CBS' The Good Wife is on the cusp of many potential changes: Alicia's (Julianna Margulies) election has nearly arrived, and, Kalinda's (Archie Panjabi) exit is imminent. The world of Florrick/Agos/Lockhart isn't stable, and any number of things could tip the axis a bit too far into total disaster.
The Hollywood Reporter caught up with the cast and creators of The Good Wife to discuss the chances of Alicia becoming State's Attorney, Kalinda/Cary's (Matt Czuchry) relationship, potential character additions, Diane's (Christine Baranski) new client and more.
Can Alicia actually become State's Attorney?
With The Good Wife's election right around the corner, Alicia seemingly has the lead and is in line to become the next State's Attorney. Although the drama has been no stranger to shaking things up, would Alicia's victory — and subsequent removal from the law firm she helped start — be a move the network/studio would be comfortable letting the series make?
"They've been so generous [with big changes]," The Good Wife co-creator Michelle King acknowledged. "Cary Agos went and left the law firm for a season. We had Alicia spin off and have her own firm. We get to make big moves, which is fun."
"The DNA of the show always seems to be changing the status quo. We have the ability to blow it up," The Good Wife co-creator Robert King added, noting producers have the backing of the network, studio and CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves. "We've never had them say, 'What the hell are you doing? You have to reel this back in.' It's a bit like we're naughty kids, seeing what the parent allows us to do."
The Kalinda of it all.
Although Cary's freedom was on the line in the first half of the season, the second half could be more brutal for him: Kalinda — Cary's off and on love interest — will be exiting at the end of the season. "Cary and Kalinda's relationship has ebbed and flowed a long time throughout the six seasons," Czuchry pointed out. "So, that's going to be a major part of [his] storyline as it comes to the end [of the season]."
While the circumstances of Kalinda's exit are being kept under wraps, Czuchry isn't particularly hopeful the two could maintain a long-distance relationship. "It relationship wouldn't work," he said. "Hopefully there's some closure. I'd rather see, for [those] characters, closure — it's an iconic character ... and I think that closure for that character is important for the audience."
Read more 'Good Wife' Creators on Alicia's Complicated Relationships, Kalinda's Exit
With Kalinda's exit, the drama is losing another series regular a year after Josh Charles' (Will) departure and the Kings admit that they are thinking about new additions to the legal drama.
"We're having conversations with Mark Saks, our casting director," Robert King shared. "When you lose a regular, as we are with Archie Panjabi, you're always on the eye for someone [new]…it's not like we're like, 'Oh, let's get someone like Archie,' just like when we lost Josh Charles, we knew we didn't want Matthew Goode (Finn) to be an exact copy [of Will]. We're taking it a little slow, but we're also liking test driving this season; it's the advantage of not shooting a pilot, but being six seasons in — we're test driving actors."
But the duo played coy when asked which of the show's impressive guest cast they might want to keep around on a more regular basis. "All of them!" Robert King laughed. "We just got Oliver Platt (R.D.) on board, Carrie Preston (Elsbeth Tascioni), we wish we could. Martha Plimpton (Patti Nyholm). They're all being snapped up [by others]." Added Michelle King: "Which is good for TV, but not for us."
Diane's newest challenge.
In addition to Diane's brief marital strife with Gary Cole's Kurt, a new man will be causing some trouble in Diane's life: "I've got some delicious stuff because Kurt is back, and I have a story with Oliver Platt, whom I adore," Baranski teased. "Two great guys to work with."
Platt's R.D. is introduced in Sunday's hour, and "he's a billionaire Republican who hires me [through the firm] for a conservative think tank," Baranski shared. Naturally, their ideals don't necessarily line up, but he has a good reason to hire her: "He supports conservative causes, and he needs a liberal sensibility to vet out what's worth arguing and what the arguments would be. I've got a really fun one about gay marriage [in the April 5 episode]."
The Good Wife airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on CBS. What are you looking forward to seeing?
Twitter: @marisaroffman
