I’m not going to pretend that “Elsbeth,” the spin-off featuring Carrie Preston’s eccentric lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni, is all time great TV. But the show has a certain goofy charm, a commitment to its protagonist’s singular way of seeing the world.
In this week’s episode, “Elsbeth Flips the Bird,” that world involves murder in a high-end restaurant kitchen, a celebrity chef with anger management issues, and the continued presence of Laura Benanti. Let’s unpack this culinary catastrophe, shall we?
A troublesome kitchen staffer turns up dead, and suspicion immediately falls upon the establishment’s volatile celebrity chef, played by guest star Pamela Adlon. It seems the deceased had a remarkable talent for rubbing people the wrong way, particularly those wielding sharp knives. While this might suggest a straightforward case of “he was asking for it,” Elsbeth’s sideways approach to crime-solving is bound to uncover unexpected ingredients in this recipe for disaster.
The return of Laura Benanti as Elsbeth’s sometimes-friend/sometimes-foe Nadine adds an extra dash of intrigue. Will their interactions be limited to witty banter and courtroom clashes, or might we see some actual progress in their complicated relationship? While I’m rarely optimistic about character development on network procedurals, I’m at least mildly curious to see how this plays out.
Let’s be honest, the success of this episode likely hinges on two things: the performance of Pamela Adlon, whose dry wit and knack for portraying flawed characters could elevate even the most pedestrian material; and whether the writers find a way to integrate the restaurant setting organically into Elsbeth’s peculiar investigative style. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fully prepared for clunky culinary puns and strained metaphors about simmering tensions. But I hold out a sliver of hope for something more… flavorful.
“Elsbeth Flips the Bird” airs Thursday, November 14, 2024, at 10:00 PM ET/PT on CBS and streams on Paramount+.
