Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 1.Elsbeth is back, and our favorite police consultant is as “Elsbethy” as ever in the Season 3 premiere “Yes, And…” The episode is a microcosm of everything we love about the series, and Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) herself, and if there were any worries that Season 3 wouldn’t be able to maintain the lofty standards set by the first two seasons, consider them dashed. “Yes, And…” is one of the series’ best, filled with meta moments, warmth, fun, and the promise of some fascinating dynamics that will play out over the season.

Elsbeth Meets Late Night Murder in the ‘Elsbeth’ Season 3 Premiere “Yes, And…”

Elsbeth‘s second season didn’t end on a cliffhanger per se, with Elsbeth released from prison thanks to the efforts of Captain Wagner (Wendell Pierce) and Officer Chandler (Ethan Slater). Rather, it ended in Elsbeth choosing to embrace the challenges before her, with the machinations of Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) still very much in play and Detective Kaya Blanke (Carra Patterson) leaving New York for her task force training program in DC. “Yes, And…” picks up a few months after that point, and, slowly but surely, little nuggets of information are dropped throughout the episode to bring us up to speed.

It’s a credit to the series’ writers that they can play that slow exposition without taking away from the main story, and it’s fitting that such a well-written episode opens with Laurel Hammond-Muntz (Amy Sedaris), head writer and executive producer of late-night talk show Way Late with Scotty Bristol, entering the writers room. She’s there to give them the bad news, yet again, that Scotty (Stephen Colbert) has decided not to use their material for that night’s show. Cue the sound of the paper shredder in Scotty’s office, a regular occurrence done simply to piss off the writers.

Laurel goes from there to the green room, where a familiar face from the past, Sheryl Jacobs (Marcia DeBonis), who fans will remember as the friend Elsbeth made at the wellness retreat in Season 2’s “Unalive and Well.” She’s on the show to promote her book about her wellness journey, and Laurel is there to prepare her, as best she can, for whatever Scotty may throw her way. As she’s talking, Scotty breezes in, and a starstruck Sheryl introduces him to the friend that came to support her from the audience: Elsbeth Tascioni. Elsbeth is on the couch behind a number of bags, trying to catch a few winks before the show starts after just arriving home from Scotland (we’ll get there, promise), but still bright and bouncy enough to be an irritant to Scotty.

The episode cuts to the taping, where Sheryl is being interviewed by Scotty. She asks if he’s read the book; he has not. But his sidekick, Mickey Muntz (Andy Richter), did, and starts to engage with Sheryl before being cut off by Scotty, who uses the book to verbally abuse Mickey on air, as is his wont. After the show wraps, Laurel is seen consoling Mickey, her husband, not only over the verbal abuse but over Scotty’s refusal to allow Mickey time off for medical leave due to a heart condition. Laurel sends Mickey off and heads into Scotty’s office. They reminisce about the trio’s past as an improv group before making it big, with Scotty tenaciously holding on to fame to the point of, well, denying a long-time friend medical leave. Laurel seduces Scotty, who she spurned back then for Mickey, and backs him up against his big paper shredder, dubbed “Mickey 2.” As he leans back, Laurel jams his tie into the shredder and holds down the override button, strangling Scotty to death.

Writers Top the List of Suspects in the ‘Elsbeth’ Season 3 Premiere “Yes, And…”

Back to Elsbeth, who returns home to the welcoming face of Teddy (Ben Levi Ross). She’s evasive about why she’s come back earlier than expected, chalking it up to being there for Sheryl. Teddy changes the subject to talk about his good news, having taken a job with the New York View as an investigative journalist. This is the first sign of Crawford’s lessening impact, with Teddy having found a job he’s passionate about after giving up on becoming a lawyer. Just as Elsbeth is about to finally get some sleep, Wagner calls, asking for her to come to the crime scene.

While on the subject of being back on the job, Elsbeth asks if there’s a “new officer keeping her in line,” and there is: Grace Hackett (Lindsay Mendez), police officer by day, aspiring comic at night. There is a connection between the two, but it will be some time before it builds up to the dynamic Elsbeth shared with Kaya (but does show promise that it can get there). At the crime scene, Elsbeth looks around, and posits that Scotty must have taken out his earbuds to talk to someone, most likely the killer. In the episode’s funniest meta moment, when it’s revealed that Scotty was listening to “Merrily We Roll Along,” the Stephen Sondheim musical, prompting Elsbeth to gleefully utter how much she loves his work, because his stories always work backward – just like Elsbeth always does with her deductions. Moving on, she acts out the probability of what happened to Scotty, which is a pretty faithful observation, but it’s a mystery, given the override button has been wiped of prints.

Back at the station, Elsbeth has gifts she brought back from Scotland for everyone, personal gifts that she put thought into, plus a number of novelty pencils to give to those that she doesn’t know well. But it’s a station that has changed since Elsbeth’s been gone, with those budget cuts, another fallout from Crawford, forcing Lieutenant Connor (Daniel K. Isaac) to make budgetary decisions, like charging $1 for coffee and cutting back on how often garbage is collected. The efforts irritate Detective Smullen (Danny Mastrogiorgio) to no end, but that will have to wait as they gather to try and figure out who might be responsible. Smullen theorizes, or outright declares, that it must be the writers. So back to the crime scene, where a page walks Smullen and Elsbeth down the hall, pointing out Scotty’s office where they found him dead (it mimics the opening moments of the episode when the same page is giving a tour, one of many fun details in the episode). They question the writers, but it becomes unlikely that it’s any of them: none of the writers were in the office at the time, and while they might have been angry with Scotty regularly, the writers assert that any writer isn’t going to rock the boat, but rather be thankful they have a job.

Amy Sedaris’ Laurel Gets Caught In a Lie in the ‘Elsbeth’ Season Premiere “Yes, And…”

Image via CBS

Speculation turns to Mickey, after video footage from the elevator shows him visibly angry and hostile after the embarrassment suffered on the show, just before he heads back and finds Scotty’s body. Only it’s something he does routinely after any show, building up the courage to quit before calming down, as evidenced in additional elevator footage. Elsbeth’s attention then turns to Laurel, who regularly took the brunt of the writer’s hostility towards Scotty, and would have been upset over Scotty’s poor treatment of Mickey. As they’re talking, Elsbeth drops one of those nuggets we talked about, adding that her ex narrowly escaped disbarment, yet another of Crawford’s machinations to fall. Their talk turns to the trio’s past as an improv troupe, giving Elsbeth the idea that Laurel should teach her improv, as it could really help her in her work. She does, and the improv lessons, led by the most important lesson of “yes, and…”, are the highlight of the episode, a brilliantly funny scene that also serves to draw Laurel deeper into Elsbeth’s suspicions.

But it’s Mickey that actually picks up on Laurel’s murderous act first, after confronting her about lying to the police about him wanting to quit. Only the realization is too much, and Mickey dies on the spot. It’s the perfect opportunity for Laurel, who pins the blame on Mickey, and Smullen figures that’s it, end of story. Except she uses the phrase “yes, and,” a fatal flaw that Elsbeth catches, all but confirming her suspicions. But that’s still all they are, suspicions, and after getting an update from Detective Jax (Ruffin Prentiss) on Kaya (she’s doing well and is on her first undercover assignment, and has a plushy Loch Ness Monster waiting for her), Elsbeth goes into her office. Meanwhile, Wagner, after watching Connor being utterly berated by the officers angry over his budget cuts, comes to his rescue, saying any concerns about the budget need to go through him. His standing up for Connor makes the episode’s quietest, yet most powerful moment, as Connor’s face is visibly relieved and thankful.

In her office, Elsbeth notices that Smullen has tossed his shortbread cookies, a gift from her, into her wastebasket. It’s a lightbulb moment, and Elsbeth rushes off to the studio. She confronts Laurel there, giving her a list of reasons why she would hate Scotty enough to kill him. Laurel asks how she knew all this, and the answer comes around the corner: the page. Pages know and see all behind the scenes, and are responsible for emptying out paper shredders, as he did before Scotty’s demise. Only there was paper in Mickey 2, meaning someone put the shredded paper in after the fact, and the spacing between the shreds matches the shredder in Laurel’s office perfectly. It’s a wrap as Laurel is walked out, saying that she didn’t kill Mickey, but Elsbeth points out to her that she did, just not directly.

Having successfully solved the case, Elsbeth uses the opportunity to grab a box of now-unusable Way Late with Scotty Bristol-branded office supplies for the precinct. It’s a short-term solution, but before Elsbeth can voluntarily step away from the office, Wagner stops her, saying that if it comes down to getting rid of her or the budget cuts, he will never entertain the thought of the former. Now, finally, Elsbeth gets some sleep. Ah, but we promised you the scoop on her Scotland visit, so here it is: Elsbeth is hesitant to call Angus (Ioan Gruffudd) her boyfriend, claiming she’s not sure what to call what they have, and was evasive when asked by Teddy. It could just be the weight of keeping up a long-distance relationship, but I swear I will take back the love for the writers here should they break the pair up.

New episodes of Elsbeth drop on Thursdays starting October 16 on CBS in the U.S.

Release Date

February 29, 2024

Directors

Nancy Hower, Robert King, Lionel Coleman, Rob Hardy, Robin Givens, Ron Underwood, Rosemary Rodriguez, Aisha Tyler, Bille Woodruff, James Whitmore Jr., Joe Menendez, Kevin Rodney Sullivan, Lily Mariye, Nick Gomez, Peter Sollett, Sam Hoffman, Tyne Rafaeli, Darren Grant, Fong-Yee Yap, Mary Lou Belli

Writers

Jonathan Tolins, Erica Shelton Kodish, Bryan Goluboff, Sarah Beckett, Michelle King

Pros & Cons

• The writing is among the series? best, filled with clever meta moments and pearls of exposition.
• The improv lesson scene has Carrie Preston and Amy Sedaris at the top of their game.

• Andy Richter is largely underwhelming, giving the premiere a sense of missed opportunity.
• The ambiguity surrounding Elsbeth?s relationship with Angus is maddening.

For over two decades, the CSI franchise has been rooted in science and logic, taking a methodical, procedural approach across its flagship series and multiple spin-offs. But even the most formulaic dramas can benefit from stepping outside the box, and CSI: NY did just that with its standout Season 6 episode, “Death House.” Blending a gothic haunted house mystery with the show’s usual forensic framework, the episode introduces a booby-trapped penthouse, cryptic riddles, and an eerie atmosphere that’s a refreshing departure from the show’s typical tone.

Not only is “Death House” a fun and unexpected departure, it’s a reminder that the franchise — and the procedural genre as a whole — is at its best when it allows room for creativity. “Death House” proves that when a procedural takes a bold swing, it can produce something genuinely memorable. It’s a compelling argument for letting long-running series like CSI embrace experimentation now and then, as well as a testament to how refreshing it can be when they do.

“Death House” Is a ‘CSI: NY’ Episode With a Gothic Mystery Twist

A mysterious 9-1-1 call brings the CSI: NY team to a long-abandoned Manhattan penthouse, where they find no one inside — except for a fully mummified corpse. At the morgue, the body is identified as Walter Jones, a venture capitalist who vanished in the 1920s after being stabbed 11 times. Back then, Jones was embroiled in a lawsuit with the penthouse’s original owner, Sam Harding, an eccentric inventor who accused him of stealing his ideas. While the team closes that 80-year-old cold case, one mystery remains: who made the 9-1-1 call, and where are they now?

The show’s typical procedural tools help narrow things down. Fingerprints on a shattered skylight lead to Richard Lawson, a shady real estate agent known for breaking into properties before they hit the market. Lawson’s phone data confirms he entered the penthouse, but there’s no evidence he ever left. Despite canvassing the scene, something still feels off, so Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise), Stella Bonasera (Melina Kanakaredes), and Don Flack (Eddie Cahill) return for another look. What they uncover is far more than they bargained for.

Harding, it turns out, was just as dangerous as he was eccentric. The penthouse is filled with deadly booby traps and hidden rooms, constructed like an elaborate puzzle box. As the team navigates the penthouse, they piece together clues like they’re in a twisted, high-stakes Escape Room. Unfortunately, they discover Lawson’s charred remains in one of the hidden chambers. But the case doesn’t end there. A final clue reveals he wasn’t alone. Racing against time, the team follow a trail of riddles and secret compartments to uncover one last hidden room, where they find Lawson’s girlfriend, Paula Davis, submerged in water and barely clinging to life.

With its mechanical contraptions, haunted-house atmosphere, and escalating suspense, “Death House” stands out as one of CSI: NY’s most stylistically bold episodes. While the show stays true to its forensic roots, it layers in gothic horror and theatrical mystery in a way that feels fresh and unexpected. It’s genuinely fun to watch the characters operate in such an unconventional space, still solving crimes, but through riddles, hidden rooms, and deadly traps instead of the usual dangers they face. By blending procedural logic with genre experimentation, “Death House” hits a rare tonal sweet spot, proving that even a science-driven show can have a little fun in a high-stakes way.

“Death House” Proves That Procedurals Should Take More Big Swings

“Death House” is what happens when a writing team on a procedural decides to have a little fun. While CSI: NY is usually grounded in forensics and realism, this episode dabbles in horror, suspense, and even historical mystery. It’s a reminder that procedurals don’t have to limit themselves to clean crime scenes and tidy resolutions. The genre is stronger when it bends its own rules, especially when it deepens character and tone in the process.

With a long-running show like CSI: NY, it’s important to keep things fresh. Procedurals can easily fall into repetitive patterns, but “Death House” stands out for how boldly it breaks away from the formula. While you could argue that the Season 2 episode “Trapped” played with similar tension, “Death House” stands on its own. Haunted house tropes, elaborate death traps and cryptic riddles create a different kind of mystery, one that still honors the show’s scientific roots while embracing a more stylized, suspenseful tone.

Part of the fun of watching any procedural is seeing smart characters solve mysteries and puzzles, and “Death House” takes that to another level. Whether it’s Mac deciphering the floor mechanism or Stella decoding cryptic wall inscriptions, the episode gives the team unconventional challenges that showcase their ingenuity. The penthouse itself becomes a character: both antagonist and mystery box. Instead of a traditional killer on the loose, the house is the threat. While a corpse turning up on CSI is nothing new, the discovery of a mummified body signals that this case is anything but typical. The writers fully embrace the episode’s heightened atmosphere and trust the audience to go along for the ride, which absolutely pays off.

“Death House” remains one of CSI: NY’s most memorable and acclaimed episodes, and for good reason. It broke the mold and delivered something fans didn’t see coming. It’s also a reminder that even the most well-oiled procedurals benefit from taking creative risks, because sometimes the best way to keep things fresh is simply letting the story and its characters have a little fun.

All seasons of CSI: NY are available to stream on Hulu.

CSI: NY

Release Date

2004 – 2012

Writers

Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, Carol Mendelsohn

Franchise(s)

CSI