Elsbeth Season 3 is so close, yet so far away.
The quirky attorney-turned-detective will be back with all-new cases on October 12, and the first one will star recently fired late-night host Stephen Colbert.
That’s a brilliant setup that will hopefully open the best season yet of Elsbeth… but there are several other things the series needs to do to be as strong as possible.
Since Kaya’s Gone, Elsbeth Needs A New Best Friend ASAP
One of the best parts of Elsbeth was the friendship between Elsbeth and Kaya.
Kaya was the first to know that Elsbeth wasn’t exactly who she claimed to be and what she was really up to, and on Elsbeth Season 2, they explored their relationship in even more depth once they became roommates (and then Kaya left again).
However, Kaya won’t be a regular character anymore, and that leaves a hole in the canvas that needs to be filled immediately.
I don’t know who could be Elsbeth’s new confidante. Detective Edwards is the only other female detective left, and she’s more annoying than friend material. Elsbeth could introduce a new character. That might be fun.
That Agnus Story Was Silly, But Since We’re Stuck With Him…
The least we can do is make him a more regular part of Elsbeth’s life.
They met via a display that allowed her to connect with people in Scotland, and then he appeared in person for all of five minutes.
Elsbeth mentioned him a couple of times after that, but that was it. I’m going to need more than that.
There’s no point to Elsbeth finally meeting someone and him being mostly off-screen.
If the two are going to stay together, he needs to be a semi-regular part of the show, even if it’s only through video calls.
Similarly, I’m Thrilled Elsbeth’s Son Was Part of Season 2
We need more Teddy in Season 3.
He didn’t like Elsbeth being in his business, especially his love life. Their relationship was both rocky and loving, and it gave Elsbeth more heart.
With Kaya leaving, Teddy could possibly get a bigger role to fill that hole, and I wouldn’t object to that.
It would be fun to learn more about what Elsbeth was like as a mother when Teddy was little, and for him to continue to have a big story now.
Could Elsbeth Season 3 Bring More Characters From The Good Wife?
It’s too easy to forget that Elsbeth is a spinoff from The Good Wife. She was a recurring, quirky attorney, but that describes half the recurring cast from that show, and the tone is so different.
The Good Wife was a serious, political drama, while Elsbeth is often silly.
I wouldn’t want it any other way. If Elsbeth suddenly became a serious legal drama, it would lose all its charm. Still, some more connections to The Good Wife would be more than welcome.
The ongoing story with Carter was a good start, and it’s not exactly finished yet. Hopefully, there’s more of that to come as Elsbeth Season 3 gets going.
Elsbeth Can’t Undo The Horrible Way Its Best Case Ended…
..but it needs to find a way to make up for it anyway.
Half of Elsbeth Season 2 was dedicated to Elsbeth going up against a corrupt judge, only for him to be shot dead on the courthouse steps just as he was gaining the upper hand.
That has to be one of the most disappointing deaths in television history.
It felt like the writers didn’t know what to do with the story or were tired of it, so they just ended it. Permanently.
Obviously, there’s no undoing Judge Crawford’s murder. This isn’t Days of Our Lives. And it’s already been established that Delia killed the judge. Still, there has to be some way to make up for this awful ending.
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Undoing the reveal that Delia did it could work, but that would probably only last for one episode while Elsbeth searched for the real killer.
But what could be an interesting season-long arc would be if Judge Crawford set things in motion to cause more trouble for Elsbeth and the police department in the event of his death.
That would be fun and would allow Crawford’s storyline to continue.
Could Captain Wagner Figure Out That Elsbeth Knows What She’s Talking About Already?
I said this before Elsbeth Season 2, and I’ll say it again: this formula, where Captain Wagner thinks Elsbeth’s theory is ridiculous, has got to go.
It’s understandable that at first, he thought she was way out there.
But after Elsbeth turned out to be right time and time again, what sense did it make for Wagner to hold onto his initial impression that she was a weirdo who didn’t have the right answers?
I’m not against Wagner being an obstacle to Elsbeth zeroing in on a suspect. Someone has to be.
But it needs to be more believable than him continually rolling his eyes at her latest ideas and move more into the realm of, “How on Earth do you intend to prove that?
We can’t make arrests based solely on your say-so.”
I love Wendell Pierce, so I wouldn’t mind more of Wagner if he could make this slight shift in attitude.
That way, he could still be a significant part of the show that Elsbeth has to deal with without his perspective being at odds with the reality that he’s seen over and over.
Let’s Hope For A Mix Of Case Types
Elsbeth Season 1 was a redo of Columbo, the classic mystery series in which the audience knew who did it and the detective didn’t.
(That’s interesting considering that Elsbeth and Matlock air back to back now, and CBS could have leaned into that for its marketing — a Columbo reboot followed by a Matlock reboot.)
That formula is classic for a reason, but it got old after a while, and I liked that Elsbeth Season 2 didn’t always stick to it.
Sometimes it was a more traditional cozy, where the audience didn’t know any more than Elsbeth did, and she got to show off her Sherlock Holmes side. Other times, it stuck with the killer-in-the-cold-open formula.
I hope that Elsbeth continues to mix up formats like this in Season 3. That’ll keep the series fresh.
Your voice matters. What do YOU want to see on Elsbeth Season 3?
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Elsbeth Season 3 will premiere on CBS on October 12, 2025, before moving to its regular Thursday timeslot on October 16.
New episodes will also be streamed on Paramount+ the day after they air.
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The post Dear Elsbeth Season 3: Give Her a Bestie and Fix That One Character, Please appeared first on TV Fanatic.
