Elsbeth

It starts with the murder. Once a body is discovered, the quirky "detective" makes "friends" with the murderer by asking advice of him or her. Even when the murderer finds the detective annoying. The detective lets on that the murderer is, in fact, the prime subject by telling him or her every new piece of evidence that is discovered. The murderer will often admit to the crime confident there is not enough evidence to convict. But of course there is. The murderer is often a person of wealth or influence. It's still a very cute show, both my wife and I enjoy it. It's just not original. But what is anymore.

We were all pleasantly surprised by the fresh take on the Columbo (1971) "reverse mystery" formula with Poker Face (2023), and here we have CBS's attempt at that sub-genre with mixed feelings.

For those unaware, the "reverse mystery" is not a "whodunnit" but a "howcatchem." In this format, the crime is depicted first in full view of the audience. There is no doubt "who did it." The fun them comes when the detective comes in and finds all the "little" things the killer gets wrong, and we get to watch as the "perfect crime" slowly unravels. Peter Falk as Columbo did this to great affect - with his little questions, constant "one more thing" jibes, and the reveal - that point where the killer know's the game is up - is more often than not very satisfying. Not so much here.

Now introduce Elsbeth Tascioni ( Carrie Preston ) who is well-known to those who follow the The Good Wife (2009) franchise. She's a quirky somewhat "neruodiverse" lawyer who has a special point of view of the world, and has a talent for seeing the little things.

Now Elsbeth is "on loan" to monitor the NYPD, and manages to ease her way into leading an investigation into a murdered actress. I have no love of New York or the NYPD, but I do take exception with law enforcement being depicted as out-right incompetent. There's a perfect crime scene, where the killer has covered all the bases to make the murder appear a suicide. Open and shut - where's the donuts. Only Elsbeth comes in and finds three or four completely obvious clues that suggest that the suicide might be murder. Of course, the cops are all bothered and unimpressed by her insights. "Wait in the hall," she's repeatedly told. But she's having none of it, and continues to poke-and-prod and even does a "one more thing" bit.

While I'm overall happy with this show - shot beautifully to make you believe that every day is sunny in New York (it's not) - the writing is extremely weak and it shows. No spoilers here, but - come on - the mystery is so shallow that it almost seems the killer didn't have to work so hard. The "little things" that Elsbeth notices are so obvious and in plain sight, a trained police detective would have to be completely incompetent not to notice them.

This show is almost-but-not-quite family friendly. The violence is subdued, and the killer goes (in classic Columbo fashion) with calm and grace, even asking "where did I slip up?" So, no fist fights, no car chases, no shouting matches. Only disdain for Elsbeth to go "wait in the hall."

I have overall hopes for this show that it will improve. This installment was weaker than the weakest of Columbo episodes. Here's hoping the mysteries can get deeper and the "howcatchem" can be satisfying again.

First season was great with good plots for the mysteries and enjoyable acting. Second season onwards it feels like lot of plot holes are left in every mystery. Characters have a standard format and each episode just change their gender, occupation or lifestyle. Each murder arc going in the same linear direction for second season.

The acting by main lead is good but can't run the show only on that. Need a bit improvement on writing and direction. Also, the background plot for main season is lacking in 2nd season, which was shown in a good way throughout the season 1.

The first season is good and wonderfully organised for murder mystery fans!!

I've watched Columbo and he definitely wears down the bad guy, I see some of that "spark" with this series but ...The overall crimes are interesting, the storytelling I hope will improve. I watched about 6 episodes. Carrie /Elsbeth toned down the quirk in latter episodes TY. I do not appreciate the derogatory "boomer" references and it turns me off; nope not a boomer, but show some respect because writers who came before, can write circles around those today. Officer Blanke is actually my fav character, she seems the most authentic, realistic of all: young but smart and observant, open-minded, respectfully defiant and helpful. The actress is capturing that. I will give the show a few more episodes before deciding.

Robert & Michelle King are the talented writing duo responsible for some of the best network TV shows in recent years, including "The Good Wife" and "Evil." After ending "The Good Fight," 2024 brings us yet another such spinoff of "The Good Wife," one named for that show's kooky lawyer character named "Elsbeth." The Leap Day pilot episode sets up the show's clever premise: that her title character has been designated an impartial observer of the NYPD in a formal legal consent decree to hopefully ferret out any police corruption in the ranks. But in the meantime she cannot help but help those hapless officers solve their trickiest cases. Like Columbo's classic show, we are privy to the perpetrator's machinations, but get pleasure from observing the observer, Elsbeth, investigate and determine those guilty of the crime(s). Carrie Preston is outstanding in the lead role, and Wendell Pierce excels in the role of the NY Police Captain, who may or may not be on the straight and narrow himself. I'll revisit my rating of 8/10 stars as we proceed.