# Elsbeth (TV series)

Elsbeth is an American police procedural comedy drama television series that premiered on February 29, 2024, on CBS. It is a spin-off of The Good Wife (2009–2016) and The Good Fight (2017–2022), from which Carrie Preston originated the role of Elsbeth Tascioni, an unconventional attorney who ends up working as a de facto detective. In April 2024, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on October 17, 2024. In February 2025, CBS renewed the series for a third season.
Most, though not all, episodes of Elsbeth use the "howcatchem" mystery format rather than the traditional "whodunit", showing the audience from the start who the killer is, how and why they commit the crime, and how they are caught.

## Premise

The series focuses on the offbeat Elsbeth Tascioni, an unconventional but astute attorney who, after a successful career in Chicago, uses her singular point of view to make unique observations and corner criminals alongside the NYPD. Ostensibly assigned by the United States Department of Justice to oversee a monitorship or consent decree after some controversial arrests, her real mission initially (revealed over the course of the first season) is to investigate Captain C. W. Wagner for corruption. Most episodes, including nine of the first ten, use the inverted detective story format.

## Cast
### Main

* Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni
* Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke, a young NYPD officer who befriends Elsbeth
* Wendell Pierce as Charles Wallace (C. W.) Wagner, the Captain at Officer Blanke's precinct

### Recurring

* Danny McCarthy as Agent Fred Celetano (season 1)
* Fredric Lehne as Lieutenant Dave Noonan (season 1)
* Gloria Reuben as Claudia Payne, the wife of C. W. Wagner
* Danny Mastrogiorgio as Detective Bobby Smullen
* Molly Price as Detective Jackie Donnelly
* Micaela Diamond as Detective Edwards
* Daniel Oreskes as Detective Buzz Fleming (season 2)
* Ajay Naidu as Martin Wali (season 1)
* Daniel K. Isaac as Lieutenant Steve Connor (season 2)
* Christian Borle as Carter Schmidt (season 2)
* Ben Levi Ross as Teddy Tascioni, Elsbeth's son (season 2)
* Michael Emerson as Judge Milton Crawford (season 2)
* Sullivan Jones as Cameron Clayden (season 2)

### Guest

* Stephen Moyer as Alex Modarian, a respected drama instructor and professor
* Jane Krakowski as Joann Lenox, a high-end real estate broker
* Linda Lavin as Gloria Blecher, a co-op board president
* Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Skip Mason, the creator of Lavish Ladies, a popular reality TV show
* Retta as Margo Clarke, a matchmaker
* Kelly AuCoin as Declan Armstrong
* Blair Underwood as Cliff McGrath, the father and coach of a rising tennis star
* Gina Gershon as Dr. Vanessa Holmes, a cosmetic surgeon.
* Keegan-Michael Key as Ashton Hayes, the CEO of a financial firm
* Geneva Carr as Poppy Hayes
* Elizabeth Lail as Quinn Powers, the creator of an app called "Cerberus"
* Arian Moayed as Joe, the owner of a cocktail bar
* Laura Benanti as Nadine Clay, a supermodel (seasons 1 and 2)
* Andre de Shields as Matteo Hart, a designer
* Daniel Davis as Dr. Yablonski (seasons 1 and 2)
* Nathan Lane as Phillip Cross, a former lawyer obsessed with opera
* Rob Riggle as Neal Dorsey, a self-made billionaire
* Vanessa Williams as Roslyn Bridwell, a socialite with financial struggles
* Pamela Adlon as Genevieve Hale, a chef with a notorious temper
* Jack Davenport as Sam, the maitre d' of Genevieve's restaurant
* Vanessa Bayer as DeeDee Dasher, a Christmas curator who is secretly fed up with her life
* Laurie Metcalf as Regina Coburn, a TV actress best known for her detective television series
* Eric McCormack as Tom Murphy
* Alan Ruck as Bill and Peter Hepson
* Ioan Gruffudd as Angus Oliphant-Donnachaidh, a Scottish man who helps Elsbeth catch a murderer
* Matthew Broderick as Lawrence Grey
* Jordana Brewster as Chloe, a lifestyle consultant
* Alyssa Milano as Pupetta Del Ponte, a restaurant owner where a famous murder took place
* Tracey Ullman as Marilyn Gladwell, a psychic.

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 10 | 10 | February 29, 2024 (2024-2-29) | May 23, 2024 (2024-5-23) |
| 2 | 20 | 20 | October 17, 2024 (2024-10-17) | TBA |

### Season 1 (2024)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Robert King | Robert King & Michelle King | February 29, 2024 (2024-2-29) | 4.59 |
| In New York City, theatre professor Alex Modarian murders one of his students, Olivia Cherry, who threatened to expose their affair. Cloning her phone's SIM card, Alex carefully stages Olivia's death as a suicide. Chicago attorney Elsbeth Tascioni arrives to the city, sent by Department of Justice Agent Celetano, under a consent decree to observe the police, much to NYPD Captain Wagner's chagrin. Elsbeth befriends Officer Kaya Blanke, who is investigating Olivia's death, and they spot a man's deodorant in her bathroom. Suspicious of Alex, Elsbeth questions his current and former leading ladies, confirming that he had a history of inappropriate relationships with students. Suicidal texts sent from Olivia's phone contain old-fashioned sentence spacing and typos that Elsbeth ties to Alex, but the deodorant implicates his teaching assistant Todd, Olivia's boyfriend. Elsbeth is ordered to apologize to Alex, but she and Kaya dupe him into trying to plant his SIM card cloning tool in Todd's bag; caught red-handed by Wagner & Bobby Smullen, Alex is arrested.A phone call with Celetano reveals Elsbeth's real mission in NYC: investigating Wagner for corruption. |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "A Classic New York Character" | Robert King | Bryan Goluboff | April 4, 2024 (2024-4-4) | 5.43 |
| Gloria Blecher, the loathed president of her co-op board, vetoes a lucrative offer from real estate broker Joann Lenox. Following the rejection, Joann climbs to loosen Gloria's balcony and convinces Gloria's son, Lewis, that he is being evicted. Arguing with Lewis, Gloria falls from the balcony to her death. At the crime scene, Elsbeth encounters Joann, who retrieves her handbag from the building's dumbwaiter and plants the incriminating wrench in Lewis' garden. Surprising Joann at her rock-climbing gym, Elsbeth matches her liquid chalk to residue on the balcony and makes an offer on an apartment in the building. Meeting with Joann and the board, Elsbeth deduces that all of Gloria's fellow board members played a role in Joann's plot: Annie secured Lewis' fingerprints on the wrench, sending it to Leonard's apartment in the dumbwaiter; Daniel distracted the doorman, allowing Joann inside; Dorothy used her barking dog to lure Gloria out to the balcony; and Leonard cleared the sidewalk below. The board members immediately turn on Joann after Elsbeth reveals Joann's deal with Gloria was a hoax. In another shocking twist, it's revealed Joann's father was Gloria's husband, who Gloria killed after she discovered that he was having an affair with the housekeeper, Joann's mother. The corpse of Gloria's husband is recovered in the building, and Joann happily pleads guilty with her revenge arc fully completed.Elsbeth connects Wagner to a man named Martin Wali and a company called FlairAll. |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Reality Shock" | Ron Underwood | Jonathan Tolins | April 4, 2024 (2024-4-4) | 4.60 |
| Skip Mason, a producer for the reality show Lavish Ladies, electrocutes one of his stars, Wendy Wexler, in her bathtub when she attempts to blackmail him. Kaya, a Lavish Ladies superfan, guides Elsbeth through the show, which former star Katricia quit after an inebriated on-camera meltdown. Elsbeth suspects Skip, noticing glitter from Wendy's bath on his hands and on glassware he removed from the bathroom to cover his tracks. A voicemail he left Wendy at the time of her death seems to prove he was with another star, Tracy, and he provides footage painting intern Valencia as a suspect. Kaya tracks down Katricia, who has a high tolerance for alcohol and believes Skip and Wendy drugged her to elicit a meltdown. Rewatching the show, Elsbeth realizes Skip's voicemail used an old sound clip of Tracy. At Wendy's memorial service, Tracy finds a text she sent that contradicts Skip's voicemail, and Katricia confronts Skip. He tries to intimidate her by admitting he killed Wendy, but Elsbeth reveals his confession was captured by a hidden microphone, and Skip is arrested.Elsbeth tries to get information on Wali from Lieutenant Noonan, but he proves fiercely loyal to Wagner. |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Love Knocked Off" | Rosemary Rodriguez | Erica Shelton Kodish | April 11, 2024 (2024-4-11) | 4.35 |
| Margo Clarke, a celebrity matchmaker, coaches petty criminal Dennis Pagano to pose as "Gabriel Erwood", a perfect match for her demanding client Lainey Belfort. They are married six months later, fulfilling Margo's contract, but after a year of marriage, "Gabriel" visits Margo's home in the Hamptons, planning to tell Lainey the truth. An angry Margo clubs him to death with a statuette of Cupid, dumping his body and the murder weapon off shore. Captain Wagner assigns Kaya to investigate Gabriel's disappearance, as Lainey is an important donor to Wagner and his wife Claudia's charitable foundation. Suspicious of Margo, Elsbeth deduces that she burned a rug to destroy evidence. Gabriel's body is found and identified as Dennis, leading Kaya and Elsbeth to his ex-girlfriend Tina and a file cabinet full of evidence of his transformation into Gabriel funded by Margo. A previous magazine photoshoot of Margo's home reveals the statuette is missing; Margo hurriedly buys a replacement, but Elsbeth confronts her with the recovered Cupid, and she is arrested.Invited to Claudia's foundation gala, Elsbeth sees Wagner with the head of FlairAll but chooses not to tell Celetano. Wagner realizes Elsbeth may be investigating him. |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Ball Girl" | Rob Hardy | Eric Randall | April 18, 2024 (2024-4-18) | 4.28 |
| Cliff McGrath, father and coach of professional tennis player Hunter McGrath, is determined for his son to win against top-ranked Johann "Yoyo" Arnaldo. Cliff laces Yoyo's towel with nitroglycerin ointment during a tournament in NYC, noticed by ball girl Ashlee, and Yoyo collapses on the court and dies. Wagner, hoping to learn about Elsbeth and her secret investigation, treats her to sushi, but an oshibori leads her to realize how Yoyo died. Ashlee approaches Cliff with a scheme to win bets on Hunter by sabotaging his opponents, and plants the incriminating towel in Yoyo's hotel room. She tips off the police, leading them to suspect Yoyo's girlfriend Irina, who reveals that she gave him erectile disfunction medication; an inadvertent adverse reaction with the ointment resulted in his death. Suspicious of Cliff, Elsbeth learns from Hunter that his late mother had the ointment, and Hunter comes to suspect his father as well. In Hunter's final match, he and Elsbeth manipulate Cliff into believing Ashlee has sabotaged his son's towel. Cliff incriminates himself, and he and Ashlee are arrested.Meanwhile, Elsbeth is conflicted after Wagner arranges a new job for her son. |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "An Ear for an Ear" | Nancy Hower | Zoe Marshall | April 25, 2024 (2024-4-25) | 4.28 |
| Plastic surgeon Vanessa Holmes, furious at her protégé Astrid Olsen for starting a rival practice, poses as a patient and proceeds to poison Astrid, then bludgeon her to death. Vanessa flirts with a guard at the Museum of the City of New York to establish an alibi, but the museum is later disrupted by a climate change protest. Elsbeth suspects Vanessa of arranging the fake patient's appointment using fellow surgeon Dr. Yablonsky's phone. Celetano introduces Elsbeth to Martin Wali, who believes Wagner is covering up FlairAll's illegal labor practices in exchange for bribes through his foundation. Elsbeth approaches Wagner about the alleged bribes, but he implies that her son's new job could be viewed in the same light. Paint on Vanessa's shoes is matched to paint from the museum protest, confirming her alibi, but Elsbeth realizes the fake patient's medical history actually belongs to Vanessa's wife, Carolyn, and Yablonsky confirms that Carolyn went to Astrid to correct Vanessa's work. Elsbeth finds evidence in Vanessa's trash that she splattered her own shoes, and Vanessa is arrested.Elsbeth lets Kaya in on her investigation into Wagner; meanwhile, Lt. Noonan accepts a bribe from FlairAll on Wagner's behalf. |||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Something Blue" | Yap Fong-Yee | Erica Larson | May 2, 2024 (2024-5-2) | 4.23 |
| Wealth management executive Ashton Hayes reveals his unethical business practices to his employee and future son-in-law, Derek. At his bachelor party, Derek blabs Ashon's secret to an exotic dancer named Capri, who was specifically hired by Ashton to test his discretion. Realizing he cannot be trusted, Ashton gets Derek drunk following the wedding and sinks him in the lake via a golf cart. Elsbeth and Kaya doubt Derek's death was accidental when his autopsy determines he suffocated. Ashton's daughter Nora confesses she cheated on Derek with Rob, the wedding choreographer. Elsbeth interviews Rob under the guise of a private dance lesson and he leads her to Capri, who in turn leads her to Ashton. Discovering dissolving tape at Ashton's country club kitchen, Elsbeth realizes Derek died as a result of Ashton gagging him with the tape, while a wedding video shows Derek wearing a watch Ashton gave him, which Ashton took back before killing him. Wagner helps lure Ashton to plant the watch at Rob's dance studio, where Elsbeth intercepts Ashton and talks him into an impromptu dance. The watch falls out and Ashton is arrested. At Elsbeth's housewarming party, Wagner reveals he suspects Noonan of being the real corrupt cop, leaving Elsbeth unsure who to believe. |||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Artificial Genius" | Tyne Rafaeli | Leah Nanako Winkler | May 9, 2024 (2024-5-9) | 4.20 |
| Investigative journalist Josh Johnson prepares an exposé on Cerberus, a crime-reporting app led by entrepreneur Quinn Powers. Using Cerberus to create a fictional cattle prod-wielding dog-kidnapper, Quinn plays a prerecorded presentation during a virtual company meeting and sneaks away to Josh's apartment. She beats him to death with a cattle prod, destroys his article, and steals his dog to implicate the fictional dog-napper. Elsbeth becomes suspicious after neighborhood dog walker Mimi does not recognize the supposedly kidnapped dogs, while Kaya suspects Cerberus is generating posts with AI. Video of Quinn's meeting reveals that she lost her headband during the murder. Unable to find it at the murder scene, Elsbeth and Kaya find evidence leading them to Quinn's former high school friend Ellen Davis, the true creator of Cerberus. Ellen reveals data flaws that Josh discovered, which Elsbeth confirms by feeding Quinn false information which is later reported on Cerberus. When Mimi finds Josh's dog in the park and Elsbeth brings it home, she realizes the dog must have hidden the headband. Finding the headband, Elsbeth crashes a Cerberus team meeting and Quinn is arrested.Meanwhile, Wagner tells Wali his suspicions about Noonan, promising to bring the corrupt lieutenant down. |||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Sweet Justice" | Kevin Rodney Sullivan | Bryan Golubuff & Erica Shelton Kodish | May 16, 2024 (2024-5-16) | 4.26 |
| Cocktail bar owner Joe Dillion learns from Ivy Benson, his favorite customer, about her former college roommate and bully Gemma Nelson. A vengeful Joe strangles Gemma in her sleep, but the police discover it was actually Jane Dunhill, Gemma's housesitter, who was killed. Elsbeth suspects Joe, who left a footprint at the crime scene, and Kaya links a mark on Jane's neck to Joe's bottle opener ring. Ivy's online comments toward Gemma make her a suspect, and an angry Gemma unleashes her followers on the NYPD, demanding Ivy's arrest. Joe's regulars reveal he is fiercely protective of his customers, and he admits to Elsbeth that he would do anything for Ivy. Elsbeth stages the arrest of Dion, Joe's employee, who receives a grateful kiss from Ivy, goading Joe into confessing. Joe is arrested, and Gemma's boyfriend Brad breaks up with her, exposing her bullying in a humiliating video.Wagner tells Claudia his suspicions about Noonan, and lures him into a secret meeting with FlairAll's CEO, Declan Armstrong. With Elsbeth recording the incriminating conversation, Wagner intervenes when Noonan pulls a gun, and Noonan and Armstrong are arrested. Wagner is exonerated, but orders Elsbeth back to Chicago for betraying his trust. |||||||
| 10 | 10 | "A Fitting Finale" | Rosemary Rodriguez | Jonathan Tolins | May 23, 2024 (2024-5-23) | 4.90 |
| Retiring supermodel Nadine Clay walks her final runway at her soon-to-be-ex-husband Nick Garrison's fashion show, where photographer Ezra Tate is shot dead. Nadine explains that Ezra, her former lover, was desperate for money, and a pawn shop owner reveals Ezra was involved with gambling debts, blackmail, and a mysterious "Pangaea Project". Elsbeth surprises Nadine at the home of designer Matteo Hart, who declares Elsbeth his new muse. Nadine claims Ezra had compromising photos of her, and suspects a jealous Nick killed him. Matteo tells Elsbeth that Ezra and Nadine, as fashion students, created Pangaea Project: a misguided photoshoot of Nadine made up as different ethnicites. Nick tells the police that he suspects Ezra was blackmailing Nadine over Pangaea, and she killed him. At Matteo's fashion show, built around Elsbeth and her unique fashion sense, Elsbeth has an epiphany. She confronts Matteo with Ezra's photos of Nadine's final shoot, revealing Matteo killed him. Matteo also confesses to killing an enforcer who threatened Ezra over his debts, burying him in the backyard, and Elsbeth gives Nadine the Pangaea photos.Wagner changes his mind, fast-tracking Kaya as a detective and convincing Celetano to give Elsbeth her own position investigating corruption in NYC. |||||||

### Season 2 (2024–25)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 11 | 1 | "Subscription to Murder" | Nancy Hower | Jonathan Tolins | October 17, 2024 (2024-10-17) | 4.76 |
| Devoted opera lover Philip Cross is outraged by the constant disruptive behavior of Eddie Reese, an obnoxious young stockbroker who sits in front of him. Philip follows Eddie home and brutally stabs him to death. Going through Eddie's selfies from the opera, Elsbeth notices Philip in the background of each one, so she and Kaya attend the opera themselves to meet him. There, they encounter Dr. Yablonsky, who tells Elsbeth about Philip's obsession with the opera. Upon seeing that Elsbeth genuinely likes the shows, Philip invites her to his home, filled with opera memorabilia. Unknown DNA is found on Eddie's body; also a bruise matching the bruising around the wounds, but with no wound. Philip shows Elsbeth a gift from the baritone of the first opera he ever saw: a prop knife with a retracting blade for fake stabs. It was the knife Philip used to kill Eddie. Elsbeth gets Philip's DNA off his opera glasses, but it does not match the unknown sample. Stumped, Elsbeth abruptly realizes that the mystery DNA was from the baritone, who was accidentally stabbed with the knife; his blood was still on it when Philip used it to kill Eddie. (Philip initially failed to lock the blade, so his first blow left only a bruise.) Elsbeth confronts Philip in his apartment, and reveals that the DNA from Eddie's body matches DNA from an old costume the baritone wore when he performed in New York. Philip is arrested, but praises Elsbeth's love of opera one last time.Lt. Steve Connor is brought on to replace Noonan and discovers that Kaya was mistakenly admitted to the police academy without the proper credits. As a result, Kaya's promotion is put on hold until she earns the credits back by taking classes part-time. At the end of the episode, Elsbeth is walking her dog when a black SUV pulls up, and an unknown person orders her to get in. |||||||
| 12 | 2 | "The Wrong Stuff" | Aisha Tyler | Erica Shelton Kodish | October 24, 2024 (2024-10-24) | 4.45 |
| While going through an exclusive private space training simulation, self-made paint billionaire Neal Dorsey is repeatedly humiliated by renewable energy CEO, Gavin Morrissey. Neal becomes jealous when his son Randy starts to idolize Gavin, and Neal retaliates by putting a lithium battery in the shoe lifts of Gavin's boots. When Gavin enters a centrifuge, the battery explodes and kills him. Elsbeth investigates while dealing with a handsome fire marshal who constantly flirts with her, and she quickly learns of Neal's rivalry with Gavin and the tension between Neal and his son. When Elsbeth discovers that Gavin's hoverboard stopped working shortly before his death, she theorizes the battery came from there, but Neal has already replaced it with another stolen battery. However, when Elsbeth pries out the new battery, she finds a gold pen tip that was specifically customized for Neal. The tip allows Elsbeth to seal the case and Neal is arrested.The person in the black SUV is revealed to be Elsbeth's old colleague Carter from Chicago, who tells her one of their clients from a divorce case they handled is now getting divorced a second time, and details of the previous case are causing issues with the new one. Carter strictly orders Elsbeth not to discuss either case under threat of retribution from the firm. |||||||
| 13 | 3 | "Devil's Night" | Robin Givens | Bryan Goluboff | October 31, 2024 (2024-10-31) | 4.84 |
| Mackenzie "Mac" Altman, a former child actress turned professional party girl, wakes up on Halloween morning with no memory of the night before, except possibly killing someone. Elsbeth helps Mac retrace her steps, only for them to stumble upon the body of Mac's boyfriend Sonny Miller. Mac soon becomes the prime suspect and cannot help her own case, while her lawyer/manager Danny refuses to let Elsbeth get involved. Despite this, Elsbeth manages to track Mac's movements all the way to a bar where she was not long before Sonny was killed. Elsbeth realizes that Mac did kill Sonny, but Danny orchestrated the murder by drugging Mac at the bar and manipulating her to do it. Danny's motive was to stop Sonny from revealing that Danny had been embezzling from Mac's estate. Danny and Mac are arrested, but Elsbeth assures Mac that she won't be held liable for the murder since she was incapacitated. Lt. Connor puts up an opinion sheet at the precinct, which shows morale is low since Noonan's arrest, while suggesting Wagner's leadership skills are faltering. Connor insists this problem be corrected, which Wagner discusses with his wife while contemplating how to do so. |||||||
| 14 | 4 | "Diamonds Are for Elsbeth" | Mary Lou Belli | Zoe Marshall | November 7, 2024 (2024-11-7) | 4.25 |
| Socialite Rosalyn Bridwell plans a heist with her best friend Celeste to rob Vivian's, an exclusive jewelry store, after the new creative director Valentina bars them from attending the store's grand re-opening. When Rosalyn realizes one of their associates in the heist plans to expose them, Rosalyn poisons him with cyanide in his tea, while feigning to be poisoned herself. Elsbeth quickly proves how Rosalyn faked being poisoned and also discovers her shaky finances. She goes to Rosalyn's apartment, interrupting a meeting of the heist group. Judith and Huey manage to hide, but Elsbeth sees Judith's trademark blazer, while also noticing that Rosalyn's dining set does not include silverware. Elsbeth then realizes that Rosalyn hid the silverware set because she used one of the spoons from that set to scoop the polish into the tea. Judith is brought in for questioning and confesses to the heist. That night, Rosalyn, Celeste, Huey, and Judith put their plan into action, distracting Valentina and switching out the jewels, with Huey making off with the real jewelry. Rosalyn also tries to steal a spoon to replace the one missing from her silverware set, but Elsbeth, Kaya, Wagner, and Detective Donnelly interrupt her, having already found the incomplete set, and Rosalyn is arrested, while Judith is granted a deal. Huey is also arrested before he can escape, and the jewels are recovered. However, Judith subsequently flees to Paris, having stolen all of Rosalyn's jewelry while in hiding after Elsbeth crashed the meeting. Kaya moves in with Elsbeth while having her home renovated so she can rent out a room to pay for her college classes. Kaya insists on paying rent, but Elsbeth feels their friendship entitles her to a free stay. In the end, Elsbeth finally concedes on the condition they have a mandatory fro-yo night. Meanwhile, Wagner tries to bring fun into the workplace by raffling off a free lunch, which isn't as successful as he hoped. |||||||
| 15 | 5 | "Elsbeth Flips the Bird" | Ron Underwood | Sarah Beckett | November 14, 2024 (2024-11-14) | 4.30 |
| Renowned chef Genevieve Hale prepares to entertain prominent businessman Roger Montebello at her exclusive restaurant, hoping to secure a position at his luxury hotel chain. However, her kitchen staffer Jordan deliberately double-books the restaurant to sabotage Montebello's experience as payback for dealing with Genevieve's explosive temper. When Genevieve confronts him, Jordan goads her into attacking him with a meat tenderizer. When Genevieve realizes that Jordan recorded the assault, she strangles him to death in a fit of rage. She deletes Jordan's video and inflicts injuries on herself to make it appear as if someone else attacked them both. Elsbeth quickly doubts Genevieve's story upon learning of her violent history. Genevieve tries to prevent Elsbeth from investigating her restaurant, but Nadine Clay brings Elsbeth there as a plus one. Elsbeth soon discovers the deal between Genevieve and Montebello, as well as Jordan's scheme of selling reservations behind Genevieve's back. At home, Elsbeth tries to make Genevieve's most famous dish, which has disastrous results but allows Elsbeth to solve the case: Genevieve had turned the food over while she staged the crime scene, proving that she was fully conscious when the murder happened. Caught in her lies, Genevieve is arrested. Lt. Connor discovers Elsbeth and Kaya are living together, causing Kaya to become worried about her promotion. Meanwhile, Elsbeth is contacted by pop star Tru-Rose, the plaintiff in the current divorce case involving Elsbeth's former client. Tru-Rose asks Elsbeth to help her in court, but Elsbeth is forced to refuse. Wagner hosts a poker night for the detectives, but this too falls short when Elsbeth wins the pot. |||||||
| 16 | 6 | "Gold, Frankincense, and Murder" | Rachel Raimist | Erica Larson | December 5, 2024 (2024-12-5) | 4.40 |
| Christmas-curating power couple Dirk and DeeDee Dashers are preparing to launch their new vintage decor collection. DeeDee tells Dirk she wants out of the marriage, but Dirk refuses to get a divorce out of fear that it will tarnish their brand. Dirk tells DeeDee they can officially separate after the holidays, but he covertly plans to murder her instead. However, DeeDee discovers his plan and tampers with a display's wires that end up fatally electrocuting him. Elsbeth and Kaya investigate the "accident" and soon uncover both Dirk's murder plot and his affair with an assistant to the Dashers' publicist. Elsbeth solves the case by proving that DeeDee foiled Dirk's plan by wearing black shock-proof gloves, the same ones she wore to fray the wires that killed Dirk. DeeDee is specifically implicated due to the burnt-out lightbulb breaking the color pattern that a colorblind DeeDee failed to notice. Kaya has aced her college classes and is now preparing to move out of Elsbeth's apartment, leaving Elsbeth all alone for the holidays as her son Teddy will be visiting her ex-husband this year. Meanwhile, Wagner turns to Elsbeth for ideas on Claudia's Christmas present. She ultimately suggests couple's dance lessons. Kaya and Wagner surprise Elsbeth by bringing Teddy to New York for the holidays. |||||||
| 17 | 7 | "One Angry Woman" | Lionel Coleman | Eric Randall | December 12, 2024 (2024-12-12) | 4.59 |
| Delia Bates has a sexual rendezvous with her neighbor, Andy Mertens, in his apartment. When Delia goes to use the shower after their tryst, judge Milton Crawford enters Andy's apartment and bludgeons him to death. Delia is charged with Andy's murder and Crawford presides over her trial. Elsbeth is appointed to Delia's jury and soon notices that Crawford appears to be manipulating the proceedings in the prosecution's favor. Regardless, Elsbeth manages to find proof that someone else was at the apartment that night, though she cannot determine the identity of this individual. Nevertheless, the evidence is enough for the jury to exonerate Delia. After the trial, Elsbeth finally begins to realize Crawford may be the actual killer but has nothing to prove her suspicions. Elsbeth's son Teddy is still staying with her, and Kaya shows him around New York. Despite having a good time, Teddy insists on knowing why his mother left Chicago so abruptly, which Elsbeth struggles to explain. Lt. Connor starts trying to improve the precinct by making a big deal out of minor complaints from the detectives, but Wagner convinces him to ease up. |||||||
| 18 | 8 | "Toil and Trouble" | Darren Grant | Matthew K. Begbie | December 19, 2024 (2024-12-19) | 3.48 |
| TV actress Regina Coburn is about to leave her longtime role on a police procedural so she can perform in a London production of Macbeth, with her character being placed in a coma to accommodate her absence. However, the showrunner Calvin Reed blindsides Regina by rewriting the scripts to appease the network, obligating her to stay in New York for reshoots and miss the Macbeth production. Furious over losing the opportunity to elevate her career, Regina decides to murder Cal for the betrayal. She distracts the rest of the cast and crew by hiring an ice cream truck, then sneaks into Cal's office and rams the heel of a stiletto shoe in his eye, killing him. The murder eerily resembles an original script written by an obsessed fan, and the police lure the fan into a trap and arrest him. Elsbeth, however, believes Regina is connected upon discovering the fallout between her and Cal. Elsbeth ultimately proves Regina's guilt with the discovery that Regina never read the other lines in the scripts but her own, thus not realizing that the stiletto in the fan's script was actually a knife. Kaya meets a handsome medical examiner at the crime scene and invites him to move into the spare room she just renovated at her house. Elsbeth obtains the transcript from Delia Bates' trial, but Crawford learns of this and informs Wagner. Wagner confronts Elsbeth, who tells him she suspects Crawford of being the real killer. Wagner agrees to help Elsbeth investigate, but warns her that Crawford is extremely powerful. Kaya and Crawford both discover Elsbeth's role in the Van Ness case after the identities of the legal team are exposed on the national news. |||||||
| 19 | 9 | "Unalive and Well" | Nancy Hower | Leah Nanako Winkler | January 30, 2025 (2025-1-30) | 4.31 |
| Alternative medicine guru Tom Murphy murders one of his clients, Cole Campbell, who was determined to prove that Tom was still using a treatment that led to the death of his sister. Tom injects the food in Cole's car with sesame oil, causing Cole to have a fatal allergic reaction. Elsbeth's investigation uncovers a litany of shady business practices. Kaya is repulsed to discover that Elsbeth suppressed evidence in the Van Ness case that proved he was a domestic abuser. During the retreat, Elsbeth suffers a breakdown. |||||||
| 20 | 10 | "Finance Bros" | Nick Gomez | Anju Andre-Bergmann & Eric Randall | February 6, 2025 (2025-2-6) | 4.80 |
| Peter Hepson murders his own twin brother, Bill, after the latter decides to resign from the venture capital firm they started together. Peter dresses up as Bill to get into his building and takes a phone interview on a news show to establish his alibi. Elsbeth's suspicions turn to Bill after speaking with a donut vendor that Peter frequented, realizing that the vendor misidentified Bill as Peter that day. |||||||
| 21 | 11 | "Tiny Town" | Robert King | Zoe Marshall | February 13, 2025 (2025-2-13) | 4.62 |
| 22 | 12 | "Foiled Again" | Sam Hoffman | Jonathan Tolins | February 20, 2025 (2025-2-20) | 4.60 |
| Ethan Brooks, the new admissions director for an Ivy League university, refuses to admit any applicants that were helped by OutMatch, a college admissions coaching company. A former client of OutMatch himself, Ethan holds the owner, Lawrence Grey, in such bitter contempt that he denies all OutMatch clients as petty revenge for being "forced" into a life Ethan didn't want. Recognizing the threat Ethan poses to his business, Lawrence plans an elaborate murder: Lawrence challenges Ethan to a fencing duel, only for Lawrence to tamper Ethan's helmet with cat dander that triggers a fatal asthma attack. Lawrence blames the university mascot, Quad Cat, for what happened to the helmet, but Elsbeth and her team quickly rule out the notion once they learn the animal was hypoallergenic. |||||||
| 23 | 13 | "Tearjerker" | Peter Sollett | Leah Nanako Winkler | February 27, 2025 (2025-2-27) | 4.82 |
| After a lavish dinner with his "lifestyle" consultant Chloe, real estate tycoon Nathan Jordan is found dead by his separated wife Deborah and her doctor boyfriend Jason the following morning. The couple still lived with Nathan as his caregivers once Nathan was legally declared medically incompetent. Elsbeth is joined by Wagner's new protege Detective Rivers, who immediately suspects Deborah and Jason after finding a pentobarbital pill bottle. Using Nathan's bank records, Elsbeth finds her way to Chloe, who presents herself as a personal stylist and professional companion. She denies being at Nathan's home the night of his death, but there is no video showing Chloe entering or exiting the building. Rivers' aggressive interrogation of Jason exposes that Chloe visited him as a client and he kept plenty of pentobarbital medication. Elsbeth solves the case after Chloe's DNA on one of Nathan's books, which comes to a surprising conclusion: Nathan's death was assisted suicide. Tired of his physical deterioration, he had Chloe steal the medication for him to willingly consume on his last night alive. Nathan had also wanted Deborah and Jason to take the blame for his death, as payback for locking him in a conservatorship, so he had Chloe dispose the takeout bags in the garbage chute to trick the security cameras from capturing Chloe's presence. A nonchalant Chloe is arrested, hopeful that her defense attorney can grant her a bargain. |||||||
| 24 | 14 | "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" | Robin Givens | Bryan Goluboff | March 6, 2025 (2025-3-6) | 4.78 |
| Elsbeth, Teddy, and his new boyfriend Roy take a tour of famous New York crime scenes, including Pupetta’s, a restaurant in Little Italy. In 1998, a soldier for the Del Ponte mafia family, Goldie Moresco, was assassinated by the rival Nova family, sparking a mob war that wiped out both families except for the Del Ponte capo’s daughter Pupetta, the restaurant’s namesake. Elsbeth notices that certain parts of the story don’t add up and tries to question Gene Genetti, a former waiter who allegedly witnessed Goldie’s murder and is now Pupetta’s husband. Gene agrees to meet with Elsbeth but is injured in a hit and run, which spooks him into not telling Elsbeth anything. Elsbeth suspects Pupetta threatened Gene into silence and tries to speak to her at the restaurant, but Gene and Pupetta’s son Gene Jr. forbids Elsbeth from entering. Learning there were scratches on Goldie’s face that were never tested for DNA, Elsbeth tries to get the body exhumed, but Judge Crawford thwarts her by using his influence. Refusing to give up, Elsbeth convinces Gene to falsely confess to Goldie’s murder, which forces Crawford to allow the exhumation. Returning to the restaurant, Elsbeth reveals the truth: Goldie was in fact Gene Jr.’s biological father, but Pupetta killed him out of anger when he refused to acknowledge this. Gene Sr., who did witness the shooting, worked out an agreement with Pupetta that he would cover for her and claim the baby as his in exchange for her giving up her criminal lifestyle. However, Pupetta did not keep her end of the deal and instead used Gene Sr. as a stooge, ordering one of her lackeys to run him down when she discovered Gene was talking with Elsbeth. Elsbeth, who has managed to obtain a sample of Gene Jr.’s DNA combined with one of Pupetta’s fingernails stuck in Goldie’s remains, seals the case. |||||||
| 25 | 15 | "I See... Murder" | Rob Hardy | Sarah Beckett & Wade Dooley | March 13, 2025 (2025-3-13) | 4.74 |
| Famed psychic Marilyn Gladwell uses her gifts to manipulate her client Phyllis Pierson into selling her late husband’s snack company to a competitor that Marilyn has discreetly invested in. However, Phyllis’ stepson Tim forbids the sale from materializing, sensing that Marilyn has an ulterior motive. With her windfall is in jeopardy, Marilyn murders Tim by catfishing him on a dating app, luring him to Central Park where she shoots him with an arrow. When Phyllis reports Tim missing two days later, Marilyn arrives and leads Elsbeth and Kaya to the body under the guise of her visions. Elsbeth distrusts Marilyn immediately, but Marilyn provides an alibi: she was on the phone with her client at the time of the murder. Elsbeth later discovers Tim’s date for the night of his murder was a fake profile, while Kaya traces the arrow to a general store in Pennsylvania. Further investigation reveals Marilyn’s assistant Reagan has a criminal record; under duress, Reagan admits she was the one on the phone with Marilyn that night, not a client. Reaching a breakthrough, Elsbeth has Phyllis ask Marilyn to contact the spirits again, and Marilyn appears to contact another deceased family member that Tim mentioned in his dating profile. However, Marilyn gives herself away as the killer by doing this; this relative was fake, thus the only way Marilyn could have known about them was if she was the one behind the fake profile. |||||||
| 26 | 16 | "Hot Tub Crime Machine" | James Whitmore Jr. | Erica Larson & Jonelle Lightbourne | April 3, 2025 (2025-4-3) | TBD |
| 27 | 17 | "Four Body Problem" | Bille Woodruff | Erica Shelton Kodish & Sarah Beckett | April 10, 2025 (2025-4-10) | TBD |

## Production
### Development

CBS ordered a pilot in January 2023. It was a straight-to-series order, with CBS Studios joining the production of the series. Shortly after the premiere, creators Robert and Michelle King stated that, although the character of Elsbeth Tascioni originated on The Good Wife, they do not consider Elsbeth to be a spin-off but a "separate show" inspired by Columbo that happens to use a "character in [their] wheelhouse". On April 18, 2024, CBS renewed the series for a second season. On February 20, 2025, CBS renewed the series for a third season.

### Casting

Carrie Preston reprises her role as Elsbeth Tascioni from The Good Wife and The Good Fight. Also, Wendell Pierce joined as C.W. Wagner, and Carra Patterson joined in the role of Kaya Blanke.
The Kings have indicated that, while they avoided recycling actors for different characters on The Good Wife and The Good Fight, Elsbeth would not adhere strictly to the Good series' shared universe, and therefore some guest stars from the earlier series, such as Linda Lavin, would appear as different characters in Elsbeth.

### Filming

After the show was ordered to series, the rest of the first season began shooting in January 2024 and wrapped in late April 2024. The first season of the series was filmed in New York and consists of 10 episodes.
During a conversation with the press and an open audience to promote the Spanish release of the whole first season, Preston stated that season 2 consists of 20 episodes. Filming on the second season started on July 23, 2024.

## Release

The first season of Elsbeth premiered on February 29, 2024, on CBS, though due to programming conflicts, subsequent episodes did not begin airing weekly until April 4. The show is available to stream on Paramount+. The second season premiered on October 17, 2024 on CBS.
In Australia it premiered on Paramount+ on April 26, 2024.
In the UK it premiered on Sky Witness on July 23, 2024 and Germany on Sky One on August 6, 2024.
In Southeast Asia it premiered on AXN Asia on January 30, 2025 and in Italy on Rai 2 on February 1, 2025.

## Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 94% approval rating with an average rating of 7.2/10, based on 31 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Carrie Preston's standout character from The Good Wife makes for a great detective in this amiable and clever spinoff." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 71 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

### Ratings

Viewership and ratings per season of Elsbeth :
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | Episodes | First aired | First aired | Last aired | Last aired | TV season | Viewership rank | Avg. viewers (millions) | 18–49 rank | Avg. 18–49 rating |
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | Episodes | Date | Viewers (millions) | Date | Viewers (millions) | TV season | Viewership rank | Avg. viewers (millions) | 18–49 rank | Avg. 18–49 rating |
| 1 | Thursday 10:00 p.m. (1, 3–9) Thursday 9:00 p.m. (2, 10) | 10 | February 29, 2024 (2024-2-29) | 4.59 | May 23, 2024 (2024-5-23) | 4.90 | 2023–24 | 15 | 7.45 | 56 | 0.47 |
| 2 | Thursday 10:00 p.m. | 20 | October 17, 2024 (2024-10-17) | 4.76 | TBA | TBD | 2024–25 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |

#### Season 1

Viewership and ratings per episode of Elsbeth :
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Pilot" | February 29, 2024 | 0.29/4 | 4.59 | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | "A Classic New York Character" | April 4, 2024 | 0.34/4 | 5.43 | 0.19 | 2.64 | 0.53 | 8.07 |
| 3 | "Reality Shock" | April 4, 2024 | 0.29/4 | 4.60 | 0.18 | 2.84 | 0.47 | 7.44 |
| 4 | "Love Knocked Off" | April 11, 2024 | 0.28/4 | 4.35 | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | "Ball Girl" | April 18, 2024 | 0.28/4 | 4.28 | 0.22 | 3.20 | 0.50 | 7.47 |
| 6 | "An Ear for an Ear" | April 25, 2024 | 0.24/2 | 4.28 | 0.21 | 3.15 | 0.45 | 7.43 |
| 7 | "Something Blue" | May 2, 2024 | 0.27/3 | 4.23 | 0.22 | 3.20 | 0.49 | 7.43 |
| 8 | "Artificial Genius" | May 9, 2024 | 0.22/3 | 4.20 | 0.23 | 3.25 | 0.44 | 7.44 |
| 9 | "Sweet Justice" | May 16, 2024 | 0.26/3 | 4.26 | 0.21 | 3.09 | 0.47 | 7.34 |
| 10 | "A Fitting Finale" | May 23, 2024 | 0.28/3 | 4.90 | — | — | — | — |

#### Season 2

Viewership and ratings per episode of Elsbeth :
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Subscription to Murder" | October 17, 2024 | 0.27/3 | 4.76 | 0.21 | 3.52 | 0.48 | 8.28 |
| 2 | "The Wrong Stuff" | October 24, 2024 | 0.27/3 | 4.45 | 0.20 | 3.43 | 0.47 | 7.88 |
| 3 | "Devil's Night" | October 31, 2024 | 0.31/4 | 5.82 | 0.21 | 3.26 | 0.53 | 8.10 |
| 4 | "Diamonds Are for Elsbeth" | November 7, 2024 | 0.22/2 | 5.31 | 0.20 | 3.36 | 0.42 | 7.61 |
| 5 | "Elsbeth Flips the Bird" | November 14, 2024 | 0.27/3 | 5.40 | 0.20 | 3.24 | 0.47 | 7.55 |
| 6 | "Gold, Frankincense, and Murder" | December 5, 2024 | 0.23/3 | 4.40 | 0.20 | 3.21 | 0.43 | 7.61 |
| 7 | "One Angry Woman" | December 12, 2024 | 0.23/3 | 4.59 | 0.17 | 3.17 | 0.41 | 7.76 |
| 8 | "Toil and Trouble" | December 19, 2024 | 0.20/2 | 3.48 | 0.19 | 2.99 | 0.39 | 6.47 |
| 9 | "Unalive and Well" | January 30, 2025 | 0.22/4 | 4.31 | 0.20 | 3.43 | 0.43 | 7.74 |
| 10 | "Finance Bros" | February 6, 2025 | 0.28/4 | 4.80 | 0.21 | 3.08 | 0.49 | 7.88 |
| 11 | "Tiny Town" | February 13, 2025 | 0.23/4 | 4.62 | 0.19 | 3.09 | 0.42 | 7.71 |
| 12 | "Foiled Again" | February 20, 2025 | 0.25/3 | 4.60 | 0.20 | 3.25 | 0.45 | 7.85 |
| 13 | "Tearjerker" | February 27, 2025 | 0.31/5 | 4.82 | 0.20 | 3.17 | 0.51 | 7.99 |
| 14 | "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" | March 6, 2025 | 0.27/4 | 4.78 | 0.19 | 3.22 | 0.46 | 8.01 |
| 15 | "I See... Murder" | March 13, 2025 | 0.23/3 | 4.74 | — | — | — | — |