The Good Wife Bosses Preview Kalinda's Exit, Tensions at the Firm and Diane's Wild Side

Robert and Michelle King on the CBS drama's big return on March 1

By Chris Harnick Feb 27, 2015 6:30 PMTags
The Good WifeCBS

At long last, The Good Wife is back on Sunday, March 1 with "Dark Money," the first new episode since January.

When we last checked in with Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies), Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski), Cary Agos (Matt Czuchry), Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi) and the rest of The Good Wife gang, things weren't exactly peachy keen.

Alicia confronted Cary and Diane about making a key decision without her and lobbed the big "s word" at Diane—sexist—regarding her stance on Alicia's continued campaign for State's Attorney. Cary finally escaped the drug charges…but at what cost? Kalinda has now committed crimes and made a deal with the devil: Lemond Bishop (Mike Colter).

What's next? We got the scoop from executive producers and co-creators Robert King and Michelle King.

What's the status of Alicia and Diane since their blowout where Alicia called Diane sexist? Is there still tension between them or is it water under the bridge?
Robert
: Oh, there's tension between them. It's interesting because they've become more like peers, and sometimes what happens when someone becomes your peer is grudges are held longer. [Laughs.] So I think there are some things that need to be patched up there.

Will we see that down the line?
Robert
: You'll see changes in the relationship; can we leave it at that?

Their relationship is so beautiful. That scene where they reclaim the Lockhart/Gardner offices is one of my favorites.
Robert
: Yeah, that's one of my favorites of the year.

Michelle: In our minds, these people are family with each other. And there's going to be all the same complicated emotions you'd experience in a family.

CBS

Speaking of Diane, what can you tease that's coming up? Gary Cole is coming back and in a promo it looks like she's with Oliver Platt's character?
Robert
: Kevin Costner had his Dances With Wolves, Diane is having her Dances With Republicans.

Michelle: [Laughs.]

Robert: Oliver Platt plays a very wealthy Republican with Libertarian leanings who would possibly bring his business to Florrick/Agos. And Diane is having to find out where are the limits of her idealism, and when they run up against money what does that mean. And also, just as she does with Gary Cole, she finds there's a side of her that seems to want to indulge, someone who likes guns, someone who has a possibly more dangerous, frontier-like side. So obviously it's always fun with Christine Baranski to play it up because she's probably the most elegant human being on Earth and to see her kind of fighting this part of her that's drawn to guns and even to people who spout views that have nothing to do with the views she agrees with is interesting to us.

Michelle: We see Diane as an intellectual. It's interesting: she's both an ideologue and an intellectual and it's trying to see which side she tips towards.

I got a lot of questions about Diane and Kurt. People are very excited to see them again.
Robert
: Gary Cole is so much fun in that part and obviously there's a curiosity about that marriage because we only see it in fits and starts, so we're thrilled to have him back in two episodes in a row.

Since Archie's exit was announced, I've been more invested in her time, especially with Lemond Bishop. I watched the March 1 episode and I was on the edge of my seat, just waiting to see what was going to happen.
Robert
: [Laughs.]

When her departure was announced—did you do that with that in mind? That it would bring eyeballs back to her, or was the announcement out of your control?
Robert
: The announcement wasn't in our control, but once it was announced, because we're still writing them and shooting them, we were able to change plots a little bit to play into the audience's expectations would be. You always want to be able to surprise the audience as we appeared to do with the death of Will Gardner. Since there will be no surprise about Archie leaving the show, most of where the writers room has been moving...and production's been moving, it's finding variations on the theme so you think you know what's going to happen and hopefully you do not.

It's safe to say we'll be seeing Matthew Goode again, correct?
Michelle: This is correct.

Figured he was probably busy with a ton of stuff.
Robert
: Yeah, I think we leant him at that point to Downton Abbey, so he's not in one or possibly two of the episodes because he was away.

The Good Wife returns Sunday, March 1 at 9 p.m. on CBS. Be sure to check back for more from the Kings after the episode airs.