Getting what you want may not be a good thing.
That's the theme for the remaining episodes of The Good Wife's fourth season, now that Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) is Lockhart/Gardner's newly named equity partner.
"The second half of the year, for us, is be careful what you wish for because you're not going to like it," co-creator/executive producer Robert King told reporters Monday afternoon during a conference call. "Suddenly they have all these means and yet relationships can become strained as a result of that," co-creator/executive producer Michelle King said of the law firm's new standing.
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Producers also addressed going up against ratings heavyweight (and younger-skewing) The Walking Dead on Sunday evenings, among other scripted fare.
"At this stage of the game in season four, we're focusing on the characters and telling the best version of The Good Wife as we can," said King. "We're really not trying to pander or go outside what makes the show." Robert King agreed: "The DNA of the show is what it is. To me, the youthful spirit is in the storytelling and the cases."
Here are 10 hints on season four -- and their thoughts on a season five renewal:
Will Alicia choose between Will and Peter (again)? The love triangle between the three is gearing up again, but not in the same way as it has in the past. "Now things are warming up with Peter (Chris Noth) again and she does see a change in Peter," Robert King said. "It's a difficult situation because the sexuality with Will (Josh Charles) doesn't go away. Because they have this weak moment that involved a kiss, it puts Alicia in a very difficult position, which I think is most interesting: What happens when the drama doesn't give the character an easy out? ... We're going to explore that through the end of the year." But don't expect Alicia to pick a side. "It's not a direction we want to go because we went there. It's going to be mixed up with what's going on in the firm too. We want to explore the moral dimensions of it, not the Team Will or Team Peter dimension," King said.
Awkward Alicia and Will phase: "One of the things we wanted to suggest is this kiss, which acts like a dividing line between the beginning of the year to the end of the year, have all these ripples in a pond," King said. Not only do they realize they shouldn't be in rooms together, "it propels Alicia and Will in opposite directions just to avoid that contact again: Alicia to Peter and Will to Amanda Peet's character."
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Who will be the new Illinois governor? The Illinois gubernatorial election with Peter, Maddie Hayward (Maura Tierney) and Mike Kresteva (Matthew Perry) will take place this year. As to who will become victorious? "Yes, we're going to answer that by the end of the year," Robert King answered.
Is Lockhart/Gardner headed for more turmoil? Though the firm has recovered and is becoming rich, producers suggest that internal conflict will be a big obstacle. "Civil war is where we're basically headed with the firm," King said. One aspect of that will be Lockhart/Gardner hiring a new P.I. Robyn Burdine (Jess Wexler), which puts Kalinda's future in potential jeopardy. "There's a complicated dynamic that exists between these two," King said. That arc begins next Sunday.
What becomes of Cary and Kalinda? The preview for the coming episodes hinted that Cary and Kalinda may be revisiting the "more than friends" aspect to their pairing. "Kalinda really likes when Cary is in take-no-prisoners mode, when he's not the suburban wife boy," King said.
Alicia vs. Diane? There was a more aggressive Alicia in this past Sunday's episode when she went up against Diane (Christine Baranski). Will there be more of that? "Alicia is slowly going to venture into a place where she can challenge these name partners more and more," King said. "In many ways, it creates a stronger, confrontational mode between Alicia and Diane."
Producers are expecting a season five: To put it bluntly, the Kings are prepping the end of the season as if CBS will be bringing back the critically hailed drama for another run. "We have every reason to think we're coming back," Michelle King said, with her husband revealing that they are "writing as if we're coming back. A likely season-ending cliffhanger?
How much did they cut of the Kalinda/Nick arc? Producers revealed more about the amount of story that they threw out for the Kalinda and Nick storyline that drew the ire of some viewers, saying that they cut about three episodes. In order to wrap it up, they accelerated the plot to finish it off before the December break so when the show returned, "we would re-engage on the new plots that were going," Robert King said. "Fan reaction obviously had something to do with it." Did Kalinda end Nick for good? "Can I leave that open-ended?" King asked coyly.
Returning guest stars: Mamie Gummer will be back in episode 21.
Fringe drops by: When John Noble drops by (as one of Alicia's old clients), he will appear in flashbacks. (His character is introduced with a gunshot to the head.) Robert King also directed the episode.
The Good Wife airs at 9 p.m. Sundays on CBS.
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