Elsbeth (2024– )
7/10
The Good Elsbeth
2 March 2024
Elsbeth has come back. We are delighted.

For those who are not acquainted with her, it is a come-back indeed, as she is (to my knowledge) the only secondary character who has outlived not just one show (as Saul, of Better Call Saul), but two different long and successful series (The Good Wife and The Good Wife) and who has won people's heart to the extent of deservingly having her own show now.

Reencountering her in The Good Fight was a lovely surprise years ago, I remember. Meeting her again in this show promises to be truly exciting. The first episode was a pleasure, although the action seems to have a more comedic vein here than in those other productions. (Carrie Preston can do comedic passes while doing crime investigation indeed, and the hybrid works.)

The winks to fans of The Good Wife/Fight were there too. Will we meet Cary Agos here again? Oh, that could be great!

Elsbeth's kooky and loony attitude to lawyering now seems to be transferred to police internal surveillance. Don't be fooled by Elsbeth. Her brain is razor sharp, behind her apologetic, oddball and candid habit of annoyingly intruding into the work of the smart-asses who know it all. You can imagine the rest.

It may be the case that Michelle and Robert King will make it again with this new show, much to our enjoyment. I hope so.

Edit: After watching almost the whole first season, my initial impression has lost some enthusiasm. The comedic tone works in a contradictory way. I liked the "former" Elsbeth more, in a more serious environment, as the seriousness of the legal battles highlighted and added value to her oddity much more than this half-comedy, half-procedural spirit. It is watchable, though.
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