Interview with Robert and Michelle King, creators of The Good Wife

1 February 2017

Can you talk about your decision to do a spinoff of The Good Wife, the process that led to The Good Fight?

We were excited about working with Christine Baranski and Cush Jumbo again and intrigued to see their characters function in a very different world – an all African American law firm. The fact that we’re also now living in a very different political and legal climate since the last election gives us that much more to explore.

How would you describe the show to somebody who has never seen it? Or to someone who isn’t familiar with The Good Wife?

Most of us go through a low point in our lives, but few of us have to do it in front of an audience of millions. That’s what happens to Maia Rindell (Rose Leslie), whose parents are arrested in a huge financial Ponzi scheme just as she’s trying to launch her legal career. Making matters worse is that the Rindell scandal has also destroyed the finances and career of Diane Lockhart, Maia’s godmother and employer.

How would you describe Diane Lockhart, the character?

Diane is among the best lawyers in Chicago. She’s smart, ambitious, principled and witty. What she discovers over the course of the series is that she’s resilient, too.

Besides Diane, there are other unique, strong female characters in the series – how were they developed?

If Diane suffers from scandal at the peak of a glorious career, we wanted to see what it looked like at the beginning of a career. Maia is a brand new lawyer who is nearly finished before she has had a chance to begin. They are joined by Lucca Quinn, another sharp, young lawyer played by Cush Jumbo, Erica Tazel as legal powerhouse Barbara Kolstad, and the wonderful Sarah Steele reprising her role as Marissa Gold.

The Good Fight will air on More4 this March and is distributed worldwide by CBS Studios International.