Whenever I talk about Elsbeth and recommend that people watch it on account of it being so much fun, I always describe it as a modern play on Columbo. I’ve learned, after having a dozen or so of these conversations, however, that not everyone gets that reference in 2024. So, let me explain it another way. Elsbeth is an inverted detective show. That means instead of being a traditional WhoDunIt, where viewers follow along with the detective to try and solve the crime, it’s a HowCatchEm, which means we’re shown the murder and murderer at the beginning of the episode and the point is trying to figure out how the detective will solve it.
This format is perfect for Elsbeth because the title heroine, like Columbo, is an extremely eccentric character who does things her own way. She’s not using traditional police interrogations or methods you’d see on a normal cop show. She’s a lawyer with her own pace and style (and a really fun partner), and you want to see how she’s able to get information and piece things together. I’ve watched every episode and have consistently felt this was the right format for the show, but then a recent case offered an intriguing wrinkle and now, I think they might be onto something here.
The episode in question aired on Halloween a few weeks ago and is entitled “Devil’s Night.” It was written by Bryan Goluboff and was directed by Robin Givens. Yes, that Robin Givens. Like always, we’re shown the murder and murderer first, in this case a hard-partying former child star, but instead of being the typical murderer trying to hide her crimes, we see her wake up from a dream and later work with Elsbeth to try and figure out if it actually happened.
So, in essence, the outline of the show is the same as usual, but the format and basic concept is very different. Instead of it being a battle of wills between Elsbeth and a known murderer, this episode is a partnership between Elsbeth and the lead guest star to collectively figure out what happened. As viewers, we’re able to go along on that journey, and because it hasn’t happened during any other episodes, it all feels very vibrant and new.
Most TV shows, especially detective and hospital procedurals, have a basic format that they follow almost every episode. Typically, the departures we get are a few episodes a season in which there’s major personal life developments for one of the characters that may overshadow whatever case or medical mystery they’re working on or more commonly, intertangle with it. Think the lead detective’s friend is accused of murder or the doctor’s mom is a patient in the hospital he or she works at. One of the reasons I loved this episode of Elsbeth so much is that it felt fresh and original, but it was still just another case with random people she was working on. It’s not going to have some huge, long-term ramifications for the characters on the show. It was case of the week, just a case investigated in a very different way.
I like Elsbeth. I’m definitely not hoping CBS changes things up. I like knowing who the murderer is most of the time, and I like seeing the cat-and-mouse game Elsbeth enters in with fun guest stars to try and catch them. I have bought into that format, and it’s what I want to get most of the time. But most of the time is not all of the time. It was really refreshing to be as in the dark as Elsbeth was for this one particular case, and it makes me want to see them do this a few times each season. That doesn’t mean I want it most of the time. It just means I want to sometimes experience Elsbeth and her buddy Kaya in a different way.
Fortunately, it seems like we might be in luck. We recently interviewed producer Jonathan Tolins, who told us they're always looking for ways to break the format, like they did in this episode. That's what I want. Give us something like this a few times a season. Most episodes should be exactly what we’ve signed up for, but now and again, surprise us with an episode that makes a key change to the format and lets us share a mystery with her. It’s a fun way to spend time with her, and it makes me appreciate the more conventional episodes even more.
You can catch new episodes of Elsbeth, which air on CBS on Thursday evenings. You can also catch up via Paramount Plus or other streaming methods.
