‘The Good Wife’ Over? Longtime Producers Not Returning And Julianna Margulies Teases Her ‘Unemployment’
Julianna Margulies told a group of casting directors she might soon be looking for a job. The Good Wife star spoke at a Casting Society of America event honoring the show’s longtime producers, Robert and Michelle King. According to Vulture, Margulies implied she wouldn’t be at the center of the CBS political drama much longer.
“I surprised Robert and Michelle tonight. They didn’t know I was going to be here. They think I’m here for them, but I’m unemployed come April, and I think you haven’t seen me in a while, at least not in person, so I thought I should show up.”
Margulies’ comment, even if spoken in jest, added fuel to the speculation that The Good Wife won’t see life beyond its current seventh season. The Hollywood Reporter calls the show a “modest ratings performer” on CBS but with enough prestige to attract notable guest stars like Michael J. Fox and David Hyde Pierce. The show has a long list of award nominations and wins, including for its guest stars over past seasons.
Robert and Michelle King, who are synonymous with The Good Wife, are not returning if there is a Season 8. CBS president Glenn Gellar made the announcement earlier this month at the Television Critics Association but did not discount the show’s renewal, according to a Variety report.
In an interview with TV Line, Robert King seemed to say CBS is trying hard to keep The Good Wife, but the Kings planned a definite arch for the story of Julianna Margulies’ character, Alicia Florrick.
“The bottom line is CBS is trying to make deals for an eighth season, so we would be there in a supervisory role, but the storytelling we have will finish in the seventh year. That doesn’t mean we’re putting Alicia in her grave, because you couldn’t do an eighth season after that. But to our minds, we have always written with the idea we could end this season a certain way so that it would make it a satisfactory [conclusion to the] series.”
So far in Season 7, the show has revisited some old storylines. In particular, Eli recently told Alicia that he’d deleted a voicemail from Will Gardner in order to save the political career of Alicia’s husband. As Good Wife viewers know, Will later died. Alicia did not take the recent news well. In an interview, Margulies said the character was headed towards a “nervous breakdown.”
This season saw the introduction of a few new characters, including Cush Jumbo’s Lucca Quinn and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Jason Crouse. Gellar pointed to this new blood as well as significant behind-the-scenes talent as evidence the show reinvents itself and can continue without the Kings, according to THR.
“It could certainly go on. You can see every year the producers are able to reinvent what the show looks like. The show looks very different than it did three years and its still a fantastic show.”
Morgan recently told TV Guide he was open to staying on the show if there is a Season 8. The actor has a high-profile role on The Walking Dead, which could possibly make scheduling a challenge.
Variety noted that the show has continued despite some major cast changes. Archie Panjabi left last year and Alicia’s main love interest, Will, played by Josh Charles, died unexpectedly. But as the paper states, “it’s hard to imagine ‘The Good Wife’ continuing without its titular Good Wife.”
Season 7 of The Good Wife continues to air Sunday nights on CBS.
[Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images Entertainment]
