The initials CBS evidently stand for Crime Busting Shows, which (except for a few sitcoms and “Survivor”) currently dominate the network's programming: “FBI,” “FBI: International,” “FBI: Most Wanted,” “FBI True, “SWAT,” “CSI: Vegas,” “NCIS,” “NCIS: Hawai'i,” “Blue Bloods,” “The Equalizer,” the comedic legal drama “So Help Me Todd” and “Fire Country,” which has an element of criminal justice.
Two new series join the lineup. “Elsbeth,” a spinoff of “The Good Wife” and its sequel “The Good Fight,” which premieres Thursday before taking time off, is based on Carrie Preston's quirky defense attorney, Elsbeth Tascioni. “Tracker,” which began earlier this month and airs Sundays, features Justin Hartley as a “rewarder” who makes a living finding missing people and things. Both belong to that classic class of episodic mysteries that foreground the character of the professional or amateur detective and bring each case to a conclusion at the end of an episode, although as contemporary series they also include long arcs.
A mix of childlike enthusiasm, deceptive naivety and killer instincts, Elsbeth was only a recurring character in “Wife” and “Fight,” but she left quite an impression. (Preston won an Emmy in 2013 for guest actress in a drama series.) Created by Robert and Michelle King, “The Good Wife” (also on CBS) was one of those pre-broadcast shows that demonstrated how smart, sophisticated, subtle, clever and wickedly funny a network series could be, and they have mattered those qualities to the more overtly comic and completely charming “Elsbeth.”
The show moves its main character from Chicago to New York, where, now working for the US Department of Justice, she has been assigned to monitor the NYPD, or a portion of it, according to a consent decree stemming from a series of illicit abuses. arrests. The police aren't happy to have her, but she's thrilled to be there, having traded the job of defending people she sometimes knew were guilty of “finding the truth.” The always welcome Wendell Pierce plays Captain CW Wagner, who suffers from his presence; Carra Patterson is Officer Kaya Blanke, whom she assigns to watch the observer.
Structurally, the series is “Columbo”, where we see a murder committed at the top, after which the star, assessing the situation in an instant, builds the case and sets a trap. And like Peter Falk's immortal detective, Elsbeth, who will spontaneously insert herself into an investigation, she asks many questions, some simply out of curiosity. She has a great personality, talkative, colorfully dressed, a ray of sunshine, easily distracted, incredibly friendly; she offers a killer a cookie even as he is being sent to jail. And because she's a nutcase, both cops and killers can underestimate her.
“You're smarter than you look, but a little weird,” a detective tells her.
“Smarter than I look,” he replies. “I once wrote that down on a report card.”
Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw on the CBS series “Tracker,” which airs on Sundays.
(Ed. Araquel/CBS)
Along with Fox's “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” and NBC's “Found,” “Tracker” is the network's third series now airing with a missing persons theme. The difference here is that Colton Shaw (Hartley) is in it for the money, not that he doesn't care, but this is one of the few shows where you see the detective get paid, and he works more or less alone. With his truck and sweet Airstream trailer, he'll go anywhere in the United States that British Columbia can represent, echoing old shows like “Route 66” (and a new one like “Poker Face”) where each week the stars find in a new place, with new people, involved in new people's problems. But he can't escape his past, in the form of an estranged but suddenly emerging brother, who may have killed his father, a crazed Berkeley professor who took his family off the grid and taught them the survival skills that the adult Colton finds super. practical.
Light relief is provided by Velma (Abby McEnany, “Work in Progress”), no doubt a nod to Scooby-Doo, and Teddi (Robin Weigert), a couple who run Shaw's business. With the inevitable tech genius Bobby (Eric Graise), they dig up whatever information Colton needs with the usual ridiculous television speed. Sassy and sexy lawyer Reenie (Fiona Rene) makes fun of him, but gets him out of trouble. And since Hartley is a handsome guy, there will be some random flirting, but nothing serious because he's a rambling guy.
The stories can be predictable, which is itself predictable, or a little silly, not unusual among episodic procedurals, and perfectly acceptable. What's worth introducing is Hartley, who as Colton projects a calming, unflappable presence; he is sensitive but not sentimental, immune to pressure, a human lie detector. He oozes ability, both mental and physical, and although he has a tragic backstory, he doesn't seem particularly marked by it, no matter how much other characters want to psychologize him. (It is possible, probably, that the feelings will become more intense later in the year.) He knows no fear, and you know with certainty that he will disarm his opponents, with quick movements, charm or common sense. And who doesn't need a little certainty nowadays?
