The Big Picture From co-creators/executive producers Robert & Michelle King and showrunner Jonathan Tolins, the CBS series Elsbeth follows Elsbeth Tascioni , a fan favorite character from The Good Wife and The Good Fight, as she finds herself transplanted to New York City, lending her unique observations as an attorney to the NYPD. As she works alongside Officer Kaya Blanke , she’s actually secretly investigating Captain C.W. Wagner .
Release Date February 29, 2024 Creator Michelle King, Robert King Cast Carrie Preston , Fredric Lehne , Danny Mastrogiorgio , Jane Krakowski , Wendell Pierce , Gloria Reuben , Retta , Linda Lavin Seasons 1 Can You Watch 'Elsbeth' if You've Never Seen 'The Good Wife' or 'The Good Fight'? Collider: This is one of my favorite characters that you guys have created, so I’m happy that we get to see more of her. She’s just so fantastic.
ROBERT: We didn’t even put her in Season 2 of The Good Wife. We thought it was three and done. And then, there was an episode in the third season where it was like, “Well, maybe she goes to an odd lawyer again. Here’s Elsbeth. Why not? Elsbeth is such a cool character.” It’s funny, on that show, you would lose track of characters either because the actor became unavailable or we didn’t need that type of character anymore, but Elsbeth was just so cool.
ROBERT: Not only is Elsbeth underestimated by everybody because she’s quirky, but she’s also underestimated because she’s a woman. What’s funny, in our minds, is in New York, her Midwestern sweetness, all her tote bags, being on the hip-hop tour of New York, seem like a very funny contrast between all these pretentious people.
ROBERT: The one word for me is genuine. She’s genuine, and that’s one of her best defense mechanisms, or the best way she sneaks under people’s guardrails. She’s able to get under their skin, which was Peter Falk in Colombo, too. There was something pure there, and I think there’s something pure about Elsbeth, too.
On a fun and silly note, two of my favorite characters from your shows are Elsbeth and Leland Townsend . When I said that to Carrie Preston, she said that she would definitely be curious to see what a crossover with those characters might look like. Is that something you’ve ever thought about? Is there any world that we could ever see that?
MICHELLE: We’ve set up the beginning of the race, which in my head is downhill, and then you’ll see where the marbles go.