‘Elsbeth’ Has So Much Potential — If The Quirkiness Doesn’t Get Too Out Of Control

The new CBS procedural brings Carrie Preston back to our TV screens as America’s favorite lawyer savant.

“Would you consider an Elsbeth spinoff?” HuffPost first asked Carrie Preston in a 2013 interview. At the time, Preston’s recurring role as Elsbeth Tascioni on “The Good Wife” was a fan favorite, and it earned her that year’s Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Her response to the question was, “Of course, of course. I mean, no one is asking, but of course, I would say yes if they were.”

Now, more than a decade later, the show premiered on CBS Thursday night. You probably already know this because ads for CBS’ newest procedural “Elsbeth” are everywhere, and the trailer makes it clear that while Elsbeth is still her lovably quirky self, she is stepping into a new role (and bringing her many patterned tote bags with her.) Instead of being Chicago’s lawyer savant, Elsbeth has moved to New York City to serve as an outside observer of the NYPD, fulfilling the consent decree requirement in a wrongful arrest lawsuit. Basically, her job is to observe the NYPD as the NYPD investigates crimes.

But anyone who watched her guest star in 14 episodes of “The Good Wife” or five episodes of “The Good Fight” knows that Elsbeth is incapable of being a silent observer because she talks a lot and sees too much. Elsbeth’s ability to appear easily distracted by what’s around her (jewelry, bookcases, dresses, wallpaper, pictures of penguins) and her unusual way of speaking and trailing off mid-thought often leads people to underestimate her, to think she’s scatter-brained or “easily confused” or “easily entertained.” She isn’t someone willing to settle for the easy answer or a convenient criminal.

In Elsbeth’s second episode of “The Good Wife” in Season 1, a character asks her, “How are you ahead of the police on this?” Elsbeth replies, “They’re not looking.”

Even if they were looking, they wouldn’t see the world Elsbeth does, but is that enough to carry a show? But can Elsbeth pull it off? Can she make the transition from beloved guest star to titular lead character?