It's a Wonderful “Wife”

The sixth season of “The Good Wife” sets out to help prove Julianna Margulies’ declaration that it's a "wonderful time for women on television.”

After winning her second Emmy for playing the battle-tested title character on "The Good Wife," Julianna Margulies declared last month it's a "wonderful time for women on television." While some disagree, there's little doubt it's a wonderful time for women on "The Good Wife."

The drama about a political spouse's personal and professional comeback from scandal and betrayal amid a backdrop of power and the law returns for a sixth season Sunday, with the women seemingly more in control of their own fates.

Margulies vies to prove her “wonderful time” assertion following the most recent season of “The Good Wife,” the most eventful of the CBS show’s run: Her Alicia Florrick character started her own law firm. Alicia lost her on-and-off-again lover/mentor Will Gardner to a courtroom murder. She shed any pretense of a reconciliation with her husband, Peter, the Illinois governor whose past, public liaison with a prostitute punctured her delusional domestic bliss. The season ended with her old boss, Diane Lockhart, defecting to Alicia's upstart firm – bringing $38 million in billings and a new power dynamic.

This season promises to carry Alicia's journey, if not full circle, then to new corners, typical of a smart drama that stays a couple steps ahead of the audience without (usually) falling into melodrama or gimmicks.

“The Good Wife” remains a standout among TV dramas, evidenced in part by Margulies’ stiff Emmy competition: Robin Wright (“House of Cards”), Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”), Claire Danes (“Homeland”), Lizzy Caplan (“Masters of Sex”) and Kerry Washington (“Scandal”).

Still,  in the era of “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad,” the Outstanding Drama trophy has eluded "The Good Wife." The program wasn’t even nominated last season.

Yet its influence – along with that of the higher-profile, more action-driven “Scandal” – can be seen in a varied slate of new shows about women in law and politics, among them, “Madam Secretary,” “State of Affairs,”  “How to Get Away with Murder” and “Bad Judge.”

“The Good Wife,” like Alicia Florrick, is a survivor, excelling against odds at a time when intelligent, adult drama increasingly becomes the purview of cable outfits and Netflix. Every season is a victory – and a game-changer.

Buoyed by strong writing and Margulies’s acting prowess, we’ve seen Alicia gain confidence, becoming less beholden to the men in her life.  Not that anyone has made it easy for her. And there’s no reason to expect a smooth ride this season, even with Alicia apparently in the driver’s seat for once.

Check out a clip from Sunday’s season opener

Jere Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is also the author of "Raising a Beatle Baby: How John, Paul, George and Ringo Helped us Come Together as a Family." Follow him on Twitter.

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
Contact Us