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), in 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 which premiered on October 12, 2025. In January 2026, the series was renewed for a fourth season which is slated to premiere on October 8, 2026.
Most episodes of Elsbeth use the "howcatchem" mystery format rather than the traditional "whodunit", showing the audience from the start who the killer is and how and why they commit the crime, with the balance of the episode focusing on how they are caught, similar to the 1970s Columbo murder mystery series.
Contents
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 use the inverted detective story format.
Cast
Main
Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni
Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke (seasons 1–2; recurring season 3), a young NYPD officer (later promoted to detective) 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 (seasons 1–2)
Danny Mastrogiorgio as Detective Bobby Smullen (seasons 1–3)
Molly Price as Detective Jackie Donnelly (seasons 1–3)
Micaela Diamond as Detective Samantha Edwards (seasons 1–3)
Daniel Oreskes as Detective Buzz Fleming (seasons 2–3)
Ajay Naidu as Martin Wali (season 1)
Daniel K. Isaac as Lieutenant Steve Connor (seasons 2–3)
Christian Borle as Carter Schmidt (season 2)
Ben Levi Ross as Teddy Tascioni, Elsbeth's son (seasons 2–3)
Hayward Leach as Roy, Teddy's fiancé, formerly boyfriend (seasons 2–3)
Michael Emerson as Judge Milton Crawford (season 2)
Sullivan Jones as Cameron Clayden (seasons 2–3)
Jenn Colella as Captain Kershaw (season 2)
Braeden De La Garza as Detective Rivers (seasons 2–3)
Bianca "b" Norwood as Officer Nikki Reynolds (seasons 2–3)
Guests
Stephen Moyer as Alex Modarian, a respected drama instructor and professor (seasons 1–2)
Jane Krakowski as Joann Lenox, a high-end real estate broker (season 1)
Linda Lavin as Gloria Blecher, a co-op board president (season 1)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Skip Mason, the executive producer of a popular reality TV show (season 1)
Retta as Margo Clarke, a matchmaker (seasons 1–2)
Kelly AuCoin as Declan Armstrong (season 1)
Blair Underwood as Cliff McGrath, the father and coach of a rising tennis star (season 1)
Omari K. Chancellor as Hunter McGrath, a rising tennis star (season 1)
Gina Gershon as Dr. Vanessa Holmes, a cosmetic surgeon (seasons 1–2)
Keegan-Michael Key as Ashton Hayes, the CEO of a financial firm (season 1)
Geneva Carr as Poppy Hayes, Ashton's wife (season 1)
Adam Kaplan as Rob, a dancer/dance instructor (seasons 1–3)
Elizabeth Lail as Quinn Powers, the creator of a crime-reporting app (seasons 1–2)
Arian Moayed as Joe Dillon, the owner of a cocktail bar (seasons 1–2)
Laura Benanti as Nadine Clay, a supermodel (seasons 1–3)
Episodes
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. On January 22, 2026, CBS renewed the series for a fourth 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. On May 1, 2025, it was reported that Patterson would exit as a series regular, but was set to return in a guest star capacity for the third season.
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.
Filming on the fourth season started on July 21, 2026.
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. The third season premiered on October 12, 2025. The fourth season is scheduled to premiere on October 8, 2026.
In Canada, the series airs on Global and is streaming on StackTV.
In Australia, it premiered on Paramount+ on April 26, 2024.
In the UK, it premiered on Sky Witness on July 23, 2024.
In Germany on Sky One on August 6, 2024.
In Southeast Asia, it premiered on AXN Asia on January 30, 2025.
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".
