Elsbeth Backlash: Has CBS’ Lighthearted Murder Mystery Lost Its Way Already?

CBS’s Elsbeth made a splash with its debut, but afterward, audiences had to wait two months for more.

When it returned, it established itself as a quirky, lighthearted murder mystery series, though there is a darker overarching plot surrounding the lawyer’s secret investigation into her new boss.

By now, it’s clear this series is nothing like The Good Wife despite being a spinoff, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s lost its way.

Elsbeth is far more formulaic than The Good Wife, so it may appeal to a different audience. The Good Wife was a dark satire (not necessarily funny) about complex legal issues and the sacrifices people made to gain political points. Elsbeth is none of that.

The title character was a quirky attorney on The Good Wife, and as expected, she’s the same on Elsbeth. She also is the lead in a cozy mystery show, which may not have been what audiences expected when the series premiered.

Four episodes in, it’s clear that Elsbeth has a greater kinship with Peacock’s Mr. Monk’s Last Case than with her parent show. Understanding this is the key to enjoying this series.

How Elsbeth Follows the Cozy Mystery Formula

Cozy mysteries were more popular in the pre-CSI era, where stories didn’t focus on police procedures and ordinary people could solve crimes the cops could not. 

Although the idea of an astute civilian besting the cops time after time may seem like a tired TV trope to viewers who don’t like that sort of thing, it’s baked into the genre, and Elsbeth perfectly fits the quirky amateur sleuth persona.

Elsbeth is the perfect blend of Monk and Columbo.

Like Monk, she notices details others miss, such as on Elsbeth Season 1 Episode 4, when she realized a statue was not the same one used as a murder weapon because it had only two arrows, while the statue she was seeking had three.

Like Columbo, she works to prove someone is the killer when the audience already knows.

Columbo was popular partly because it inverted the whodunit trope by having the audience witness the murder and then spend an hour enjoying Columbo working his way toward unmasking them.

The difference, of course, is that, unlike Elsbeth, Columbo was a police lieutenant, giving him more credibility than the average amateur sleuth.

Still, when viewed as a modern-day Columbo, Elsbeth’s four episodes thus far make perfect sense.

It’s a reboot of the classic series without expressly billing itself as one — Elsbeth is not a relative of Columbo’s and doesn’t bear his name, as in the not-yet-premiered new version of Matlock (which, ironically, will be on CBS on Sunday nights, as The Good Wife was.)

Cozy Mystery Plots Often Feel Repetitive

One of the problems with this formula is that the plots can feel like reruns after a while.

This has already happened with Elsbeth, which used the trope of the big star being murdered for similar reasons on two episodes. As a result, the pilot episode felt fresh and original, but Elsbeth Season 1 Episode 3 fell flat for some viewers.

Both stories were entertaining and different enough to keep the audience interested. Still, writers need to ensure that they don’t recycle standard plots that are too close to each other in the future.

They likely thought they could get away with it because of the month-long hiatus, but it still was not a great idea.

However, that in no way means the series as a whole has lost its way — it’s simply something that the writers need to be careful of to prevent viewers from getting burnt out on too many of the same type of story.

The One Trope That’s Getting Annoying

Elsbeth does a great job of sticking to the cozy mystery formula. Still, one trope is particularly aggravating: Captain Wagner never thinks she has a point until the cops find new evidence halfway through the episode.

After a month’s worth of Elsbeth always being correct, this is silly at best. 

Wagner should realize that Elsbeth knows what she’s talking about, even if he finds her annoying. At the very least, he should acknowledge that Elsbeth has been right in the past, even if he doesn’t think she is this time.

The skeptical police captain is a common cozy mystery trope, but it would work better if Elsbeth were a traveling detective rather than always working with the NYPD. That way, strangers could doubt her abilities rather than the same guy always getting it wrong.

The Investigation Into Captain Wagner Is The Only Tie To The Good Wife

Although Elsbeth is lighthearted mystery fare, one story has darker overtones, and that’s the continuing investigation into Captain Wagner.

This story is moving slowly but steadily toward a climax. After only four episodes, Elsbeth makes some inroads, particularly with Wagner’s wife, but Wagner realizes that she’s investigating him. 

The Elsbeth Season 1 Episode 4 cliffhanger made our jaws drop when Wagner came to that realization, and promises more of the type of intrigue and political maneuvering that The Good Wife is famous for, but don’t expect it to become the main focus of the series any time soon.

It’s clear that this is a subplot, and it’s probably been designed to take baby steps forward throughout the season.

Rather than being resolved at the end of the season, it’s likely that we will end with a significant cliffhanger to keep audiences hooked for Elsbeth Season 2, assuming the series is renewed.

This might not be enough to keep fans of The Good Wife tuning in til then unless they also enjoy cozy mysteries.

Elsbeth should focus on gaining the right audience instead of expecting The Good Wife fans to enjoy the series just because it’s a spinoff.

What do you think, Elsbeth fanatics?

Are you enjoying the cozy mystery format, or does it make you feel Elsbeth has lost its way?

Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know.

Elsbeth airs on CBS on Thursdays at 10/9c and streams on Paramount+.

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Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.