TV Talk: 'Elsbeth' enchants, but show is more-of-the-same procedural

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week.

On CBS’s “The Good Wife” and on Paramount+’s “The Good Fight,” an appearance from loveable oddball Elsbeth Tascioni was reason to celebrate.

As playfully embodied by actress Carrie Preston, Elsbeth’s broad smile, perpetual wide-eyed amazement and cheerful pronouncements bely a keen intellect and razor-sharp knack for observation and an ability to disarm even the most confident opposing counsel.

In the CBS spin-off series “Elsbeth” (10 p.m. Feb. 29, KDKA-TV), those same skills are used to help the NYPD solve crimes while she works as an outside observer after a consent decree followed multiple wrongful arrests.

When a recurring character gets elevated to a series lead, there’s always the worry that what worked as a spice in the past will overwhelm or grow tiresome when it becomes the primary ingredient. That doesn’t seem like a concern in this case because Elsbeth is just so darn likeable.

The greater challenge will be keeping fans of the serialized “Good” shows tuning in. The first episode, the only one made available at deadline, includes references to another “Good Wife” character — catnip for “Good” fans, no doubt — but that’s a one-and-done trick that’s been used and won’t warrant “Good” fans tuning into “Elsbeth” regularly.

To be a success, “Elsbeth” will need to attract non-“Good” fans, which doesn’t seem like a difficult task since “Elsbeth” is yet another crime show in CBS’s already procedural-heavy prime-time lineup.

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.

The “Elsbeth” premiere shows the whodunnit — a college theater professor (Stephen Moyer, Preston’s “True Blood” co-star) — up front and the rest of the hour tracks Elsbeth’s clever efforts to prove her suspicions correct. This being a CBS procedural, there’s no doubt she will succeed.

In a recent virtual news conference, Robert King said during the pandemic he and Michelle would watch a “Columbo” episode every night and found that more satisfying than serialized series.

“That just got us thinking, because we always wanted to work with Carrie again, that Elsbeth would make (a good new Columbo),” Robert King said. “That ‘Columbo’ build, it’s a very witty build that’s not about whodunnit in that Agatha Christie way. It’s a how-done-it, which seems just as fascinating, if not even more fascinating, because it takes a wittier approach to puzzle-solving or problem-solving because the audience knows where this is headed and then you could see the bad guy or bad woman reverse and try to get back at Carrie Preston’s character before she can solve it.”

Preston said the timing was opportune.

“It was interesting, right after they had come up with this idea for (a new version of) ‘Columbo,’ there was this article in The New York Times where there was this reporter, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and what she was watching during Covid was reruns of ‘Columbo,’ and then the last line of the article was, ‘We don’t need a reboot of “Columbo,” just give Elsbeth Tascioni her own show.’ So everybody, it was in zeitgeist and so I am the lucky recipient of said zeitgeist.”

Jonathan Tolins, who previously wrote on Showtime’s “Queer as Folk,” “The Good Fight,” “Schmigadoon!” and “East New York,” is showrunner on “Elsbeth.” He said he intends to maintain continuity with Elsbeth’s character, including that she had a child with her ex-husband.

“One of the first things I did was I went back and watched every episode Elsbeth ever appeared in and took notes on every bit of information that’s ever been mentioned,” Tolins said during a virtual CBS news conference for “Elsbeth.” “We did the math. Teddy is in his 20s. We will hear more about him and Elsbeth’s relationship with him as his mom.”

Although there’s a reference to a “Good Wife” character in the “Elsbeth” premiere, the Kings said don’t expect to see any “Good” characters on “Elsbeth.”

“We think about our friends in Chicago (where the “Good” shows were set), but it’s not our expectation that they’re traveling to New York anytime soon,” Michelle King said. “Elsbeth is on her own in New York, which is part of the fun. She’s enjoying it and enjoying it on her own.”

“I always say, I have friends in Chicago. I rarely see them,” Robert King added.

“The Good Fight” revealed Alicia Florrick (Juliana Margulies), lead character in “The Good Wife” where Elsbeth was first introduced, moved to New York and started her own law firm.

“She’s not, however, working with the NYPD solving crimes,” Michelle King said.

“We’ll check in with her when she kills someone,” Robert King joked. “That’s gonna be such a bad quote. You can twist that one in so many ways.”