I think most fans would agree Elsbeth is much quirkier than most network TV fare, but due to its case-of-the-week nature, it’s also very much a procedural. For a season and a half now, we’ve watched Ms. Tascioni go toe-to-toe with some criminal masterminds, besting them from a unique and intriguing viewpoint. However, there’s one thing I wanted from the CBS drama and it looks like we’ll be getting it when the show returns to the 2025 TV schedule.
The Elsbeth Easter Egg That Should Lead To More
Carrie Preston recently fessed up to an Easter egg fans should be on the lookout for in coming episodes, and it seemingly means we’ll get more from Michael Emerson soon.
There’s a picture of the guy on her bulletin board, and it stays there as a reminder of the thorn in her side, the Moby Dick that she has yet to conquer. So it feels bigger than some of the other cases. It feels harder to reach, and that’s just juicy, to have an internal engine going at all times, even when she’s focused on other crimes, that’s keeping her going.
The only thing that could make this better is if Emerson’s judge character became sort of the show’s de facto Colin Sweeney, to use a Good Wife reference. And if you aren't a fan of that show, what I mean is Emerson's judge is already a guy who operates in the margins. Elsbeth is out to catch him, but as she noted in her comments to TV Line, he might just be her white whale, a recurring baddie she just can’t quite catch in the act.
What we do know is that Emerson will be back as Judge Milton Crawford in Season 2, Episode 8, which could means this might simply be a two-parter and not a long term arc. However, I would love, love, love for this to be a situation where Judge Crawford stays one step ahead of Ms. Tascioni for one episode or so a season for some time to come, and I think the evidence supports it might.
The first preview for Episode 8 shows Elsbeth being “thrown into the world of procedural television” when a producer is discovered to be a murder victim. Laurie Metcalfe is set to be the main guest star, so my theory is Michael Emerson may bookend the episode. But either way, even if I don’t get my wish, I think this is the first time the show has opened up to one real possibility: That Elsbeth can lose. At least for a little while.
What I’d Like To See Happen As Elsbeth Progresses In Season 2 And Beyond
While I like to see the good guys win as much as anyone, one of the most interesting things a procedural can do is set up complicated cases where the bad guy wins, or nobody wins, or everyone knows whodunnit but there’s not enough evidence to lock the baddie up. Given Elsbeth’s cat and mouse nature, I think this possibility would really open the show up to more interesting nemeses, returning guest stars and other cool, strange and dangerous challenges for our lead character to face.
In fact, I’d love to see some baddies foil Elsbeth on occasion. Or at least if not fool her, get away with their bad behavior for some time.
For example, I'm a big fan of the Sherlock Holmes series Elementary and one of the best episodes ever – and I’m using this as an example since it’s a spoiler from like 10 years ago – involved a plot where an AI computer was manipulated by a professor to cause an epileptic reaction in one of her handlers. Sherlock eventually traced the source of the person who did it and thinks to blackmail him into confessing, but the professor rightly deduces Sherlock’s heart isn’t in it. He gets away. It’s great TV, and a vulnerable moment for a character who is used to winning.
Simultaneously, one of my biggest complaints about that show is that it didn’t find more moments where bad guys clammed up or Sherlock found his guy or girl, but couldn’t officially pin the crime on them. This is something I think the Law & Order franchise has always done well. Right now, Elsbeth is still early in its run, but I’d love to see the show stretch and expand in new ways to make it a more well-rounded procedural, and I know the team behind the show has the writing voices and perspectives to come up with some really cool ideas even within a procedural sphere.
We already saw a major Elsbeth formatting change earlier in Season 2, just not from a villain perspective, so I'm interested to see the series branch out more in the future. Hopefully, we’ll get to see the series continue to grow, and speaking of new, fun changes, I’m also all for seeing way more of Ben Levi Ross as Teddy. Just saying, in case the powers that be are reading this. Elsbeth returns to CBS on January 30th at 10 p.m. ET.
