Elsbeth season 3 won’t premiere until October 12th, but there’s an even better show from 2006 that totally hits the spot in the meantime. The Elsbeth season 2 cast solidified the show as a crime-comedy, peppering laugh-out-loud funny moments in between murder and mystery. The new season is leaning into this mashup even further.

Elsbeth season 3 will feature numerous comedic guest stars, including Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and David Cross. Stephen Colbert will join Elsbeth as a fictional late-night host, an interesting addition after CBS canceled the entire Late Show franchise. Whether Colbert plays the murderer, the victim, or is just there for laughs remains unknown.

Of course, at its core, Elsbeth is a procedural, with the title character helping to solve a murder each episode. The show definitely feels unique, but it isn’t the first comedic procedural to delight audiences. In 2006, a USA procedural hit the airwaves, and it’s the perfect show to watch before Elsbeth returns.

Psych Was The Precursor To Elsbeth

Before Elsbeth, there was Psych. Like the CBS procedural, Psych follows a quirky outsider who, much to the dismay of the actual police detectives, becomes instrumental in solving the precinct’s murder cases. Psych, even more so than Elsbeth, really leaned into the comedy. The USA show did start with a far sillier premise than Elsbeth.

Psych centers around Shawn Spencer, a man with a unique ability to notice details and a photographic memory. When he calls in with a tip to the police, they begin to suspect he may actually be the criminal. The police refuse to believe Shawn is as astute as he is, forcing Shawn to come up with a unique lie to avoid jail time: Shawn pretends to be psychic.

Over the course of eight seasons and three movies, Shawn navigates working with the police while maintaining the lie and flirting with one of the new detectives. Shawn may not be a consent decree lawyer, but his misfit-nature is very similar to Elsbeth’s.

Psych Is Still Hilarious 19 Years Later

USA via MovieStillsDB

Although the show premiered in 2006, Psych is still an enjoyable watch today. Rotten Tomatoes gave the show 89%, but the Popcornmeter is even higher, coming in at 94%. Although Psych has some harsh realities new viewers may notice, the show is definitely still worth watching in 2025.

Psych is the perfect show for procedural fans who also want comedy sprinkled into their viewing. While the crimes on Psych are, by and large, murders, the show is nowhere near as dark as the likes of Law & Order: SVU. The 2006 show is far more like Elsbeth in that sense.

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Elsbeth

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

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  Carrie Preston

  Elsbeth Tascioni

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  Wendell Pierce

  C.W. Wagner