The Good Wife

Warning: The following interviews with The Good Wife cast and crew members reveal a few spoilers about next week's episode and beyond.

With that out of the way, we can confirm the following: Peter will turn down the offer made to him by Childs at the conclusion of "Bad." He'll take the offensive and request a retrial hearing.

If successful, of course, this means he'd return home and live with Alicia and the kids. As Julianna Margulies tells TV Guide Magazine:

"Alicia has made the decision to let Peter come home - but she knows that the only way that she won’t crack is if she takes it a day at a time.”

But how likely is that scenario? The outcome of Peter's case will hinge on the testimony of Kalinda, who’s been working as a double agent for both the former and current district attorneys.

“Kalinda has something to say that could keep Peter in jail. She’s very Machiavellian, but she has an Achilles heel,” said producer Robert King, who also responded to a question about Will and Alicia's future:

“Look for a love triangle percolating beneath the surface."

Are you a fan of The Good Wife? It's worth a DVR recording, at least, as this new drama is one of the smartest shows on TV.

The Good Wife had quite a challenge ahead of itself last night: it went up against the second half of the Lost season premiere.

But the CBS drama remained true to the formula that's gotten it this far: strong storytelling and powerful performances. The episode "Bad," thankfully, didn't resort to anything out of the ordinary in order to compete against the aforementioned ABC smash.

The installment did feature a pair of excellent guest stars, though: Dylan Baker totally creeped us out as the man suspected of murdering his wife; while Mamie Gummer proved the acting apple doesn't fall far from the tree:

She's the daughter of Meryl Streep.

This episode does lose a few points for failing to capitalize on its gun-based storyline involving Diane.

Considering the time given to its two main cases, both of which were fascinating (Peter's trial and Baker's character's civil case), this plot development felt short-changed, which is too bad. Instead of wrapping up such a promising character piece, we'd have preferred if the show introduced it this week and kept it going for another episode or two. 

But the taste we were left with when "Bad" concluded was enough to make us anxious for next week.

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While The Good Wife airs a rerun this week, at least fans of the CBS drama have an intriguing guest star to look forward to:

Alan Cumming has landed a role on the critically acclaimed series. Best known to television audiences for his roles on The L Word and SyFy's Tin Man, the Scottish actor will portray an image consultant named Eli Gold.

Graham Phillips, who plays computer savvy teen Zach Florrick, told TV Guide Magazine of the casting/storyline ahead:

"Zach uncovers a bunch of information about his father that proves he's more innocent than everyone thought he was. And Alan's character is really intense and basically tries to turn around Peter's career. He says that Zach's own investigation work is the best the campaign's had so far."

The Good Wife returns on February 2 with a new episode titled "Bad."

Sadly, The Good Wife airs yet another rerun next week.

But the CBS hit will return with new episodes eventually; or, specifically, on February 2.

On that date, the series will air "Bad," which focuses on a company client (guest star Dylan Baker) Alicia suspects is guilty. Also appearing on the installment:

• Meryl Streep's daughter, Mamie Gummer.
• A gun.

The latter item comes into play after a felon Diane helped to convict is released. Check out photos from this episode below and catch up on previous installments in our episode guide section:

For a show that treats its viewers with such respect and, as discussed in our review of last week's episode, never talks down to them, the latest installment of The Good Wife was a slight step back.

As often happens on medical shows such as Grey's Anatomy, the case of the week mirrored Alicia's home life a little too perfectly. Read more about it in our recap of "Painkillers."

Did we really need the mother of the deceased high school quarterback to explain how little she truly knew about her son... while Alicia was realizing the same thing at home?

Did we we really need the presence of the nanny to lay out the same issue for Alicia... while acting in such an odd, clearly inappropriate manner that we actually questioned if she was working undercover at the Florrick household?

It was all a bit heavy-handed, which is a backwards compliment for The Good Wife because it felt so unusual. Typically, this series takes pride in the old moniker of good writing: it's better to show than tell.

The same issue befell the Kalinda-as-a-double-agent storyline. We really didn't need Alicia to come out and say to her friend that she barely knew anything about her.

Viewers have slowly come to this same realization on their own over the last few weeks, which made the development of her playing both sides all the more intriguing. We truly don't know much about Kalinda, yet we assume she's using Childs to help spring Peter...

... don't we?

But is there a chance she'll end up turning on the Florricks and siding with Childs? Definitely. It's this kind of slow character build-up and subtle mystery that has worked so well on The Good Wife's first season. It's still very much present, of course. It just felt more forced than usual this week.

What did you think?

On this week's returning episode of The Good Wife, the series threw a lot at viewers.

But as it's done throughout its great initial season, the CBS series did so in an intelligent, well-paced, well-acted manner. Read through our complete episode recap for "Infamy" now.

What makes The Good Wife such a simple, enjoyable show? This installment provided a few examples:

No dumbing down: You either understand certain legal or political references or you don't. The show never dumbs down its content or its dialogue for viewers. Case in point: during a back-and-forth in court, Diane mentioned the Scooter Libby case and the judge replied by saying the defendant has "outflanked the prosecution on the left." Don't know what any of that means? Don't watch The Good Wife.

Great casting: We could sing the praises of Julianna Margulies all day. But let's focus on the drama's use of guest stars for now. David O'Hare has been a subtle riot in his recurring role as Judge Abernathy; and who out there didn't wanna strange Craig Bierko as Duke Roscoe? That means he did his job perfectly.

Small moments: Most shows go out of their way to paint characters in a certain way, to hammer home certain points. Not The Good Wife. Witness Cary's bumbling attempts to bond with the grieving husband this week, along with Peter's confident smile when placed in general population and Alicia's curious glance at Kalinda when Roscoe mentioned a "closeted lesbian" at the firm. Great stuff.

What was your favorite moment from the episode?

For a sneak peek at next week's installment, check out these photos from "Painkillers."

The Good Wife returns with a new episode on January 12.

What will go down on the episode titled "Painkillers?" Here's a quick look ahead:

• Alicia represents the doctor of a high school quarterback that dies from a painkiller overdose;
• Jackie ends up in the hospital;
• Peter receives news that makes him quite angry.

As usual, we'll recap and review the episode after it airs. For now, get an early look at a few scenes from it, courtesy of the photos below:

It's very sad but true: every primetime series is on hiatus until 2010. Before the calendar turns, however, let's take a look back.

So far, the TV Fanatic staff has reviewed the season's pros and cons of The Vampire Diaries, 90210, House and Heroes.

Up now: The Good Wife.

Best character: Alicia Florrick. We were tempted to go in a less obvious direction and select Cary for the layers the show has given what could have been a one-note, stereotypical character. But the success of The Good Wife starts and ends with Julianna Margulies' performance as Alicia. This is a woman scorned that puts on a professional face when needed, lashes out at those that judge her when called for, yet never loses composure.

It's how we'd hope to act if our district attorney of a spouse was ever caught cheating with a string of hookers.

Worst character: Zach Florrick, only because we had to choose someone. While the show functions so well as a simple drama that doesn't rely on anything except well-written storylines and characters, the entire plot of Zach working to uncover the conspiracy against his father is a bit of a stretch.

Best storyline: Aside from the overall idea of Peter in prison, there is no overarching storyline on this legal procedural. So we'll choose a relationship: the interaction between Grace and Alicia. Each can get understandably frustrated with the other, but it's a pleasure to watch this mature, realistic depiction of two women that clearly appreciate one another at the end of the (difficult) day.

Grade so far: A Minus.

Hopes for 2010: Just keep it basic. Don't go for any outlandish developments or storylines. Keep relying on your strong cast and an audience that is grateful for an intelligent show that doesn't aim for the lowest denominator.

Agree with this assessment? Disagree? What grade would you give The Good Wife so far?

This episode of The Good Wife was a great showcase for the entire cast.

What began as a seemingly simple case for Alicia led to the discovery that a judge, and long-time friend of Will's, was as corrupt as they come. This storyline was set against an offer made to Diane to leave the firm and become a judge.

Read our recap of "Lifeguard" to fully understand how every character at the firm intersected on this case.

The installment highlighted every positive aspect of The Good Wife, most notably its solid cast, straightforward storytelling and mature point of view. There are no special effects here, no dumbing down of plots for the audience, no need for surprise endings.

There are simply solid stories and slow character build-up. There are also realistic relationships. Will and Diane, for instance, are clearly not good friends. But there's a healthy amount of respect there and the ability to disagree like adults.

Same for Cary. It would have been easy for the show to make him a sterotypical foil for Alicia, aiming to bring her down at every opportunity. But he's turned into a well-rounded character that was actually the voice of reason this week.

"Lifeguard" also made great use of its guest stars. None stole the spotlight and each fit right in to the storyline, as if they were a regular part of the cast. The impressive line-up included:

• Michael Gladis (Mad Men)
• Michael Boatman (Spin City)
• Kate Burton (Grey's Anatomy)
• Tony Goldwyn (Ghost)

What did you think of the episode?

On the day before Thanksgiving, allow us to give thanks to The Good Wife.

The Julianna Margulies-led drama isn't chock full of suspense or dense with mythology. Instead, it simply relies on solid acting, strong storytelling and the ongoing narrative of a character we get to know better each week.

Among the developments we enjoyed on this week's episode, "Threesome," was the use of Chelsea Handler. This is exactly what would happen if a hooker wanted to strike it rich off her affair with a famous person.

It's also a perfect depiction of how such a viral clip would spread to those surrounding Peter and Alicia, as seen in the clip below:

Two other subplots we enjoyed from the episode:

1. The introduction of the heretofore unseen firm partner, played by Kevin Conway. This was another example how the show keeps office politics unique and interesting.
2. The final scene may not have been a "shocker," as ABC hyped, but Alicia passionately kissing her husband was both surprising and understandable. The Good Wife has mastered the small moments in life.

Are you enjoying The Good Wife as much as we are?