Villainess Review: Serena Collyer (Elsbeth)

I just want to say this: thank God for Elsbeth! Here's why I say that.

A line that has stayed with me for years was uttered in an episode of Family Guy. The Griffins were watching Law & Order, and it was Lois who said that the biggest guest star the episode is usually the killer. That is so very true! In nearly every crime drama, the biggest guest star's usually the culprit. It's doubled down in howcatchem shows like Columbo and Poker Face, both of whom have featured high-level celebs playing killers.

Elsbeth has definitely carried on that habit, especially when it comes to the female killers. A lot of the actresses I've seen as villainesses on that show are ones I never thought I'd see, and that trend continued with the season premiere, "Crazy in Love."

The episode began with Serena Collyer, a famous marriage counselor and therapist, hosting a seminar where she, among other things, gushes over her 11-year marriage to Graham Collyer. She goes on and on about how she's made that marriage work so well, but other scenes tell a different story. We see Serena making passionate love to a man who is clearly NOT Graham. Serena's lover is Casey Arthurs, a budding musician who had been traveling back and forth between Queens and California, but following their latest tryst, Casey informed Serena that he would be staying in Queens just a bit longer, as he had a gig at a local bar.

Serena was not pleased by this. She had already voiced her concern that Graham was close to finding out, and she informed Casey that she wasn't comfortable with him being in "her city." Casey took the indignation as Serena wanting to break up, which Casey was fine with. That gave Serena another thing to be upset about: Casey not fighting for her. Casey said that he didn't have to fight for her because she would always go back to him.

We later see quite the sight: Serena in a French maid outfit cleaning Casey's apartment, and later picking up Casey's phone and sending a text to a man named Luke Prescott, with the text claiming that Casey was seeing Luke's wife. We then see a hotheaded Luke crash into Casey's place, while Serena--donning a killer hooded leather outfit--watches from outside. Luke leaves after whaling on Casey, who is later encountered by Serena, and pleads with Serena to leave him alone, only for Serena to shoot Casey to death and drop the gun like she's dropping the mic.

Of course, Elsbeth's on the case, with Grace Hackett, and the detective on the case is Bobby Smullen. They talk to Luke's wife, Lauren Prescott, who reveals that they were patients of Serena's, leading to a meeting with Serena, who claimed that Luke had problems with anger and jealousy. So yeah, Serena's definitely trying to set up Luke as this jealous and angry killer Luke told Elsbeth that while he had past problems with jealousy, he was better now. However, that doesn't stop Serena from continuing to set up Luke, as we see her call Luke, who asked Serena what she told the police about him, after which Serena claims that Luke was threatening her! Yikes!

It looks like Luke is nailed, but Elsbeth does learn about Serena and Casey's past, which included a revelation that Serena was obsessed with being with Casey. A look at Serena's book, which mentions Luke and Lauren (referred to as Jack and Jill), also mentioned a couple known as Sam and Diane (the couple from Cheers). Diane mentioned a solitary gift that Sam gave her, and that one gift was a sign that they would always be drawn back to each other. Elsbeth put two and two together and realized that this was about Serena and Casey, but when confronted, Serena denied writing about herself and Casey in her book. So it looked like Elsbeth and company had nothing... until video of Serena purchasing white wine was discovered. The material included a bracelet that Casey gifted her, and that was enough for one more confrontation.

Serena attempted to skirt around it again, but the obvious evidence hit her: gunshot residue on that bracelet. Smullen slapped the cuffs on Serena, who ranted that Casey ruined her life and wished that she never met him, but at the same time, she voiced her love for Casey. When asked about Graham, Serena said that her husband was boring, and as she was taken away, the villainess had only one thing in mind: she wanted to know if Casey really referred to her as his girlfriend.

"Crazy in Love," Elsbeth's fourth season opener, aired on CBS on October 8, 2026, and this amazing episode featured Nicole Scherzinger as the scheming and evil Serena Collyer! Where do I start?! Again, Elsbeth has pleased me so much regarding who they've cast as villainesses! Gina Gershon as a murderous plastic surgeon in Season 1, Pamela Adlon (known for her animated work, mainly Bobby Hill on King of the Hill) as a deranged head chef in Season 2, Alyssa Milano as an evil mob princess (also Season 2), Jaime Pressly as a vengeful model in Season 3, and now the latest hit, Nicole Scherzinger, the Queen of the Pussycat Dolls, as Serena Collyer. She truly hit this out of the park! Serena was insane, vengeful, and quite a devious femme fatale; it was the perfect role for Scherzinger!

And what could be better than an evil Nicole Scherzinger? How about evil Nicole in the "hoodie of evil" and draped in leather? That killer outfit was so perfect, and the way she strutted both in and out of Casey's apartment was so delicious! This is only the second time I've seen Nicole Scherzinger as a villainess; the only other time was her brief appearance in Men in Black 3 as Lily Poison. I have wanted Nicole Scherzinger to play this exact type of villainess for years, because I knew she'd pull it off so brilliantly! This was a very awesome start to Season 4!

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Check out Serena Collyer's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!