‘The Good Wife’ series finale: Show boss on its ultimate legacy

In just over 24 hours from now, “The Good Wife” will be ending its run on CBS, and that is a rather difficult thing still to think about. This is a show that has broken many molds, fought hard to be a success story, and withstood many departures and headlines over the years about off-screen matters.

Yet, with the end here, we do have to wonder what its final legacy will be. We hope it is as one of the few tremendous network TV shows in an era really dominated by cable; despite the heavy competition, it managed to continue to stand out thanks to strong performances from Julianna Margulies and company, and then also great writing led by Robert and Michelle King. This is a show that has taken us on an emotional journey with main character Alicia Florrick, and has never compromised her for the sake of either a “shocking moment” or because of something that fans wanted. She has stayed true to the writers’ true intentions.

In speaking about legacy to Entertainment Weekly, Robert King was diplomatic in terms of considering the era in which the show came on the air:

“I do think people will think of the show in terms of its multidimensional female characters. It might also be thought of as a gravestone on the 22-episodes-a-year paradigm. 22 a year is just too difficult, too backbreaking. But it would be nice if people thought of it in terms of its cynicism and its comedy; that’s what we found most fun.”

Who knows if we’ll see another 22-episode show as powerful as this one? It remains to be seen, but we know networks will continue to look for it for quite some time.