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Critic Reviews
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This is easy television: enjoyable, familiar and moreish. You can be gripped by the central crime while also fairly safe in the knowledge that the perpetrator will get their comeuppance and Elsbeth will come out on top. But as with all the Kings’ series, it’s executed with precision, wit and class, while Preston has pulled off the tricky balancing act of creating a loveable oddball who never verges into irritation.
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Elsbeth may not make you die laughing, but you'll certainly smile. [1 - 21 Apr 2024, p.4]
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With Elsbeth, they’ve spun off a character from Chicago-based The Good Wife’s universe, Carrie Preston’s daffy but hyper-observant defense attorney Elsbeth Tascioni, and set her loose on New York City, and the results and the guest stars are as delightful as you might hope.
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We’re suckers for the “howdunit” format of Elsbeth, and Preston has such a good handle on the character that we are looking forward to watching her catch wily killers week after week.
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“The Good Wife” (also on CBS) was one of those prestreaming shows that demonstrated just how smart, sophisticated, subtle, sly and wickedly funny a network series could be, and they have imported those qualities into the more overtly comical, completely delightful “Elsbeth.”
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In their new dramedy, “Elsbeth,” with the ingenious Carrie Preston reprising her role as the quirky attorney, the Kings are proving that network TV and the procedural drama, when well-written and perfectly cast, can be outlandish, witty and full of joy.
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Ms. Preston is delightful, but not to the point of being cloying. And though Elsbeth may percolate ceaselessly, happy waters in this case run deep: A viewer, always on her side, will still be kept wondering—not about whether she's right (we all learn who killed whom at the outset of an episode) but how she'll prove it. And how many skeptics she will leave sputtering in her wake.
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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.
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You may be inclined to casually dismiss her as too flighty and frivolous. Butkeep watching—the show but also Preston’s masterful performance—and you’ll find a comfort watch the likes of which they don’t make that often anymore. Now let’s just hope the show, a rainy-day binge if there ever was one, gets renewed for plenty more seasons.
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While waiting for an ensemble to emerge, you watch for the oddball parrying between Preston and the guest stars mostly playing characters who think it might be fun to toy with Elsbeth or play along with her until well past the point at which they should have recognized how formidable she is.
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There are no particularly savage sendups of either the principals or the police. The show favors mild bemusement over withering satire or heavy judgment. That’s a fine and appealing tone that builds (again) on a long tradition.
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Preston is charming enough to cover for the most ludicrous parts of it. Mostly, though, Elsbeth left me wondering what supporting players from other series could be placed in a similar “What if [previous show], but make it Columbo?” arrangement.
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The premiere episode, with a story by “Good Wife” creators Michelle and Robert King and directed by Robert King, efficiently introduces new characters. Officer Kaya Blanke (Carra Patterson) warms up to Elsbeth’s quirky ways quickly and serves as a grounding force. NYPD Police Capt. C.W. Wagner (Wendell Pierce, always a welcome presence in any series) comes across as more of a wary ally.
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Preston remains a delight. .... The first three episodes plant the seeds for a larger mystery the show may need to grapple with, and perhaps that ultimately will make Elsbeth appointment television. But right now? It’s just a disappointing letdown.
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Granted, there’s not a whole lot about that approach to prompt wild enthusiasm, but to those looking for a modest diversion, Preston is good company, and the writing is intermittently clever. Besides, the irrepressible Elsbeth has enough enthusiasm for all of us.
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It’s clearly not intended to be anything like The Good Wife or The Good Fight. But it’s not charming enough to be the playful homage to the unsophisticated detective shows of yesteryear that it wants to be either. The most that can be said for it is that Elsbeth as a main character is about 50% less infuriating than she used to be.
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Preston is as talented as they come, but she has little to work with here. Patterson and Pierce are given even less. This can’t be creatively fulfilling for anyone, with Elsbeth reduced to a collection of tics and unbridled enthusiasm. .... It’s baffling to see the Kings embrace such blatant copaganda.