone else who might’ve been put off by Nelson’s constant humble bragging. Captain Wagner (Wendell Pierce) will also be occupied, as he faces mounting pressure from the new mayor and commissioner to curb the spiking murder rate and budget. The names above aren’t the end of the guest star parade, either. John Doman of The Wire fame is set to appear as Jeremy’s legendary father, Richard Perrick, and Emmy-winning theater journalist and television personality Frank DiLella will pop up as himself. That massive group is part of an early wave of guest stars in Season 4 that will also include Lea Michele, Sam Richardson, Jemima Kirke, and Nat Faxon in the coming episodes.

Elsbeth Season 4, Episode 2 airs on CBS on Thursday, October 15 at 9 p.m. ET. Check out our exclusive sneak peek in the player above.

](/tag/elsbeth/)

CBS

Nancy Hower, Robert King, Lionel Coleman, Rob Hardy, Robin Givens, Ron Underwood, Rosemary Rodriguez, Aisha Tyler, Bille Woodruff, James Whitmore Jr., Joe Menendez, Kevin Rodney Sullivan, Lily Mariye, Nick Gomez, Peter Sollett, Sam Hoffman, Tyne Rafaeli, Darren Grant, Fong-Yee Yap, Mary Lou Belli

Jonathan Tolins, Erica Shelton Kodish, Bryan Goluboff, Sarah Beckett, Michelle King

Carrie Preston

Wendell Pierce