Columbo Inspired A Hit Spin-Off Series With Carrie Preston

Everybody loves a cozy mystery. There's nothing quite like curling up with a warm blanket and a mystery show that wraps things up each episode, following a quirky mystery-solver of one kind or another. Whether we're following someone like murder mystery author Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) on "Murder, She Wrote" or traveling truth-teller Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) on "Poker Face," there's just something about cozy mysteries that soothes the soul. Now, there's another great cozy mystery series that's joined the crew: "Elsbeth," starring Carrie Preston as the titular crime-solver. The CBS show is actually a spin-off of "The Good Wife" and "The Good Fight," on which Preston initially played unconventional Chicago attorney Elsbeth Tascioni. On her own series, however, the character is working with the New York Police Department to solve crimes instead of prosecute them.

"Elsbeth" has been praised by critics for being a fun procedural that uses the inverted detective story format best known from the classic series "Columbo." Indeed, in an interview with Variety, series co-creators and writers Michelle and Robert King confirmed that "Columbo" was a massive inspiration behind the show's creation.

Michelle King explained that the idea for the show came about when she and Robert King were walking their old favorite TV shows while stuck together during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns:

"We were watching a lot of comfort TV, and comfort felt like 'Columbo' and that cozy mystery rather than ... a 10-hour movie, which is what some of these streaming shows pretend to be."

By solving the mystery each episode and not having major cliffhangers at the ends of episodes, shows like "Columbo" and "Elsbeth" give a real sense of satisfaction. Not only that, but they also allow for a nice little escape from reality with a beginning, middle, and end, something that often feels lost in the streaming era as shows try to keep viewers binge-watching. The Kings instead created a "Columbo"-like cozy mystery that spun off from the wildly popular "The Good Wife" universe (which even has a K-drama remake), and we're all better for it. "Elsbeth" follows Preston's quirky title character as she helps solve crimes each week using her unique worldview, joining a long line of potentially neurodivergent detectives and not-quite detectives who make murder mysteries a joy.

Peter Falk's Columbo on "Columbo" was kind of an oddball, and though Preston had never seen the series before joining "Elsbeth," she ended up watching it to prepare for her role. Columbo is sort of the blueprint for not only cozy mystery protagonists but also super quirky and often neurodivergent mystery solvers.(Though "Columbo" has inspired a number of shows and movies, it only had one sorta-official spin-off of its own, "Mrs. Columbo.") While the team behind "Elsbeth" is hesitant to put labels on anything, fans have questioned if Elsbeth is neurodivergent because of her habits and the way she pays attention to details.

Much like Morgan (Kaitlin Olson) on the hilarious hit procedural "High Potential" or Monk (Tony Shaloub) on the long-running series "Monk," Elsbeth definitely represents people who think and act a little differently, and it's so much fun to see her solve crimes and help catch the bad guy while staying true to herself. Preston clearly understood the assignment because "Elsbeth" is a sweet, quirky blast.