Elsbeth season 2 must change one aspect of Carrie Preston’s popular character in order to have the future it deserves. Although it is spun off from one of the best legal dramas on television, Elsbeth is a light-hearted murder mystery show. The eponymous main character supposedly came to New York to investigate some shady goings-on at one of the homicide precincts during season 1 but instead helped solve murder cases each week, using her unique personality and skill set to gain the trust of suspects and prove their guilt.
Elsbeth’s popularity comes in part from its reliance on an old gimmick. It imitates the classic series, Columbo, revealing the murderer at the beginning of each episode, which means the plot revolves around how the detective finds the murderer rather than the audience trying to solve the crime along with the main character. While this works well, there is one aspect of the way Elsbeth approaches the crime of the week format that should be updated for season 2.
Elsbeth Can’t Be Too Good At Her Job
She’s Often Too Quick To Figure Out Who Really Did It
During Elsbeth season 1, Preston’s Elsbeth Tascioni often figured out the crime almost immediately, with a lot of conflict revolving around Chief Wagner’s (Wendell Pierce) skepticism of her theory of the case. While this helped demonstrate Elsbeth’s abilities and set her up as an amateur detective at odds with the police, it’s no longer necessary now that she’s been established as a brilliant detective. Her quickness can lead to redundant conflicts and make it harder to maintain the viewers’ interest if it isn’t changed.
The trope of Elsbeth always being right immediately and the police being clueless didn’t have the same narrative impact after she had proven her investigative skills. Maintaining the same format can make the show boring and predictable, which could lead to Elsbeth season 2 losing hype and decreasing its chances of being a long-running network show. It would also be a refreshing change of pace for Elsbeth for Tascioni to be occasionally misled by the clues, and go through the long road to solve the crime of the week.
Elsbeth’s Work Struggles Should Be Focused On In Season 2
She Needs A New Conflict Now That She’s Finished Investigating Chief Wagner
Elsbeth season 1’s mystery storylines were offset by the more serious subplot involving Elsbeth secretly investigating Chief Wagner. That subplot was resolved at the end of its freshman year, however, with Wagner finally agreeing that Elsbeth should stay in New York and be part of his team. This means that the CBS show will need a new subplot for season 2. Elsbeth needs something meaty as a counterpoint to the more lighthearted mystery aspects of the show, such as more run-of-the-mill workplace challenges related to not always being right.
Elsbeth could also lean in more on its status as a spinoff by having cameo appearances from The Good Wife characters. CBS just needs to be mindful while doing this because overdoing the series’ connection can feel like a gimmick after a while. Perhaps Elsbeth season 2 can explore a more personal story for its lead star. Tascioni has a son in the series, which is a potential storytelling opportunity for the series and something that its upcoming year can use as an overarching narrative.
