Elsbeth - What We Know So Far
"The Good Wife" is a show that's absolutely stuffed with excellent characters. Alicia Florrick's (Julianna Margulies) return to her law career as she struggles to deal with her husband Peter's (Chris Noth) career-wrecking scandals slowly unfolds into a giant universe of enticing characters, from the powerful liberal lawyer Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) to Peter's unscrupulous political manager and chief of staff, Eli Gold (Alan Cumming).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this wealth of great on-screen personalities led to a spinoff. In "The Good Fight," the fallout of a financial scam forces Diane and her goddaughter Maia (Rose Leslie) to join another law firm, to the tune of six critically-acclaimed seasons. Now, CBS is once again trying to recapture the lightning in the bottle, as reports indicate that a "The Good Wife" spin-off focused on Elsbeth Tascioni is in the works. Let's take a look at what we know about "Elsbeth," the planned next addition in "The Good Wife" universe.
When will Elsbeth be released?
The news of CBS ordering a pilot for "Elsbeth" broke on January 31, and since it appears that a full series order hasn't even been placed yet, we'll likely have to wait quite a while before details of the show's premiere date emerge.
Still, while fans have to play the waiting game for the time being, the knowledge of existing production schedules gives us some idea of when "Elsbeth" might potentially arrive. Assuming that the pilot will be successful and the series will be picked up this year, the earliest we could potentially see the first season of "Elsbeth" premiere is sometime in 2024. It's possible that CBS will schedule the first season of the show as part of its spring slate, much like it did with "The Good Fight," which premiered on both CBS and CBS All Access on February 19, 2017.
As such, "Elsbeth" might very well make its debut in early 2024, should the stars align for the project post haste -– though don't be surprised if it takes longer for everything to come together.
What is the plot of Elsbeth?
Since Carrie Preston's eccentric Elsbeth Tascioni is the focal point of "Elsbeth," it seems that the comedy aspects that were already present in "The Good Wife" and "The Good Fight" are rather more prominent in the show — though, of course, that's hard to know for sure before the show actually starts airing. However, even though "Elsbeth" is still in early stages of development, we do know a few things about the show's premise (per Deadline).
The first show in "The Good Wife" universe to take the focus of the action away from Illinois, "Elsbeth" will see the titular character relocate to New York City. It's still unclear whether the change of scenery is prompted by a scandal — much like "The Good Wife" and "The Good Fight" kicked off — but Elsbeth's new gig will apparently see her working with the New York Police Department to bring particularly crafty antagonists to justice.
It remains to be seen whether Elsbeth does this as a police consultant of sorts, or if the character will work as a prosecutor or criminal lawyer and the dynamic between her and the police is of the "Law & Order" variety. Regardless, the idea of the uniquely talented Elsbeth interacting with tough-as-nails New York police officers seems like great fun.
Who is starring in Elsbeth?
The show's protagonist will be Elsbeth Tascioni, who got her start as an eccentric supporting character in both "The Good Wife" and "The Good Fight." Elsbeth is an incredibly friendly and somewhat scatterbrained lawyer whose oddball mannerisms and peculiar train of thought lures many to believe that she's harmless and easy to fool. However, in reality, she's much closer to crafty stealth geniuses like Lieutenant Columbo (Peter Falk) and "Ally McBeal's" John Cage (Peter MacNicol), and her peculiarity hides a truly brilliant operator who can see things few others would notice. Carrie Preston ("True Blood," "Person of Interest," "Claws") will reprise the role.
Other actors who have been announced at this point are Carra Patterson ("Straight Outta Compton," "Lovecraft County") as police officer Kaya Blanke, and Wendell Pierce ("The Wire," "Selma," "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan") as Captain Wagner, an esteemed member of the NYPD. If "The Good Wife" and "The Good Fight" are any indication, this current cast of three will likely expand significantly in the coming weeks and months ... perhaps with some familiar faces, too.
Who is directing and producing Elsbeth?
Sometimes, spinoffs can be radically different from their parent shows, which can have a lot to do with changes in the creative team. However, fans of "The Good Wife" and "The Good Fight" can be relatively certain that "Elsbeth" will deliver the same quality as the two series did, because the creative duo behind the show will be the same.
Robert and Michelle King are behind numerous small screen smash hits, having acted as writers and producers-slash-showrunners in both "The Good Wife" and "The Good Fight," as well as CBS' supernatural drama "Evil." They also have EP credits on Showtime's Bryan Cranston show "Your Honor."
The Kings return to the world of "The Good Wife" by writing and executive producing "Elsbeth." In addition, Robert King is set to direct the pilot episode. He's previously directed a number of episodes of "The Good Wife," "The Good Fight," and "Evil."
Where to watch the shows related to Elsbeth?
"Elsbeth" will quite naturally be a part of "The Good Wife" universe, and the character makes a number of appearances in both "The Good Wife" and "The Good Fight." Since there's plenty of time to kill before the new show premieres, now would be a good time to revisit the two existing shows of the franchise, and refamiliarize yourself with the character of Elsbeth Tascioni ... as well as the other characters in the shows, of course. After all, if "The Good Fight" is any indication, there's a decent likelihood that pre-existing characters in the franchise will make appearances in "Elsbeth," as well.
The best way to watch "The Good Wife" in its entirety is on the Paramount+ streaming network. Alternatively, you can rent or buy the show for viewing on multiple platforms, from Google Play, Amazon and YouTube to iTunes, VUDU and Apple TV. Likewise, "The Good Fight" is also exclusive to Paramount+, but available for purchase and rental on multiple platforms.