Posted in: CBS, Fox, TV | Tagged: crime scene kitchen, Elsbeth, Rasing Hope

Why Elsbeth, Raising Hope, "Crime Scene" Are Holiday Binge List-Worthy

Here's why CBS's Elsbeth, FOX's gone-too-soon Raising Hope, and FOX's Crime Scene Kitchen should be on your holiday binge lists this season.

Binge-watching shows has become a time-honored tradition over the long holiday break, and deciding what you should spend your time on can be one of the hardest decisions you make every year. Sure, you could go to theaters and see films that have a shot at the Oscars, but who wants to leave their couch when they don't have to? We are here to help. Here are three shows, new and old, that if you haven't caught yet, you should. None of them are serious watches; most are breezy and fun, and before you know it, eight episodes have played, and you had a ball. Here's how CBS's Elsbeth, FOX's gone-too-soon Raising Hope, and FOX's Crime Scene Kitchen check off those boxes and should be part of your holiday catch-up/binge-watch.

Binge Elsbeth, Because Its The Best Show On Television

Airing on CBS and streaming on Paramount+, this is the perfect time to catch up on what is the best show on TV right now, Elsbeth. Starring Carrie Preston as her character from The Good Wife universe, this procedural is much more than that. It is that rare show where the female leads are not at odds with each other but instead lift each other up and use that positive energy to solve their cases and remain good friends through it all. The other half of that equation, Carra Patterson, has been a revelation as well. They have the best relationship on TV, and the rest of the cast is filled out with veterans who seem like they are having a ball. In the same vein as Columbo, we see at the beginning how the crime was committed and watch as Elsbeth figures out the case, modernizing that formula in inventive ways. And the cameos! This is as good as TV gets.

Overlooked when it aired and still not getting the respect it deserves, Raising Hope is one of the best sitcoms of the 2000s and is available to watch on Hulu. Creator Greg Garcia took everything he learned on My Name Is Earl and stepped his game up for the story of a poor family in Virginia who is thrown for a loop when son Jimmy gets his one-night stand pregnant, and it turns out she is a serial killer. His family is tasked with helping him raise the baby, and factoring in his friends elevates the "it takes a village" adage to hilarious and heartwarming heights. All of the humor holds up, the cast is note-perfect, and the four seasons fly by before you realize that FOX made a mistake canceling it. This is the definition of binge-worthy.

Finally, a fun cooking show that airs on Fox and just wrapped up its third season, Crime Scene Kitchen, marries a baking show with a crime procedural to make one of the most unique reality shows around. The show is hosted by Joel McHale and features award-winning chefs Curtis Stone and Yolanda Gampp as judges who make deserts in a kitchen on set, then leave clues for our teams to go in and look at and figure out what was made. They then have a set amount of time to try and recreate the dish as close as they can to the original without actually knowing what was made. It makes for good drama, the skills presented are incredible, and Stone is asked to repeat his lines so much that you can make a great drinking game out of watching. You can binge all three seasons on Hulu.

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