‘Elsbeth’ Review: ‘The Good Fight’ Spinoff Is a Sharp CBS Procedural with a High Ceiling
It’s been 15 years since “The Good Wife” first premiered on CBS, seven years since its initial spinoff, “The Good Fight,” helped launch CBS All Access, and zero years since “Elsbeth” brings the “Good” universe full circle. On February 29, 2024, the franchise returns to CBS — albeit with every advertisement noting you can also watch episodes on CBS All Access Paramount+ — as the Carrie Preston-starring drama series extends Robert and Michelle King’s legal procedurals into new territory: Instead of outwitting her fellow attorneys, Elsbeth now polices the police.
Preston stars as Elsbeth Tascioni, a defense attorney first introduced in “The Good Wife” (and brought back for “The Good Fight”) whose ceaselessly chipper demeanor encourages friends and enemies alike to underestimate her at every turn. In the “Elsbeth” pilot, she enters a crime scene wearing a foam Statue of Liberty hat, shamelessly flaunting her image as the bright-eyed tourist in a city of hardened cynics. With her sunrise-pink coat, heart-embroidered mittens, and color-coordinated totes, she’s hardly someone a suspect would think twice about talking to — especially a cocky auteur who already thinks he’s gotten away with murder. (Here, played with arch smugness by guest star Stephen Moyer.)
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“Elsbeth” is a howcatchem — an inverted murder-mystery where the killer is unveiled in the opening scene, and the detectives spend the episode figuring out what the audience already knows — and the “Columbo” model fits its star to a “t.” Not only do both titular investigators share distinct names and mannerisms (a recurring joke in the first three episodes is hearing strangers stumble over Elsbeth’s surname, instead of her truncated first), but knowing the guilty party from the start gives each episode plenty of wiggle room to dive deeper into character motivations, personal lives, and political angles.
It also allows for tantalizing guest stars to pop in without spoiling the mystery. Odds are if you spot a famous face among the suspects on a network TV drama, they’re the killer; here, we already know they’re the killer, which means we can kick back and appreciate Moyer’s devilish smarm, Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s bossy charms, and Jane Krakowski’s finely toned arms. (Her pristine appearance is another recurring quip.)
The first three episodes screened for review don’t stretch too far from the formula, though I suspect that’s to help audiences get comfortable with Elsbeth as a lead. Anyone new to the character may need a little time with Preston’s performance to buy in, and even “Good Wife/Fight” veterans may be wary of the impossibly peppy attorney carrying an entire series.
Fear not. Preston, who won an Emmy for this role in 2013, knows the exact pitch at which to play Elsbeth. Never grating yet always pesky, her unrelenting positivity (and general relentlessness) would undoubtedly get old, fast, in real life. Cops and criminals alike are exhausted by her, but audiences can more easily appreciate her dogged demeanor because a) we know she’s on the right track, and b) she’s played by the affable Preston. The Kings know this, and craft our re-(re-)introduction to the character in a way that emphasizes her bonafides, making her an easy-to-root-for lead.
Better still is the baked-in potential for where “Elsbeth” can go next. Ostensibly, the former Chicago defense attorney moves to New York as part of a police oversight program. All those wrongful arrest lawsuits have finally caught up with the cops, and now they’re required to let a court-appointed attorney investigate their investigations. Elsbeth prefers to work while the cases are still open, which helps her operate like a typical TV detective without actually assuming the baggage of a badge and gun. On top of that, her real mission, conducted in secret, is to find out if NYPD Captain C.W. Wagner (Wendell Pierce) is dirty. Whether it’s via a case of the week or the ongoing conspiracy, the Kings have given themselves plenty of opportunities to examine shifting public opinion around American cops.
How “Elsbeth” goes about policing the police should prove compelling, even if we haven’t seen it in action just yet. As “Good Wife” and “Good Fight” fans well know, the Kings have a knack for tackling tricky social topics, be it in the court of public opinion or the systemic injustice in our actual courts. TV in general is opening up to perspectives on law enforcement beyond the thin blue line, and casting Pierce, a passionate artist and advocate, in one of three series regular roles likely isn’t only because of his tremendous onscreen talent. (The third is Carra Patterson, who plays patrol officer Kaya Blanke, Elsbeth’s de facto partner.)
No matter what comes next, “Elsbeth” is already a rock-solid procedural with a winning trio in front of the camera and a brilliant duo behind it. It may only happen every seven years or so, but the network nicknamed The Eye once again has something worth keeping an eye on.
Grade: B
“Elsbeth” premieres Thursday, February 29 at 10 p.m. on CBS. New episodes will be released weekly and be released the next day on Paramount+.
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