Elsbeth made a subtle jab at Elon Musk with a humorous reference to erectile dysfunction.
In the episode aired on Thursday, April 23, of the popular CBS series, Elsbeth (played by Carrie Preston) delved into an investigation involving a wealth therapist (portrayed by Constance Wu). The therapist was suspected of using confidential patient information for insider trading and was also implicated in a murder investigation. Elsbeth questioned Dr. Mallory Ryan (Wu) about her patient records.
“This is a September 2024 entry about a patient — name redacted — who experienced prolonged erectile dysfunction following Space X’s launch failure,” Elsbeth asked Mallory. “Power of suggestion, I guess?”
Mallory explained that it was “a traumatic event for many high-net-worth men,” noting that Musk established the company in 2002. This isn’t the first time the show has cleverly referenced real individuals; previous episodes have humorously alluded to Jordon Hudson, Bill Belichick, Leonardo DiCaprio, among others.
Thursday’s episode was also notable for the return of Kaya (played by Carra Patterson). Since the debut of Elsbeth, Preston’s character has collaborated with Patterson’s Kaya to solve crimes in New York City. Season 2, which wrapped up in May 2025, concluded with Patterson leaving the series as a regular.
The show explained Kaya’s absence by disclosing she was on an undercover mission in Washington D.C.
“I was concerned when Carra needed to go and what we were going to do without her,” Preston, 58, shared with Us Weekly in February. “But what ended up happening was we brought on Lindsay Mendez, B, Ethan Slater, and we introduced all these wonderful characters.”
This cast change gave the show’s writers an opportunity to explore new storylines.
“[It brought] change, growth, conflict, loss and all of those things are enriching for any character. Our show for the first couple of seasons was also very much a romance where these two women were very much connected and they were so different and yet found this incredible common ground through their work together,” Preston told Us. “That doesn’t go away. So the longing for that — for her best friend — and to be with her has created some really fun and deep and touching scene work.”
The actress added: “When Kaya does come back then we get to see that reunion. We get to see them fall back into where they were, but both of them have experienced things apart that they can bring to the friendship. It’s been interesting, and the writers have done such a beautiful job of not trying to fill the shoes of Kaya because you can’t, but instead bringing in different sidekicks for Elsbeth and seeing her have relationships with those people and those are different than what she has with Kaya. All of those things are doing nothing but making it a richer tapestry for the actors and hopefully for the audience.”
The latest episode, however, hinted at the possibility of Kaya’s permanent return.
Elsbeth airs on CBS Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Paramount+.
