The Good Wife

The Good Wife is probably my most favorite tv show currently on the air.   No other show combines an overlapping story line, (some storylines go back more than a year) with the "procedural" content that has made shows like CSI and Law and Order so popular.  The fact that it does so with a cast that includes many Broadway veterans and every week usually also features several Broadway talent in the guest cast is just an added bonus.

The main story follows Alicia Florrick (Juliana Margulies), wife of Peter Florrick (Chris Noth), a former State's attorney who has been jailed following a corruption and sex scandal.   Alicia has to be "the good wife" in dealing with the public and personal fall out following Peter's trial and the fact that there is no longer any income coming into the household.   To do so, she returns to her former law firm life as an attorney and gets a job working at the law firm where her former law school friend Will Gardner  (Josh Charles) is a partner.  Their possible romantic relationship when they were at Georgetown, and the fact that Will still has feelings for Alicia add to the drama.  Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski), one of the other partners at the firm,  is an advocate for female lawyers but seems threatened by the relationship that Alicia and Will have.  Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi) is the firm's private investigator who has a very secretive past and was previously fired by Peter.  And then there is Cary Agos (Matt Czurchy), the much younger male junior associate who is in competition with Alicia for the one position the firm has and sometimes seems he'll stop at nothing to get it. Eli Gold (Alam Cumming) is Peter's campaign manager who also seems to stop at nothing to get what he wants.



Archie Panjabi as "Kalinda" and Julianna Margulies as "Alicia"

 One of the great things about the show is the dynamic between the characters. Kalinda has slowly been letting Alicia in on her personal life, but there is still a lot unknown.  With Kalinda and Cary it is in the love-hate category.  And with Alicia and Will it is the will they? or won't they? situation.

Margulies, Baranski, Noth, Charles and Cumming have all appeared on or off Broadway.  In the recurring cast, other Broadway/Off Broadway performers are Mary Beth Peil as Peter's mother, Graham Phillips as their son Zach, Anika Noni Rose as Peter's competition for State's Attorney, Scott Porter as another PI the firm hires, Michael Boatman as another partner at the firm and Dallas Roberts as Felicia's brother.   In addition to the recurring cast, many prominent actors have appeared as judges, defendants and even jurors including Bobby Steggert, Tovah Feldshuh, James Carpinello, Denis O'Hare, Kate Burton, Mamie Gummer, Karen Olivo, Martha Plimpton, Ana Gasteyer and the real life husband and wife duo of Chris Sarandon and Joanna Gleason who have played judges but not on the same episode.

Main Second Season Cast

If you haven't yet become a fan of The Good Wife, what are you waiting for?


Amazon link for the dvd Season 1 box set - The Good Wife: The First Season