Carrie Preston has been stealing scenes for years. As the perpetually cheerful, deceptively sharp lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni, she first turned up in The Good Wife and then The Good Fight. Now she finally gets her own show. Elsbeth puts the character at the center of a breezy CBS procedural, and the result is a light, charming mystery series that coasts on Preston’s singular performance.
The premise is simple. Elsbeth moves to New York. She attaches herself to the NYPD as a civilian consultant. Each episode hands her a locked-room case that the audience sees committed in full at the top of the hour. The pleasure is not in whodunit, but in how Elsbeth will catch the culprit.
Trailer, via CBS.
Preston’s Unshakable Charm
The show lives or dies on its lead. Preston plays Elsbeth as a woman who seems to be operating on a different frequency, one that involves bright scarves, off-topic observations, and a disarming lack of social filter. It would be easy for this to become a cartoon. Preston keeps it grounded, layering the whimsy with a sharp tactical mind. She is never the fool, only the person everyone underestimates.
The format is a known quantity. It is a reverse procedural, closer in spirit to Columbo than to a standard police drama. The audience knows the killer from the first scene. The fun is watching Elsbeth poke, prod, and eventually unravel their perfect crime. It is a structure that rewards a strong guest villain, and the show delivers a steady stream of them.
A Parade of Guest Stars
The guest cast is the show’s secret weapon. The first season alone features appearances from Stephen Moyer, Blair Underwood, and Retta. These are not cameos. They are full roles, giving the actors room to play the smug, clever murderer who thinks they have gotten away with it. The dynamic is consistent: the killer is confident, and Elsbeth is politely relentless.
The writing is sharp enough to keep the puzzles engaging. The solutions are rarely obvious, and the show plays fair with its clues. It is not a deep psychological thriller. It is a puzzle box, and the satisfaction comes from watching the pieces click into place. The show is at its best when it leans into the absurdity of its own premise, letting Elsbeth’s methods feel both ridiculous and inevitable.
- Stephen Moyer plays a smug killer in the season’s first case.
- Blair Underwood brings his signature cool to a later episode.
- Retta leans into comic menace as a chef with a secret.
A Lighter Touch
Where the show differs from its predecessors is in tone. The Good Wife and The Good Fight were dense, serialized dramas about politics, law, and corruption. Elsbeth is an episodic case-of-the-week show. It is lighter, funnier, and far less concerned with the weight of the world. This is a deliberate choice, and it works.
The supporting cast is solid. Carra Patterson plays Officer Kaya Blanke, Elsbeth’s long-suffering partner. Wendell Pierce plays Captain C.W. Wagner, who is perpetually annoyed by Elsbeth’s presence. These two provide the straight-man energy that makes Preston’s performance pop. They are not given much depth, but they do not need it. Their function is to react, and they react well.
The show does not waste time on a sprawling mythology. There is a running thread about Elsbeth’s past and why she is in New York, but it stays in the background. The focus remains on the weekly puzzle. This is a relief. It keeps the episodes tight and the stakes personal.
The Weekly Format
The show airs on CBS and streams on Paramount+. It premiered in February 2024 and ran its first season of ten episodes through May. The weekly cadence suits the material. It is a show built for Thursday night comfort viewing, not binge-watching.
| Season | Episodes | Premiere Window |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Feb–May 2024 |
The Verdict on the Formula
Elsbeth is not trying to reinvent television. It is trying to be a pleasant, well-made procedural with a distinctive lead. On that count, it succeeds. The show is easy to watch, the mysteries are fair, and the performances are uniformly strong. It is comfort food, expertly prepared.
There are limits. The cases are rarely memorable an hour after the credits roll. The supporting characters are functional rather than fascinating. The show does not push any boundaries. It is content to be good, not great. That is a reasonable trade for a show this consistent.
The creators, Robert King and Michelle King, know how to build a television universe. Elsbeth is a lighter entry in that universe, but it is a welcome one. It is a showcase for one of the most distinctive characters in modern TV, and it gives Preston the spotlight she has earned.
It is a solid, enjoyable hour of television.
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