‘So Help Me Todd’ Episode 17 Photos, Cast and “First Date” Plot

So Help Me Todd Episode 17
Skylar Astin as Todd and Marcia Gay Harden as Margaret in ‘So Help Me Todd’ episode 17 (Photo: Michael Courtney © 2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc)

Jeffrey Nordling returns to guest star as Gus Easton on CBS’s So Help Me Todd season one episode 17, “The First Date is the Deepest.” Directed by Daniel Willis from a script by Earl Davis, episode 17 will air on Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 9pm ET/PT.

Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden stars as Margaret Wright, Skylar Astin plays Todd Wright, and Tristen J. Winger is Lyle. Madeline Wise plays Allison, Inga Schlingmann is Susan, and Rosa Arredondo stars as Francey.

“The First Date Is the Deepest” Plot: Margaret helps a client who lost his mother during a routine surgery at Allison’s hospital, performed by her colleague Dr. Ross Woods (Benjamin Hollingsworth). Also, Margaret and Gus go on their first date and Todd is asked by the firm to investigate Gus.

So Help Me Todd Episode 17
Alison Wandzura as Helen Gallagher and Benjamin Hollingsworth as Dr. Ross Woods in episode 17 (Photo: Michael Courtney © 2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc)

The Plot:

Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin star as razor-sharp, meticulous attorney Margaret Wright and Todd, her talented but scruffy, aimless son whom she hires as her law firm’s in-house investigator. As the black sheep of the well-heeled Wright family, Todd is a laidback, quick-thinking, excellent former private detective who fell on hard times after his flexible interpretation of the law got his license revoked. Margaret’s penchant for excellence and strict adherence to the law is at complete odds with Todd’s scrappy methods of finding his way through sticky situations: by the seat of his wrinkled pants.

When Todd inadvertently teams with his mother on a case, she’s surprised to find herself duly impressed by – and proud of – his crafty ability to sleuth out information with his charm and his wide-ranging tech savvy. At last, Margaret sees a way to put her son on a “suitable” path to living an adult, financially solvent life she approves of, and she asks him to join her firm. Todd agrees since it means getting his license back and once again doing the job he excels at and loves.

Mother and son working together is a big first step toward mending their fragile, dysfunctional relationship, and they may even come away with a better understanding of each other at this pivotal point in their lives. But whether Todd and Margaret will be able to accept each other for who they are is another case entirely.

So Help Me Todd Episode 17
Andrew Duff as Ryan and Marcia Gay Harden as Margaret in episode 17 (Photo: Michael Courtney © 2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc.)
So Help Me Todd Episode 17
Marcia Gay Harden as Margaret and Jeffrey Nordling as Gus Easton in episode 17 (Photo: Michael Courtney © 2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc)
So Help Me Todd Episode 17
Marcia Gay Harden as Margaret in episode 17 (Photo: Michael Courtney © 2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc)
So Help Me Todd Episode 17
Marcia Gay Harden as Margare and Skylar Astin as Todd in episode 17 (Photo: Michael Courtney © 2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc)
So Help Me Todd Episode 17
Kareem Malcolm as Kyle, Tristen J. Winger as Lyle in episode 17 (Photo: Michael Courtney © 2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc.)
So Help Me Todd Episode 17
Andrew Duff as Ryan and Marcia Gay Harden as Margaret in episode 17 (Photo: Michael Courtney © 2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc)