'The Good Wife' Creators Talk Spinoffs—But Think CBS Would Pass

03.08.2015

Robert and Michelle King, the creators of The Good Wife, told the annual PaleyFest fan event in Los Angeles Saturday Night that there could very well be a spinoff or two lurking in the series, but CBS probably wouldn't want one.Â

The Kings opted for candor when a fan in the audience pointed out all of the strong secondary characters in the series, and asked whether viewers could expect to see them elsewhere on the schedule in the near future.Â

"This show has a very intelligent, specific audience that is not as wide-ranging as CBS would like," Robert King said, while noting they would be open to the idea. "The difficulty is they want shows that have a wider appeal."

Keeping with the series' tradition of holding its plot cards close to its vest, the evening panel at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood was light on details about future episodes. But the fans in the audience didn't seem to mind, given that the series leading stars, Juliana Margulies, Christine Baranski, and Matt Czuchry all turned out for the event. Fans were also treated to a special screening of Sunday night's episode ahead of its broadcast.Â

CBS used the PaleyFest panel to give James Corden a bit of batting practice, with the incoming network late night host serving as the moderator for the cast's appearance. (The Late Late Show with James Corden premieres Monday night).Â

Corden mainly steered clear of questions about the plot and focused on the actor's connections to their characters, the series, and the viewers. Corden pointed out, for example, that the series has attracted a veritable Who's Who of talent and political figures as guest stars, including Michael J. Fox, David Hyde Pierce, Gloria Steinem, and Valerie Jarrett. He wondered who each of the cast members still viewed as a dream "get."Â

Baranski mentioned Alan Rickman, Czuchry opted for Ryan Gosling or Chris Pine, while Margulies went with Alfred Molina.Â

Corden did not let the Kings leave without addressing perhaps the biggest shock in the history of the series: the murder of Josh Charles' character Will Gardner in a mid-season courtroom shooting.Â

"We have to talk about Josh Charles. What the f**k?" Corden asked to raucous laughter and applause.Â

Margulies helped her bosses explain that it was Charles who had always carried a year-to-year contract with the series, and decided he didn't want to sign a new one after season four.Â

In fact, Margulies told the crowd that she actually convinced him to remain for part of season five, since they were pretty much done with season four, and he wouldn't be given a proper sendoff.Â

"You're going to get on the elevator and no one is gonna see you again and no one is gonna care," Margulies said she told him.Â

In the end, she reported that she negotiated with him to stay for fifteen episodes of season five, which prompted Corden to ask if she knew she wasn't actually a lawyer.Â

Keeping with the exit theme, both Corden and the fans did try to elicit some information about the pending departure of Archie Panjabi's character Kalinda at the end of the season, but no one on stage would budge.Â

There was, however, one big hint about an important upcoming plot point.Â

A fan in the audience pointed out that Margulies' character Alicia Florrick is really stressed this season-aside from the normal pile of headaches in her life, she's also running for Cook County State's Attorney. This fan wondered: when oh when are you gonna cut Alicia a break and let the poor woman get laid?Â

While they didn't reveal too much, the entire panel strongly hinted that yes, Alicia Florrick might get a little lovin' before the season is up.Â