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''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the
Cook County State's Attorney The Cook County State's Attorney functions as the state of Illinois's district attorney for Cook County, Illinois, and heads the second-largest prosecutor's office in the United States. The office has over 700 attorneys and 1,100 employees. In ad ...
, who returns to her career in law after the events of a public sex and political corruption scandal involving her husband. The series was created by
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
and Michelle King and stars
Julianna Margulies Julianna Margulies (; born June 8, 1966) is an American actress. After several small television roles, Margulies achieved wide recognition for her starring role as Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama series '' ER'' (1994–2009), ...
,
Josh Charles Joshua Aaron Charles (born September 15, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for the roles of Dan Rydell on '' Sports Night; '' Will Gardner on ''The Good Wife'', which earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations; and his early wo ...
, Christine Baranski,
Matt Czuchry Matthew Charles Czuchry (; born May 20, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Logan Huntzberger on The WB television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2005–2007) and Cary Agos on the CBS television drama ''The Good Wife'' (2009–2 ...
,
Archie Panjabi Archana Panjabi (born 31 May 1972) is a British actress. She has had various roles in both UK and US television including as Maya Roy in ''Life on Mars'' (2006–07), Nas Kamal in NBC crime drama '' Blindspot'' (2016–17, 2020), Kendra Malle ...
, Zach Grenier,
Matthew Goode Matthew William Goode (born 3 April 1978) is a British actor. Goode made his screen debut in 2002 with ABC's TV film feature ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister''. His breakthrough role was in the romantic comedy '' Chasing Liberty'' (2004), fo ...
, Cush Jumbo,
Jeffrey Dean Morgan Jeffrey Dean Morgan (born April 22, 1966) is an American actor of television and film, best known for playing the character Negan in the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2016–2022), for which he has received critical acclaim. ...
and Alan Cumming, and features
Chris Noth Christopher David Noth ( ; born November 13, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Mike Logan on ''Law & Order'' (1990–95), Big on ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), and Peter Florrick on ''The ...
in a recurring role. The executive producers included the Kings, Ridley and
Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Da ...
,
Charles McDougall Charles McDougall is a British Emmy Award and BAFTA-winning director. Biography McDougall has directed for popular television series which include the pilot episode of ABC's ''Desperate Housewives'' (which includes the unaired pilot as well). ...
, and
David W. Zucker David W. Zucker is a television executive and executive producer, best known for producing ''The Good Wife''. He is currently the Chief Creative Officer for Scott Free Productions. He is also the executive producer of notable shows like Eric Ga ...
. ''The Good Wife'' is a serialized show featuring several story arcs that play out over multiple episodes, as well as stand-alone storylines that are concluded by the end of each episode. The serial plots—a rarity on CBS, a network where most of the programming at that time was procedural—were especially showcased in its highly praised fifth season. ''The Good Wife'' was acclaimed during its run and considered by several critics to be network television's "last great drama". It won numerous awards, including five
Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
and the 2014
Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canadian television critics, journalists and columnists who cover television programming for newspapers, magazines and web publications. The TCA accepts ap ...
Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama. The performances of the show's cast have been particularly recognized, with Julianna Margulies, Archie Panjabi, Christine Baranski, and Josh Charles each receiving widespread acclaim. The show was also lauded for its insight on social media and the internet in society, politics, and law. It received recognition for producing full 22-episode seasons while other similarly acclaimed dramas often produce only 6 to 13 episodes per season. CBS announced on February 7, 2016, that the show was ending with its seventh season. The final episode aired on May 8, 2016. A spinoff titled ''
The Good Fight ''The Good Fight'' is an American legal drama produced for CBS's streaming service CBS All Access (later Paramount+). It is the platform's first original scripted series. The series, created by Robert King, Michelle King, and Phil Alden Robi ...
'', centered around Baranski's character Diane Lockhart and Cush Jumbo's Lucca Quinn, also starring
Rose Leslie Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie (born 9 February 1987) is a Scottish actress who rose to fame as Gwen Dawson in the ITV drama series ''Downton Abbey'' and Ygritte in the HBO fantasy series '' Game of Thrones''. She starred as Maia Rindell for t ...
and
Delroy Lindo Delroy George Lindo (born 18 November 1952) is an English-American actor. He is the recipient of such accolades as a NAACP Image Award, a Satellite Award, and nominations for a Drama Desk Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Tony Award, two Critics' Cho ...
, premiered in February 2017.


Premise

The series focuses on Alicia Florrick (Margulies), whose husband Peter (Noth), the former
Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 2 ...
State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...
, has been jailed following a notorious political corruption and sex scandal. After having spent the previous 13 years as a stay-at-home mother, Alicia returns to the workforce as a litigator to provide for her two children.


Production


Conception

Writers Michelle and Robert King wanted to create a series that focused on the wife of a high-profile politician following a public sex scandal. They got the idea after they observed prominent American scandals of this nature, such as those involving President Bill Clinton and North Carolina Senator
John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents Geor ...
. The image of a wife standing silently beside her husband as he publicly admits to his sexual or political misconduct had become cliché, according to Robert King. This image led the Kings to question why these women stood by their husbands, as well as to wonder about the events that followed on that initial announcement. They were further intrigued by the fact that many of the wives were lawyers who had halted their personal careers for the sake of their husbands' professional ambitions. The actual idea for the series was first postulated in the weeks following the
Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal On March 10, 2008, ''The New York Times'' reported that Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer had patronized a prostitution ring run by an escort agency known as Emperors Club VIP. During the course of an investigation into the escort agency, the ...
of 2008. As Michelle King explains:


Production team

The series was created by Michelle and Robert King, who serve as executive producers and show runners. The pair had produced the short-lived legal drama ''
In Justice ''In Justice'' is an American police procedural television series created by Michelle King and Robert King. The series began airing on Sunday, January 1, 2006, on ABC as a midseason replacement and assumed its regular night and time on Friday ...
'' that aired as a mid-season replacement in early 2006. The creators had previously worked extensively in feature films. Scott Free productions helped to finance ''The Good Wife'' and
Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...
,
Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Da ...
(until his death) and David W. Zucker are credited as executive producers. Executive producer Dee Johnson added television writing experience to the team.
Charles McDougall Charles McDougall is a British Emmy Award and BAFTA-winning director. Biography McDougall has directed for popular television series which include the pilot episode of ABC's ''Desperate Housewives'' (which includes the unaired pilot as well). ...
directed the pilot episode and was the pilot's other executive producer. McDougall had previously enjoyed success as the director of the pilot for ''
Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a tota ...
''. All seven executive producers returned when a full series was ordered and they were joined by executive producer Brooke Kennedy. McDougall left the crew after directing and executive producing the second episode. The series is produced by Bernadette Caulfield who had previously worked on the HBO polygamy drama ''
Big Love ''Big Love'' is an American drama television series that aired on HBO from March 12, 2006 to March 20, 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah that practices polygamy, with Jeanne Trippl ...
''; co-producer Ron Binkowski added post production experience to the pilot and returned for the first season. Several new producers were added to the crew once CBS ordered a full season. Angela Amato Velez joined the crew as a consulting producer and writer bringing legal experience from her careers as a police officer and legal aid attorney and writing experience from the police dramas ''
Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 26, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced b ...
'' and '' Southland''.
Todd Ellis Kessler Todd Ellis Kessler is an American television producer and writer. He has worked in both capacities on varied series including '' The Practice'', ''Crossing Jordan'', ''Kevin Hill'', ''The Unit'' and ''The Good Wife''. He has been nominated for dayt ...
, who had recently completed production on ''
The Unit ''The Unit'' is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009 with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled a ...
'', and had previously worked on legal drama ''
The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in 1 ...
'', joined the staff as a co-executive producer and writer. Ted Humphrey served as a supervising producer and writer and then as co-executive producer and writer.
Corinne Brinkerhoff Corinne Noel Brinkerhoff (born 1979) is an American television writer and producer. She has worked on the series '' The Good Wife'' and ''Boston Legal''. She was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for best new series in 2010. Backgro ...
completed the production team as a writer and co-producer. Brinkerhoff had previously worked as a writer and story editor on ''
Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal drama and comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, t ...
''. David W. Zucker is an executive producer on the show, having been nominated for four Primetime Emmys and one
PGA Award The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing establishment w ...
. His credits included ''
Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a f ...
'', ''
The Pillars of the Earth ''The Pillars of the Earth'' is a historical novel by British author Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. Set in the 12th century, the novel covers the time between the ...
'', and ''Law Dogs''. Although the series is set in Chicago, it was filmed in New York. The Kings and the writing staff are based in Los Angeles, and use teleconferencing to plan with the director of each episode. Authenticity of plot and characters was achieved through the use of script consultants, including Karen Kessler, who is a founding member and president of Evergreen Partners Inc., a public relations and events planning firm.


Cast and characters


Main characters

*
Julianna Margulies Julianna Margulies (; born June 8, 1966) is an American actress. After several small television roles, Margulies achieved wide recognition for her starring role as Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama series '' ER'' (1994–2009), ...
as Alicia Florrick. The wife of Peter, a disgraced
State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...
, Alicia returns to work as a junior litigator at the law firm Stern, Lockhart & Gardner thanks to the support of her old law school friend Will Gardner, for whom she has feelings. Having spent so many years as "the good wife", she finds herself at the bottom of the career ladder, trying to juggle both home and professional life with the ongoing scandal surrounding her husband, with whom she has two children, Zach and Grace. Alicia is smart, independent, fiercely protective of her children, and much more than just a good wife. She excels at keeping a cool exterior. She is rarely ruffled and almost always thinks through what she is going to say, choosing her words for maximum impact or sting. Alicia graduated top of her class from
Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...
in the mid-1990s. After graduation she worked at Crozier, Abrams & Abbott for about two years but left to focus on her kids and Peter's career. Her struggles to go back to work, and how she is penalized for the " mommy gap", are seen as emblematic of the work/life struggles of real working women. She and her gay younger brother, Owen, have a loving relationship despite having personalities that are polar opposites. In Season 3, Alicia is a third-year associate at the firm. She and Peter are separated, and she has an affair with Will, but, by mid-season, she breaks it off. Alicia struggles with her feelings for Peter. She is deeply hurt and has not entirely forgiven him, but she still loves him. Toward the end of Season 3, Peter announces his candidacy for governor of Illinois; Alicia stands at his side as he makes the announcement. In Season 4, Alicia gets and takes a promotion as an
equity partner A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments o ...
of the firm and begins planning to start a new firm with Cary. After Will dies in Season 5, Alicia goes into a period of mourning, and separates from Peter, maintaining their marriage for the sake of their careers. In Season 6, Alicia runs for State's Attorney and develops a friendship with prosecutor Finn Polmar. Soon after winning the election, Alicia is caught up in an electoral fraud scandal, and though innocent, must resign her post. Broken and humiliated once again, she returns to law, working initially as a bond court lawyer before starting a small private practice in her apartment. *
Matt Czuchry Matthew Charles Czuchry (; born May 20, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Logan Huntzberger on The WB television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2005–2007) and Cary Agos on the CBS television drama ''The Good Wife'' (2009–2 ...
as Cary Agos, a young Harvard-educated lawyer. In the first season, he is a first year associate at Lockhart Gardner with Alicia Florrick. In the first episode, it is established that there is only one permanent position, putting Cary into competition with Alicia. At the end of the first season, the firm selects Alicia, and Cary goes to work for the state attorney's office. In season three, Cary is appointed Cook County Deputy State's Attorney, though he subsequently is demoted for having an in-office affair. Dissatisfied with the demotion, he accepts an offer to return to Lockhart Gardner. He is often placed in rivalry with Alicia and sometimes resents her for this and her political connections thanks to her husband, Peter Florrick, the disgraced State's Attorney. His own career trajectory takes many twists and turns, often because of bad luck, but Cary maintains his integrity and loyalty to individual relationships he has formed. He seems to have a crush on Kalinda Sharma, the firm's investigator. It is later revealed that Cary has a very difficult and distant relationship with his father, Jeffrey Agos, a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., who does not ever seem to think Cary is good enough. As season four ends, after not getting the partnership at Lockhart Gardner that he sought, he forms a new firm bringing with him the other fourth year lawyers at the firm, and manages to convince newly minted Lockhart Gardner partner Alicia to come with them. *
Archie Panjabi Archana Panjabi (born 31 May 1972) is a British actress. She has had various roles in both UK and US television including as Maya Roy in ''Life on Mars'' (2006–07), Nas Kamal in NBC crime drama '' Blindspot'' (2016–17, 2020), Kendra Malle ...
as Kalinda Sharma (seasons 1–6), the firm's in-house investigator. Kalinda previously worked for Peter for three years. He fired her after accusing her of working two jobs. Kalinda is unflappable, inscrutable, fiercely private, and occasionally physically violent. She is exceptionally good at her job, although her tactics are not always strictly legal. She is often the key to the firm's winning a case, usually at the eleventh hour. She generally does not work well with others. Although Kalinda does not let many people close to her, she becomes good friends with Alicia, with the aid of tequila shots, and she feels protective of her. After becoming friends, Alicia finds out Kalinda had a one-night stand with Peter before she knew Alicia, damaging their friendship; over time, the two start to reconcile. Kalinda has a cynical, misanthropic outlook on human behavior. She is openly bisexual and has a series of relationships through the show, mostly with women and often because they can help her with a case. Kalinda once claimed that she prefers women because to her, women are better lovers than men for women understand her needs and feelings better. Very little is known about Kalinda when the series begins, and she is incredibly secretive about her past. The character's signature wardrobe piece has become a pair of knee-high boots; the character initially wore
pumps A pump is a device that moves fluids ( liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they ...
but Panjabi felt that boots "grounded her in the character". In Season 4, it is revealed that Kalinda has an estranged abusive husband, Nick Saverese, played by
Marc Warren Marc Warren (born 20 March 1967) is an English actor, known for his British television roles. His roles have included Albert Blithe in '' Band of Brothers'', Danny Blue in '' Hustle'', Dougie Raymond in ''The Vice'', Dominic Foy in '' Stat ...
. Kalinda also grows romantically close with Cary. In Season 6, she desperately tries to save Cary from a malicious prosecution on drug-related charges while Alicia is busy running for office, and at a point of desperation, fakes a Brady violation through computer hacking to have Cary's charges dropped. Later, when her deception is caught, she is forced to surrender drug dealer Lemond Bishop to the State's Attorney's office in order to spare Diane from prosecution, as Diane had unknowingly used the fake evidence in court. In order not to be found by Bishop for turning him over to the state's attorney office, Kalinda disappears for her own safety. * Graham Phillips as Zachary "Zach" Florrick (seasons 1–5; recurring seasons 6–7), the teenage son of Alicia and Peter Florrick. He is the elder of the Florricks' two children, the older brother of Grace Florrick, grandson of Jackie Florrick and Veronica Loy (Alicia's mother), and nephew of Owen Cavanaugh. Zach has an interest in politics, at one point joining Peter's campaign as an intern. Zach is smart, stubborn and also has a strong sense of right and wrong, which has led him to not be afraid of questioning authority figures at times. Zach's computer skills and technical know-how also expose lies that are being spread about his dad. Beyond his computer skills, he shows an aptitude for using the law like his mother. He is protective of his mom because of what his father has put her through. Zach is coping with his parents' separation and starting at a new school and also starting to date. Throughout the series, Zach dates the scheming Becca and later a girl named Neesa who happens to be of Somali origin and whose race and religion are occasionally brought into his father's campaign, which causes some issues. This becomes complicated when his father is released from prison and contemplates a run for office, making his children's life political fodder, despite their mother's best efforts. Zach eventually goes to Georgetown University. *
Makenzie Vega Makenzie Jade Vega Norfolk (born February 10, 1994), known professionally as Makenzie Vega, is an American actress. She is known for her role as Grace Florrick on ''The Good Wife'' and as the 11-year-old counterpart of Nancy Callahan in ''Sin C ...
as Grace Florrick, the teenage daughter of Alicia and Peter Florrick. She is the younger of the Florricks' two children, the younger sister of Zach Florrick, granddaughter of Jackie Florrick and also Veronica Loy (Alicia's mother), and niece of Owen Cavanaugh. Although pretty and compassionate, she is friendless, which is most likely due to her personality. She begins to become deeply religious, thanks to a friend at school, much to her mother's bemusement, and Alicia tries to be supportive in spite of her own atheist outlook. Grace is naïve and young for her age. She has a tutor, Jennifer, who likes to bust out dancing in public. She has many questions about her father's infidelity, which she does not understand. She previously idolized her father, and despite his sins, she wants her parents to get back together. Grace was not happy about the move from their house in Highland Park to their apartment, and initially struggles to make friends in school. In the final season, she provides clerical support for her mom when Alicia starts a new legal business out of their apartment. *
Josh Charles Joshua Aaron Charles (born September 15, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for the roles of Dan Rydell on '' Sports Night; '' Will Gardner on ''The Good Wife'', which earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations; and his early wo ...
as Will Gardner (seasons 1–5; guest seasons 6–7), a name partner at Stern, Lockhart & Gardner. An old friend of Alicia's, in the pilot he helped her get a job with the firm and is constantly trying to avoid appearing as if he favors her. This is complicated by the fact that the two have feelings for each other. Will and Alicia have an affair beginning at the end of season two. In season three they break up when Alicia's daughter goes missing, and Alicia decides she needs to focus more on her children. He is seen as very much of a ladies' man throughout the series and had various love affairs and girlfriends. Will generally had a good working relationship with Diane Lockhart, his co-managing partner at the firm, and the two demonstrate a shrewd ability to guide their business, even through difficult times. Will plays in a regular pick-up basketball game with other attorneys and judges, and has friendships with the players that are eventually scrutinized. During season three, Will is suspended from practicing law for six months as punishment stemming from an old bribery scandal but returns to the firm in season four. In season five after much planning, Alicia and Cary leave Lockhart & Gardner to start their own firm; Will takes this betrayal personally. In Episode 15 of the fifth season, he is shot and killed in the courtroom by his client Jeffrey Grant (played by
Hunter Parrish Hunter Parrish Tharp (born May 13, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing the role of Silas Botwin in the Showtime series '' Weeds'' and for his performances in the Broadway productions of ''Godspell'' in the role of Jes ...
). * Christine Baranski as
Diane Lockhart Diane Lockhart is a character of CBS television series ''The Good Wife'' and is portrayed by Christine Baranski, who has received acclaim for her performance, such as being nominated for six consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Suppor ...
, a name partner at the firm: She is liberal and is a champion of women's causes. She has strong opinions on many issues, including on guns and violence, although in one plot line she had a romantic relationship with a conservative ballistics expert. She speaks fluent French and seems to have an active social life. Among her paramours is Kurt McVeigh, a firearms expert and conservative Republican, whom Diane is drawn to despite their political opposites and her dislike of guns, and they eventually marry. Although she is initially skeptical of Alicia Florrick's abilities as a lawyer when she joins the firm, Diane becomes a sort of mentor to her. But she is a mentor at a distance, and her support often comes by way of cryptic advice that only points Alicia in the right direction. She does not hesitate to tell anyone when she thinks they are wrong. Diane is often torn between supporting Alicia and Cary Agos when the two are in competition. * Alan Cumming as Eli Gold (seasons 2–7; recurring season 1), Peter Florrick's campaign strategist and crisis manager. Eli consults for Peter when he considers a return to office. His style of management is to be blunt, often rude. Eli is politically astute and does not waste time with niceties. Eli is separated from his wife, Vanessa Gold, who has political aspirations of her own, and has a daughter, Marissa, who is similarly outspoken like her mother and shares a healthy relationship with her father. Eli believes that securing the support of Peter's wife Alicia is crucial to any ambitions he may harbor, and he quickly realizes that Alicia is no pushover and his usual wife-coddling techniques will not work. He mostly seems to respect the boundaries Alicia sets up, particularly where they concern her children Zach and Grace. As a top political consultant who is also an expert in damage control, Eli has talks with Diane Lockhart and Will Gardner about joining their firm in some way. Eli seems genuinely invested in Peter Florrick and respects both him and Alicia, although she is often a frustrating enigma to him. He has a brief shot at romance with Natalie Flores, a student who worked in the past as a nanny for Wendy Scott-Carr. Eli leaks details to the press of Natalie's status as an illegal immigrant but as he comes to know her he is seen to regret this and later helps her get a job as an intern at Lockhart & Gardner. Cumming's portrayal of Gold has been compared to
Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...
. He became a main character in season two. Eli is Jewish, but not very religious. He does, however, request the Sabbath off. In season 5 Peter asks him to be his chief of staff, which position Eli accepts. * Zach Grenier as David Lee (seasons 5–7; recurring seasons 1–4), head of Family Law, a divorce lawyer, and an equity partner at Lockhart Gardner. The Family Law division is responsible for a sizeable chunk of the firm's income, so David has more sway than Diane or Will would like. David is misanthropic and is prone to scowling, sarcasm and being directly rude to people when he thinks things are not going his way. More than anything, he is unambiguously concerned with making money. He particularly hates Julius Cain, the firm's head of litigation and an equity partner. Nevertheless, at rare moments, Alicia Florrick turns to him for help and he comes through. Although no easy judge of character, he has a liking for Alicia's mother, and sporadically asks Alicia about her. After recurring in the first four seasons, he was promoted to a series regular for the fifth season. *
Matthew Goode Matthew William Goode (born 3 April 1978) is a British actor. Goode made his screen debut in 2002 with ABC's TV film feature ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister''. His breakthrough role was in the romantic comedy '' Chasing Liberty'' (2004), fo ...
as Finley "Finn" Polmar (seasons 5–6). Introduced in the fifteenth episode of the fifth season, Finn Polmar is the Assistant State's Attorney who prosecuted Jeffrey Grant (played by
Hunter Parrish Hunter Parrish Tharp (born May 13, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing the role of Silas Botwin in the Showtime series '' Weeds'' and for his performances in the Broadway productions of ''Godspell'' in the role of Jes ...
) who was being defended by Will Gardner. During a shooting in the courtroom, Finn is wounded pulling a dying Will to safety. As Finn recovers from his injuries, Alicia later seeks him out looking for answers after Will's death, and even acts as Finn's lawyer when the State's Attorney's Office tries to scapegoat him. In the sixth season, he is the Assistant State's Attorney up against Florrick-Agos, trying to take down one of their top clients, drug kingpin Lemond Bishop (played by
Mike Colter Mike Randal Colter (born August 26, 1976) is an American actor best known for his role as Luke Cage in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the streaming television series ''Luke Cage'' (2016–2018), '' The Defenders'' (2017), and ''Jess ...
). Finn leaves the State's Attorney office midway through the Sixth Season to start his own practice, and he represents Alicia in exit negotiations with Cary and Diane, though he declines Alicia's invitation to work with her. Finn's sister died of a drug overdose, he is divorced, and has a son. At one point Finn confides in Alicia that he and his wife had a miscarriage. Finn's character was intended to help fill the gap Will's death left behind, but he left the show after season six. * Cush Jumbo as Lucca Quinn (season 7). A bond court attorney who Alicia encounters at the start of the seventh season. They soon become business partners and develop a close friendship. *
Jeffrey Dean Morgan Jeffrey Dean Morgan (born April 22, 1966) is an American actor of television and film, best known for playing the character Negan in the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2016–2022), for which he has received critical acclaim. ...
as Jason Crouse (season 7). A calm, experienced hourly investigator whom Alicia hires in the seventh season, where he becomes a love interest to Alicia.


Recurring characters


Episodes


Season 1

As a junior associate at a prestigious Chicago law firm, Alicia Florrick joins her longtime friend, former law school classmate and firm partner Will Gardner, who is interested in rekindling their former relationship. The firm's top litigator and other partner, Diane Lockhart, likes Alicia's work and her connections, so she and Will award her with a full-time associate position following a trial period. Alicia beats out Cary Agos, a clever young attorney who takes a job in the state's attorney's office, now bitter and vengeful. Alicia finds an ally and a friend in Kalinda, the firm's tough and mysterious in-house investigator. Gaining confidence every day, Alicia transforms herself from embarrassed politician's scorned wife to resilient career woman, especially for the sake of providing a stable home for her children, 14-year-old Zach and 13-year-old Grace. Now that Peter is back home and planning to run for office again with help from Eli Gold, his cunning image consultant, Alicia continues to redefine herself and her role in her family's life.


Season 2

Season 2 begins where season 1 left off with Will confessing his affection for Alicia and Alicia asking if he has a plan. Before the plan is conceived, however, Eli Gold takes possession of Alicia's phone and deletes a pivotal voicemail. Alicia, now under the impression that Will has lost interest in her, suppresses her feelings for Will, and the workplace environment becomes awkward when they are in vicinity of each other. With Alicia as a 2nd year associate after being chosen over Cary Agos, who has now been hired as a Deputy State's Attorney leading to Lockhart & Gardner, they often find themselves battling each other in court. Peter, now released from prison and cleared of charges, begins his campaign to run as State's Attorney against current State's Attorney Glenn Childs. A new main partner, Derrick Bond, joins the firm Lockhart & Gardner—now known as Lockhart Gardner & Bond. However, a feud between Diane and Will occurs when Will begins siding with Derrick Bond's suggestions. Diane requests Kalinda to check into Will's and Derrick's past. She discovers that they had a connection in Will's old law firm in Baltimore. At the same time, a new investigator joins the law firm—Blake Calamar. Brought in by Derrick Bond, he is determined to uncover Kalinda's past. When Will discovers that Bond has also been deceiving him, Will and Diane work together to remove Bond as a main partner, but wait until Bond brings in a "super PAC" (political action committee) client worth $100million a year. Blake and Alicia feud, and Blake eventually uncovers that Kalinda had changed her name from "Leela" and that Leela slept with Peter Florrick when she used to work for him in the State's Attorney's office. Alicia finds out about the affair on the night that Peter wins the election for State's Attorney. Now separated from Peter, she develops stronger feelings for Will and begins a sexual relationship with him.


Season 3

Season 3 takes place the following morning after season 2 with Alicia now as a third year litigator on track to become partner while having an affair with her boss Will Gardner. She is given an office on the 29th floor, the only third year litigator with an office on that floor. Peter Florrick's crisis manager Eli Gold joins the firm to prepare for Peter's campaign for Governorship of Illinois, while Alicia acts as a bridge between Lockhart & Gardner and his campaign. Peter, now as State's Attorney, battles with Lockhart & Gardner from case to case while the firm begins to get a short-term liquidity problem. Diane and Will try to acquire a bankruptcy department from a competing law firm that is closing down due to the double dip recession, and they notice that a bankruptcy department is the only area that will survive a double dip recession. When Diane tries lobbying to become the State's Attorney's Civil Defender, she begins to suspect an affair between Will and Alicia. The affair, however, ends by mid-season after Alicia realizes she has been putting her needs before those of her children. The second half of the season focuses on Will Gardner being indicted for a crime he committed in his old law firm and ultimately being suspended for six months. Peter decides to run for
Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by ...
and Kalinda's past comes back as it is revealed she has a husband who is searching for her.


Season 4

Season 4 focuses on Lockhart & Gardner's efforts to come out from bankruptcy after rival lawyers Louis Canning and Patti Nyholm team up to take them down. A trustee, Clarke Hayden, is appointed to watch over the firm, but Will and Diane are not happy once he starts getting in their way. Trying to gain money, the firm offers partnership to some associates, because they need their initial payment. When the debt is cleared, only Alicia is made partner and the other offers are delayed. Feeling angry, Cary teams up with the other fourth-years to start a new firm. Meanwhile, Peter Florrick runs for Governor. Eli is once again leading his campaign, although things get complicated when he finds out he is being investigated. Alicia befriends Maddie Hayward, who sponsors her husband's campaign, but ultimately it turns out she is running up against him and Mike Kresteva. In a B plot Kalinda's past comes to haunt her in the form of her husband Nick. Once he starts threatening people in her life, she needs to get rid of him. The firm also hires a new investigator to help her at work – Robyn Burdine. On top of all, Alicia is back with Peter, but having a hard time suppressing her feelings for Will. Season 4 ends with Peter Florrick winning the race as Governor of Illinois and Alicia deciding to quit Lockhart Gardner and join Cary Agos in forming a new firm.


Season 5

Season 5 takes place after Alicia joins Cary in opening a new firm. They take some of Lockhart Gardner's (now known as LG) clients, but they need to survive under the fierce backlash of their ex-employers. After winning the elections, Peter is now governor. Eli is his chief of staff and is having some problems with Marylin Garbanza, Director of the Governor's Ethics Commission. Meanwhile, the investigation of a ballot box, full of fake votes for Peter, may ruin his career. At the end of episode 15, Will Gardner is fatally shot in a courtroom by his client. This had a tremendous effect on many of the characters, particularly Alicia, Diane and Kalinda, all of whom reconsidered the course of their respective careers following his death. Finn Polmar was also introduced as a new ASA who befriends Alicia. Alicia decides to split up with Peter but will stay married in the public eye, as it benefits both of their careers. Louis Canning joins Lockhart Gardner as a partner and keeps Will's name on the letterhead, making the firm "Lockhart Gardner and Canning"; he and David Lee plot to kick Diane out of the firm. At the end of Season 5, Diane asks if she could join Florrick Agos with her $38million in clients. Zach goes away to college and Eli asks Alicia if she would run for State's Attorney.


Season 6

Season 6 begins with Cary getting arrested having been charged with helping traffic $1.3million worth of heroin. Diane's offer to join Florrick/Agos stands on the condition she gets an equal vote with Alicia and Cary. David Lee and Louis Canning get suspicious of Diane when she declares her intention to retire. Against Alicia's wishes, Eli conducts polling on a potential campaign for the State's Attorney office for Alicia and discovers that she has a very good chance of winning against the incumbent. With Cary in jail, Diane joins Florrick Agos to form Florrick Agos & Lockhart. Cary is let out on bail, but when he goes to a college reunion out of state, the terms of his bail are revised, and he is not allowed within 30 feet of Kalinda. In an FBI wiretap, it is revealed that Lemond Bishop had plans to assassinate Cary because he suspected Cary might turn. Bishop also pressures Kalinda into spying on her lover Lana Delany. Diane finds a void in the Lockhart Gardner and Canning building office contract and in a hostile takeover, evicts Canning, enabling Florrick Agos & Lockhart to move in. During Cary's cross examination, he takes a plea deal of four years. He's later cleared of all charges, in part because Kalinda faked evidence. Alicia Florrick wins the race for the State's Attorney's office over her competition, talkshow personality Frank Prady. The law firm comes under attack by hackers and five years of emails are leaked online in retaliation for their participation in a piracy case. Alicia is interviewed by journalist Petra Moritz in a post election "puff piece" where she unsuccessfully tries to exploit Alicia's past with Will via the hacked emails. When Alicia and Peter work together to thwart the bad press, Petra alleges that Alicia committed voter fraud by rigging voting machines. Andrew Wiley investigates the state's attorney's Brady violation against Cary and discovers Kalinda's fake evidence. Alicia is forced by the Democratic Party to resign as State's Attorney, to cover up that the voting machines were rigged for a more important Democratic candidate to protect the party's super majority in the state senate. Aware that evidence presented in Cary's defense was fraudulent, Geneva Pine pressures Kalinda to get evidence against Bishop while simultaneously pressuring Cary to do the same thing, playing their affections for one another against both. Kalinda successfully copies information from Bishop's computer onto a flash drive and attempts to frame a high-ranking member of Bishop's crew. Bishop is arrested, but his associates realize that Kalinda was responsible. In danger, she says goodbye to Cary and Diane, and leaves a note for Alicia. Attempting to find her, Cary goes to Kalinda's apartment and discovers it completely cleared out and ransacked - Kalinda has gone on the run.


Season 7

Season 7 begins with Alicia resisting going to work with Louis Canning and deciding to let Peter run for vice-president (as
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...
's running mate). Eli hires Ruth Eastman (Margo Martindale); however, she becomes Peter's campaign officer, leaving Eli out. Alicia, taking cases by herself, hires private investigator Jason Crouse (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in Kalinda's absence. Alicia finds a new ally in bar attorney Lucca Quinn (Cush Jumbo) and the two become friends, sharing cases. In the latter part of the season, Peter gets investigated for another corruption charge involving murder during his second term as State's Attorney by Assistant U.S. Attorney Connor Fox. Peter hires Elsbeth Tascioni's ex-husband Mike Tascioni after noting a conflict of interest. As Alicia throws a house party for Peter's mother, Jackie Florrick, Mike drops out, leaving Diane to represent Peter in his trial. Alicia asks Peter for a divorce and he agrees to it, once his trial is over. After Jason tells Alicia she will never divorce Peter if he goes to jail, Alicia focuses all her efforts on proving Peter's innocence, especially when Grace tells her she won't go to college if her father gets arrested. Alicia discovers a way to prove Peter's innocence by discrediting Diane's husband Kurt McVeigh after he made a mistake on the case when analyzing the guns used in the murder. After an argument with Diane, Alicia convinces Lucca to cross examine him on the stand, alluding to Kurt's indiscretions and infidelity leaving Diane humiliated. Eli begins moving political donors away from Peter, noting that it was Alicia all along who has real political potential even after a failed State's Attorney campaign. Peter is offered and takes a deal where he doesn't have to go to prison, but must resign from office as governor; he also begins divorce proceedings with Alicia but asks her to stand by his side one last time as he resigns from office. At his press conference, Alicia thinks she sees Jason waiting for her in a hallway and as soon the press conference finishes, walks off immediately, leaving Peter behind. After finding out it wasn't Jason waiting for her, Diane approaches Alicia before slapping her and walking off. Alicia is left alone in the hallway before fixing herself up and wiping away tears.


Technology and the Internet

''The Good Wife'' has been well received among technology enthusiasts, being described by Clive Thompson of ''Wired'' as "the most tech-savvy show on TV". The show has explored the relationship between technology and the law, covering topics including Bitcoin,
Anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anony ...
, viral marketing in political campaigns, voice control software, crisis management in the controversial AT&T and T-Mobile merger, virtual conferencing robots, and
NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collectio ...
surveillance. For example, one of the firm's recurring clients is a fictional internet search company known as ChumHum, which among other issues has faced privacy lawsuits for selling users' personal data to the Chinese and Syrian government. ''The Good Wife'' was the first TV show to feature Bitcoin, the virtual internet currency, with an episode featuring Bitcoin first broadcast in January 2012. This led to it achieving a high level of fame amongst the Bitcoin community. In the season five premiere, a Double Robotics robot was featured on the show which allowed a litigator to teleconference from home by controlling a tablet on wheels. However, rather than glorifying the robot's features, ''The Good Wife'' turned it into a punchline with practical jokes and problems the robot could have such as it not being able to maneuver around an office and bumping into walls, doors, and people and low Wi-Fi connectivity leading to buffering and loss of visual and voice communication of the person working at home. In season five episode nine, "Whack-a-Mole," ''The Good Wife'' featured a version of
Reddit Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, image ...
called "Scabbit" and how it affects the law and the downsides of having an "average joe" being an investigator trying to find a domestic terrorist. It also deals with injunctions of taking down a defamatory web page on "Scabbit" but having another similar web page pop up soon after. In season five episode eleven, "Goliath and David," the story is based around a TV show ''Drama Camp'' who stole an indie band's cover of a rap song and deals with the legality of copyright infringement. It was inspired by
Jonathan Coulton Jonathan William Coulton (born December 1, 1970), often called "JoCo" by fans, is an American folk/comedy singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans. Among his most popular songs are " Co ...
who created a cover of "Baby Got Back" and ''
Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3 ...
'', the TV series, which used an identical cover on the show. The character Robyn Burdine, a private investigator for Florrick/Agos, discovers that the show ''Drama Camp'' had to release the song on
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...
in Sweden before releasing it in the US and that the engineers directly ripped the indie band's track constituting actual theft. In season six episode two, the show tackles employee poaching in the workplace for social media companies and employee wage-fixing by ''The Good Wifes Google stand-in "ChumHum" and how they worked with other companies to fix employees' salaries. In season six episode five, Florrick, Agos and Lockhart deal with
ransomware Ransomware is a type of malware from cryptovirology that threatens to publish the victim's personal data or permanently block access to it unless a ransom is paid off. While some simple ransomware may lock the system without damaging any files, ...
on the office computers. In season six episode fifteen, the episode revolves around the case of a 3D printed gun that misfired and hit an innocent bystander. It takes an in-depth look at 3D printing and how modifications to CAD design, the printer model being used, and the environment a 3D printer is being used in can affect how an object is created and second amendment laws for downloadable firearms. In season six episode seventeen, "Undisclosed Recipients", the law firm's email system gets hacked as retaliation for a case with a movie studio suing "Wharf Master", the show's stand in for an illegal torrenting website. This begins an arc when the hackers forward further emails to Petra Morris, a journalist who is making a puff piece about Alicia Florrick's recent win for state's attorney. This leads to a voter fraud conspiracy resulting in an innocent Alicia withdrawing her name from contention for the State's Attorney's office. Season seven dealt with topics such as self-driving cars, Google's racial facial detection, racial bias in online mapping applications, and the NSA. Season seven episode fourteen deals with a case mirroring the missing iPhone Four prototype with a ChumHum iPad-like tablet. Season seven episode eighteen deals with the topic of regulating the use of drones and its impact on privacy versus commerce discussions.


Reception

''The Good Wife'' has received widespread acclaim from critics. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' says that ''The Good Wife'' "stands out among newer fall shows" and that it is "miles ahead of anything else that's on at the moment". In reviewing the first early episodes many critics praised the acting talents of the cast. The '' Chicago Tribune'' commended the show saying "one of the best parts of the show is Alicia's complicated relationship with her husband, who humiliated his family with a sex scandal but also appears to be a pawn in a larger game being played by high-level politicians". The ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...
'' report, in a review of the lead character's performance said, "Margulies puts a powerful combination of cold fury, bewilderment and tenacity into Alicia Florrick, the wife of a disgraced Chicago politician in a new series that readily admits it ripped itself from the headlines" while ''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' predicted that "With all four ctorsbringing their 'A' games to the pilot, it looks as if CBS could have another winning 10 o'clock drama." There were a few reservations as to the long-term success and plot of the show, with the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...
'' concluding that "There's nothing inherently wrong with ''The Good Wife'' other than it's a legal series with too many close-up shots of knowing glances and 'attagirl Alicia' moments of empowerment that you saw coming 20 minutes prior." ''
Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published Weekly newspaper, weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New ...
''s
James Poniewozik James "Jim" Poniewozik (; born July 12, 1968) is an American journalist and television critic. He is the chief TV critic for ''The New York Times''. Earlier in his career, he wrote ''Time'' magazine's ''Tuned In'' column for 16 years. Early life ...
named it one of the Top 10 TV Series of 2010 and 2011, saying, "The ability to keep growing: that's what makes a good ''Wife'' great." ''
The Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History A ...
'' in its list of the Top 10 series of 2011 ranked ''The Good Wife'' No. 3, explaining "The mix of fascinating legal drama and even more fascinating personal drama is superb." ''
AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...
'' named Alicia the 19th Most Memorable Female TV Character. Verne Gay of ''
Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'' said, "Like ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its fict ...
'', ''Wife'' has an obsessive attention to detail; it's a hurricane of detail, in the visual touches, legal patter and the actors' unspoken flourishes. Nothing seems extraneous or out of place. Also like ''Men'', this show cares as much about silence as words, or that which isn't said (also a form of eloquence)." Emily VanDerWerff of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...
'': "The series also feels impeccably researched and lived-in, just as ''
The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2, ...
'' did. ''The Good Wife'' may not seem like the logical successor to ''
The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2, ...
'' on the surface, but it's revealed itself to be a series nearly as complex, humane, and deep as that earlier show, and all in reduced network running-times with heightened restrictions on content." ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the G ...
'' (Bim Adewunmi): "But as the 100th episode – part of a near-flawless season five – shows, ''The Good Wife'' is uncommonly good. If you're looking for a quality drama box set to escape the family this Christmas, look no further. It has no smoking, brooding male anti-hero, and it's not a period piece, but ''The Good Wife'' is exciting and smart and underrated." ''The Guardian'' referred to ''The Good Wife'' as a "miracle of the small screen" that was "not really seen on that scale since the days of ''Cagney and Lacey''". As a broadcast network television show which is usually stigmatised compared to its cable competitors, it has received what is considered unusual acclaim: ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' said that ''The Good Wife'' is "broadcast's best drama", while ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' said that the show "is delivering the best drama on network television". ''
TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' referred to it as "the best thing on TV outside cable". TV critic Emily Nussbaum of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' compared Alicia Florrick, the show's protagonist, to
Walter White Walter White most often refers to: * Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad'' * Walter Francis White Walter Francis White (July 1, 1893 – March 21, 1955) was an American civil rights activi ...
of ''
Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hi ...
''. ''Esquire'' called ''The Good Wife'' "The Best Show on Television Right Now (Both Network and Cable)," claiming that the season five episodes "Hitting The Fan" and "The Next Day" were possibly the best television episodes produced that year, noting, "It's a rare show that starts to come into its own in the middle of its fifth season, but somehow CBS's ''The Good Wife'' has managed to do it." Chancellor Agard of ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' said, "'Hitting the Fan' is so momentous because of the degree to which it contrasts with last week's equally excellent episode, 'Outside the Bubble.'" Don Kaplan of the ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...
'' said, "Now the drama's in its fifth season, a time when most shows either go on autopilot or start offering "very special" shark-jumping episodes. But the producers and cast of ''Wife'' somehow managed to kick over the chessboard where the show has been played for years, scattering the pieces to the wind and reinventing ''The Good Wife'' as one of the most gripping dramas on television. Period." It was named the Favorite Current TV Show by the
Harris Poll The Harris Poll (legal name: Harris Insights and Analytics) is an American market research and analytics company that has been tracking the sentiment, behaviors and motivations of American adults since 1963. In addition to the traditional consulti ...
. In 2013,
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporate ...
ranked the series #59 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time. ''Rolling Stone'' described seasons six and seven as a "study in sprawl, with dozens of stranded characters and dead-end storylines: Alicia spent the show's sixth season running for political office only to end up right back where she started". ''Salon'' stated that season six "fell apart, seemingly overnight in the latter part of the season. On the eve of the finale, it's hard to tell what this season has been about: We watched an election, a stint in prison, an investigation of a drug dealer, and the aftereffects of voter fraud, but it has been difficult to assemble the events into a cohesive narrative." Season seven has received criticism for the "incredibly uneven lotting sucking so much of the vitality and urgency out of the show". ''Variety'' noted that in season seven that "there were notably more of subplots and segues that were, at best, time-fillers and at worst, eyeroll-inducing" and said it "was obvious that it was time for the show to go". ''TV.com'' observed that "obituaries for the show were already burying it instead of praising it, pointing to where it all went wrong, or that it wasn't even truly that great to begin with. An episode like 'End' solidified a lot of those arguments." The ''New York Times'' opined that season seven "never sparkled or caught fire the way the series did in its best seasons, when it was broadcast television's leading argument for continued relevance in the peak-TV era. The weekly legal cases — the show was resolutely procedural almost to the end — were still intelligently devised and briskly dispatched, but they felt familiar and not very urgent, and more than ever seemed to be lecturing viewers about current events", which was further "pummeled by cast defections and bad decisions". The finale episode of ''The Good Wife'', "End", generated a divided reaction among viewers and critics, with many praising it as a fitting ending to a complex character with others who argued of its ambiguity and absence of a conclusion – particularly with Alicia's love life. The finale drew controversy in its last scene when
Diane Lockhart Diane Lockhart is a character of CBS television series ''The Good Wife'' and is portrayed by Christine Baranski, who has received acclaim for her performance, such as being nominated for six consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Suppor ...
slaps Alicia Florrick for having betrayed her in court to save Peter from jail. Alicia is then left alone in a hallway before walking away to a future of uncertainty regarding her relationship with Jason, her career, and political life. ''Vanity Fair'' noting "As ''Breaking Bad'' famously tracked the evolution of Walter White 'from Mr. Chips to Scarface,' ''The Good Wife'' followed Alicia as she evolved into Peter. The Kings claim the show was 'moving in the direction where there wasn't much difference between who Alicia was and who her husband was.' Is Alicia a villain or an anti-hero? It's hard to quite see her that way after all the good she's done for so many seasons. But the inclusion of Will Gardner in the finale momentarily humanizes Alicia while also highlighting the idea that Alicia's transformation into Peter has been a longtime coming," and claiming that "the show's incredible finale belongs to an earlier age of television." Emily Nussbaum of ''The New Yorker'' said "it was an ending that commanded respect". The ensemble cast of ''The Good Wife'' had been praised as "one of the best casts in television, and it was supplemented with an awe-inspiring array of guest stars — one way for the Kings to flaunt the advantages of a network budget. Half the cast of ''
The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2, ...
'' passed through its halls, as did more Broadway stars than there are in heaven", although at the end of the series the guest stars were increasingly placed in "throwaway roles". However, with the exit of male lead Josh Charles (who played Will Gardner) in season five, Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya of ''
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'' opined that the show's "writers really struggled to rebuild that same type of long-term emotional storytelling. His departure left a gap that was never fully filled again." While reviewers acknowledged that Charles's departure was inevitable (and praised how Will was written off dramatically), they questioned decisions made by the writers for seasons six and seven that further hurt the show. Archie Panjabi's portrayal of Kalinda Sharma was well-regarded during the first three seasons, but Sonia Saraiya of ''
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...
'' felt that her character ended up sidelined by a much-criticized plotline in seasons four to six, amid a rumored rift between Panjabi and producer Julianna Margulies where they did not share any screen time for their final 50 episodes. In season seven, longtime stalwarts like Cary Agos and Diane Lockhart were reportedly marginalized to irrelevance with a lack of compelling storylines, in favor of promoting new characters like Lucca Quinn and Jason Crouse.


TV ratings


DVR ratings

Season Averages in ''Live+7'' DVR Ratings: * season 1: 14million viewers, DVR ratings: million * season 2: 14.059million viewers, DVR ratings: 2.257million * season 3: 12.100million viewers, DVR ratings: 1.880million * season 4: 11.523million viewers, DVR ratings: 2.075million * season 5: 12. million viewers, DVR ratings: million *season 6: 12.268million , DVR ratings: 2.522million ** 2013: With 11.7million viewers, the series ranks at ''No. 36'' among American TV primetime series. Among 18 to 49 viewers (106); 34 and under (223).


Awards and nominations

The series and its cast have won a number of awards.
Julianna Margulies Julianna Margulies (; born June 8, 1966) is an American actress. After several small television roles, Margulies achieved wide recognition for her starring role as Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama series '' ER'' (1994–2009), ...
has been widely recognized for her portrayal in the lead role, winning the
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
,
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
,
Critics' Choice Television Award The Critics' Choice Television Awards are accolades that are presented annually by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). They were established in 2011, and the first ceremony was held on June 20, 2011, and streamed live on VH1.com. The fourt ...
,
TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama The TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama is an award given by the Television Critics Association. Winners and nominees Multiple wins ;3 wins * James Gandolfini (consecutive) ;2 wins * Andre Braugher (consecutive) * Jon Hamm * Hugh La ...
, and twice for the
Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie and ...
. The series has also been nominated for five
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
s in its first four seasons, with Margulies winning the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama is a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). The award honors the best performance by an actress in a drama ...
for the first half of the first season in 2010. In addition, the series won a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
in 2010, and has been thrice nominated for the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast (or Ensemble) in a Drama Series is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest ensemble acting achievements in drama series. Winners and nominees 1990s 20 ...
and twice nominated for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series since its institution in 1951. The award goes to the producers of the series. The award is often cited as one of the "main awards" at the Emmys cerem ...
. In total, the series and its cast have been nominated for 35
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
s in its first five seasons. In 2010,
Archie Panjabi Archana Panjabi (born 31 May 1972) is a British actress. She has had various roles in both UK and US television including as Maya Roy in ''Life on Mars'' (2006–07), Nas Kamal in NBC crime drama '' Blindspot'' (2016–17, 2020), Kendra Malle ...
won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begin ...
for her portrayal as Kalinda Sharma. In 2011,
Julianna Margulies Julianna Margulies (; born June 8, 1966) is an American actress. After several small television roles, Margulies achieved wide recognition for her starring role as Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama series '' ER'' (1994–2009), ...
won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leadi ...
for her portrayal as Alicia Florrick. In 2012,
Martha Plimpton Martha Plimpton (born November 16, 1970) is an American actress. Her feature-film debut was in '' Rollover'' (1981); she subsequently rose to prominence in the Richard Donner film ''The Goonies'' (1985). She has also appeared in '' The Mosquito ...
won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a gues ...
for her portrayal as Patti Nyholm. In 2013,
Carrie Preston Carrie Preston (born June 21, 1967) is an American actress known for her work on the television series ''True Blood'', ''Person of Interest'', '' Crowded'', ''The Good Wife'', ''The Good Fight'', and ''Claws''. Preston received critical acclaim ...
won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a gues ...
for playing Elsbeth Tascioni. Nathan Lane was nominated for his guest role as Clarke Hayden. In 2014,
Julianna Margulies Julianna Margulies (; born June 8, 1966) is an American actress. After several small television roles, Margulies achieved wide recognition for her starring role as Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama series '' ER'' (1994–2009), ...
won her second
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leadi ...
for her work on ''The Good Wife'' with the winning episode "The Last Call". On December 12, 2013, the series received three
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
nominations for Best Television Series – Drama, Best Actress – Television Series Drama (Margulies), and Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film (Charles). On May 28, 2014, the series was nominated for five
Critics' Choice Television Award The Critics' Choice Television Awards are accolades that are presented annually by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). They were established in 2011, and the first ceremony was held on June 20, 2011, and streamed live on VH1.com. The fourt ...
s for Best Drama Series, Best Actress in a Drama Series (Margulies), Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Charles), Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Baranski), and Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series (Preston).


Broadcast

On October 7, 2009, CBS gave the series a full-season pickup, extending the first season from 13 to 22 episodes, later extended to 23 episodes.


Syndication

''The Good Wife'' has been sold in a complex multi-window deal that involves two streaming partners,
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology co ...
and
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...
; a
basic cable Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. with Data by SNL Kagan shows that about 58 ...
network,
Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies an ...
; for $400,000 per episode and
broadcast syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States wher ...
, for a combined license fee of nearly $2million per episode. "This is an off-network model for a unique serialized show in today's television ecosystem," said
Leslie Moonves Leslie Roy Moonves (; born October 6, 1949) is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation from 2003 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and ...
, President and CEO,
CBS Corporation The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and t ...
. Under the deal, the first six seasons of ''The Good Wife'' are available on
Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...
.
Hulu Plus Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...
rolled out previous seasons of the show in September 2013, while
Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies an ...
, which reportedly paid $350,000 and $400,000 per episode, began airing ''The Good Wife'' in January 2014. However, not long after premiering on the
Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies an ...
the show was pulled from the schedule. A weekend broadcast syndication run is scheduled to begin in September 2014, with the series sold in 85% of the country. The show received an average of 331,000 viewers on
Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies an ...
.


International

* In the United Kingdom,
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in ...
began airing ''The Good Wife'' on January 25, 2010. The series was later moved to
More4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When ...
due to a drop in ratings during the first season. The network aired seasons two to six. The seventh season premiered in January 2016. * In China, online video streaming websites
Youku Youku Tudou Inc. (formerly Youku Inc.), doing business as Youku (), is a video hosting service based in Beijing, China. It operates as a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Limited. Youku has its headquarters in the Sinosteel Plaza in Haidia ...
and
Sohu Sohu, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet company headquartered in the Sohu Internet Plaza in Haidian District, Beijing. Sohu and its subsidiaries offer advertising, a search engine (Sogou.com), on-line multiplayer gaming (ChangYou.com) and other se ...
had licensed the series until a government ban forced them to remove the show from their websites in April 2014. According to Julianna Margulies, the show was apparently banned over an episode they did with the Chinese government spying on its citizens with "Sleuth way", the show's stand-in for Facebook.


Spin-off

Michelle and Robert King stated in February 2016 that there was a possibility for a spin-off series. By May, CBS was in final negotiations to set up a spin-off, featuring Christine Baranski reprising her role as Diane Lockhart, that would air on streaming service CBS All Access instead of the network, and it was officially ordered to series on May 18 with Cush Jumbo returning as well. In September 2016, it was confirmed that the 10-episode series would premiere in February 2017. The story picks up a year after the final episode of the original series, with Diane pushed out of her firm after a financial scam wipes out her savings, resulting in her move to Lucca Quinn's firm.
Sarah Steele Sarah Jane Steele (born September 16, 1988) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Marissa Gold on the CBS legal drama series ''The Good Wife'' (2011–2016) and its CBS All Access spinoff series ''The Good Fight'' (2017–2 ...
was also added to the cast, returning as Marissa Gold and appearing as Diane Lockhart's secretary-turned-investigator. In October 2016, former '' Game of Thrones'' star
Rose Leslie Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie (born 9 February 1987) is a Scottish actress who rose to fame as Gwen Dawson in the ITV drama series ''Downton Abbey'' and Ygritte in the HBO fantasy series '' Game of Thrones''. She starred as Maia Rindell for t ...
was confirmed to play the role of Diane's goddaughter Maia, and
Delroy Lindo Delroy George Lindo (born 18 November 1952) is an English-American actor. He is the recipient of such accolades as a NAACP Image Award, a Satellite Award, and nominations for a Drama Desk Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Tony Award, two Critics' Cho ...
was added as Adrian Boseman.
Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He ret ...
and Bernadette Peters were cast as Maia's parents. The series' title ''The Good Fight'' was announced on October 31, 2016.


International remakes

''The Good Wife'' has been adapted or remade in various countries: * In South Korea, a deal was made between
Studio Dragon Studio Dragon Corporation () is a South Korean drama production, marketing and distribution company under CJ ENM's E&M division. It was established on May 3, 2016, as a spin-off from E&M Media Content. The company joined the KOSDAQ index of K ...
and CBS International for a localized remake series of ''The Good Wife''. The 16-episode miniseries premiered July 8, 2016, on
tvN TVN may refer to: * TVN (Australian TV channel), a former horse racing channel * Televisión Nacional de Chile, a public broadcaster * TVN (Indonesia), a former television station; predecessor of Rajawali Televisi * TVN (Norway), or TVNorge, a c ...
sharing the same name (Korean translation: 굿 와이프) and premise except the show examines politics and corruption in Seoul rather than in Chicago. The show was highly anticipated because it featured the return of one of Korea's biggest actresses,
Jeon Do-yeon Jeon Do-yeon (; born February 11, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She won Best Actress at the 60th Cannes Film Festival, making her the second Korean actress to win an acting award at a prestigious film festival, and Best Performance by an A ...
, to television after 11 years. It is the first ever US show to be remade in Korea. * In Japan, a deal was made with CBS international for a localized remake series of ''The Good Wife'', it premiered in January 2019 on TBS, under the same name (Japanese translation: グッドワイフ). * In Russia, Sony Pictures Television produced a localized remake series of ''The Good Wife''. It was broadcast on the national network NTV from November to December 2019; it shared the same title as the American original. * In Ireland on June 20, 2016, a 4-part drama series called ''Cheaters'' was ordered on RTÉ One, starring Irish actress
Amy Huberman Amy Huberman (born 20 March 1979) is an Irish actress and writer, which is known for her role as Daisy in the RTÉ drama series '' The Clinic''. In 2018, she began writing and starring in the comedy series ''Finding Joy''. Early life Huberman g ...
, which is based on ''The Good Wife''. The premise follows Tara, a solicitor who returns to work in law and start her own firm after learning that her husband has cheated. The show, later titled ''
Striking Out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...
'', ran for ten episodes over two seasons. * In India,
Disney+ Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar (also known as Hotstar) is an Indian brand of subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Novi Digital Entertainment of Disney Star and operated by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, both di ...
is doing an adaptation of the show with
Kajol Kajol Devgan (née Mukherjee; born 5 August 1974), known mononymously as Kajol, is an Indian actress. Described in the media as one of the most successful actresses of Hindi cinema, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six ...
in the lead. Mallika Sherawat also announced that she will be starring and producing an adaptation of the show in India. * In China, a remake was produced as ''Rose War''. The 40-episode series aired from August 8 to 27, 2022, on
CCTV-8 CCTV-8 is the television drama channel of the CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from ...
channel of the China Central Television Network. * In Vietnam, national television VTV made a deal with
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
for a localized remake series. It premiered on October 10, 2022, on
VTV3 VTV3 is a Vietnamese television channel operated and owned by government-owned Vietnam Television. Launched on 31 March 1996 as the country's first sports and entertainment integrated channel, its programs contained sporting events and entertai ...
under the name ''Journey to Justice'' (Vietnamese translation: ''Hành Trình Công Lý'').


References


Further reading

*


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Good Wife, The 2009 American television series debuts 2016 American television series endings 2000s American drama television series 2000s American legal television series 2000s American LGBT-related drama television series 2000s American political television series 2010s American drama television series 2010s American legal television series 2010s American LGBT-related drama television series 2010s American political television series Adultery in television American legal drama television series American political drama television series CBS original programming English-language television shows Lesbian-related television shows Peabody Award-winning television programs Serial drama television series Television franchises Television series about families Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Scott Free Productions Television series created by Robert and Michelle King Television shows filmed in New York (state) Television shows set in Chicago