Review: Elsbeth, “That's All” | Season 3, Episode 20

While Matlock concluded its second season earlier, Josh Spiegel's double duty ends officially tonight with the third season finale of Elsbeth. To reflect on the end of this season of the now-officially-Emmy-designated comedy procedural, become a paid subscriber and join the conversation.

“It’s like stepping back in time.”

I've noted it a couple of times throughout the season, but it’s kind of fascinating that CBS decided to switch Elsbeth into the comedy side of things at the Emmys. Last season, the Eye got lucky by netting Kathy Bates an Emmy nomination for Matlock for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series. (They got less lucky due to the fact that while many prognosticators saw Bates as the favorite, she didn’t win.) Carrie Preston has won an Emmy already for playing Elsbeth Tascioni, in the Guest Star in a Drama Series category. So the notion that she might be considered again isn’t impossible. And it’s not unheard of for an actor to win for playing the same character in two separate shows that jump from drama to comedy. (Ed Asner and Uzo Aduba each pulled it off, leading to one of my favorite awards-show jokes courtesy of Andy Samberg.)

It will not surprise you to learn that I think Preston should absolutely be in the conversation, even if I don’t assume she’ll actually get a nomination. Again, the Emmy voters may be willing to nominate actresses from network procedurals in one category, but Jean Smart and Lisa Kudrow and Quinta Brunson seem like shoo-ins in this one, leaving aside the many other traditional comedy nominees. And Elsbeth, as funny as it can be, is very much not a traditional comedy. It’s an hourlong criminal procedural, and has had multi-episode arcs that are largely not even trying to be funny. It’s a hard sell.

That is, as always, a shame, and especially so in the case of “That’s All.” Now, if you don’t know what the focal point of the episode is going to be, that title might seem awfully final, and not just because this is the third-season finale. (Don’t worry: CBS renewed Elsbeth for a fourth season months ago.) The title is less of a capper to the show but a capper to one specific season, as this episode focuses on a grande dame of cabaret performing, and includes the song of the same name as performed by a recurring character near the end of the show. Elsbeth continuing to indulge in performance is pretty standard at this point, but it doesn't automatically scream comedy (as opposed to just eye-rolling puns).