Elsbeth Goes Old School, Brings Back the 20-Episode Season 2

Summary

• The first season of Elsbeth was a critical and popular success.
• The popularity has ensured that the series will be expanded to 20 episodes for Season 2.
• This will allow the writers to explore even more fresh angles for the series.

Despite the insane five-week gap between the first and second episodes, the procedural comedy-drama Elsbeth, a spin-off of The Good Wife and The Good Fight, has become one of the top newcomers in primetime and one of the most-watched series on CBS. The new show has received high marks from critics and viewers have openly stated that it is their favorite show of the season.

Elsbeth follows the story of an eccentric yet brilliant Chicago lawyer, played by Carrie Preston, who helps solve the NYPD's even the coldest cases thanks to her unconventional perspective on reality.

The success of the first season ensured Elsbeth's renewal by CBS for the 2024-2025 season, which was announced in April 2024. Not much is known about the season so far, but Carrie Preston has shared intriguing bits about the format of the upcoming season, what to expect from it, and what she herself would like to see in the series.

Let's find out what the Elsbeth Tascioni actress had to say.

Elsbeth Season 2 Will Return to the Good Wife Formula

Speaking to Deadline at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival, Carrie Preston revealed that Season 2 will be much bigger than Season 1. While the first season was only 10 episodes, the popularity of the second one has ensured that it will expand to 20 episodes, close to the format of the flagship The Good Wife, which had 22-23 episodes per season.

Apparently, the show will continue to be built around the reverse detective narrative: each episode of Season 1 focused on a specific case where we knew the details of a crime but didn't know how Elsbeth and the NYPD would catch the culprit. This structure allowed the show to feature a wide variety of guest stars, from Stephen Moyer and Jesse Tyler Ferguson to Retta and Laura Benanti.

However, the expanded Season 2 will allow the show to take on various styles and tropes, and therefore, according to Preston, we should expect 'some surprises.' Her remarks can be read below:

'You're going to be able to enjoy the structure of the how-done-it, but they're going to mix that up, so don't be thinking you know exactly what you're going to get each time. They're trying to make sure that there's some freshness so that people don't get too comfortable, and also, you know, this is Elsbeth, so there's going to be some surprises.'

What Can We Expect from Elsbeth in the Future?

The actress also shared that the new 20-episode format will allow the show to reveal much more about the characters, especially Elsbeth Tascioni herself.

'Even though we have always a case that we're on, we'll be learning more about her personal life. I think the writers will be even more willing to take a couple of moments in each episode to really breathe into Elsbeth's out-of-work life.'

In addition, Deadline asked Carrie Preston which celebrities she would like to see guest star in the show's upcoming events, and the answer was as ambitious as Elsbeth herself.

'Meryl Streep, if you're around and you want to come and be on CBS, we'd love to have you.'

The release date for Elsbeth Season 2 remains unknown, but the writers are actively working on it. However, CBS has said that the release window will be within the 2024-2025 season, so the premiere of the new season should be expected sometime in the fall of 2024, along with other series like Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage and Ghosts Season 4.

Source: Deadline.