CBS' The Good Wife already went through a major reset at the beginning of the season when Alicia ( Julianna Margulies) left Lockhart Gardner, finding herself locking horns with her former boss, friend (and on-and-off flame) Will Gardner (Josh Charles). But that was just a little ripple compared to the shock wave that hit the show tonight. Warning for West Coast viewers - this story contains a major spoiler. Proceed with caution.
Tonight's episode of The Good Wife featured the abrupt exit of original cast member and series male lead Josh Charles, whose character Will Gardner was shot dead in the courtroom by a deranged client. While the shocking development had been kept under wraps and came as a surprise to viewers, it had been in the works for almost year. About the same time last year, Charles approached The Good Wife creators/showrunners Michelle and Robert King with a request to be released from the series at the end of last season, the show's fourth. (All actors are under long-term contracts, so this was a personal request from the actor.) After playing the character for four years, Charles indicated he was ready to move on.
Charles, whose role on The Good Wife has earned him an Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, comes from a feature background and his only previous regular series gig was on ABC's Sports Night, which ran for two seasons. I hear the Kings informed star Margulies, who also is a producer on the series, right away, and she was instrumental in convincing Charles to stay on for Season 5. That gave the series' writers a chance to plan his exit as one of the major plot twists for the fifth season. By the end of last season, the entire main Good Wife cast had been informed of Charles' pending exit, so they knew going into Season 5 that it would be their last with Charles ( The Good Wife already has been renewed for a sixth season). To ease the transition, Charles was booked to direct two episodes of The Good Wife this season, including one following his character's exit. Related: CBS Showrunners Talk Large Episode Orders, Killing Off Characters, And Their Breakdown Point
In writing Charles off, The Good Wife followed a similar path Downton Abbey took with Dan Stevens whose character suffered a sudden tragic death when the actor opted the leave the show after three seasons. I hear The Good Wife producers considered going the 'Dr. Ross route', a reference to Margulies' previous hit series ER where the actor playing her love interest, George Clooney, also left in the second part of Season 5. His character was not killed off but sent off to Seattle and later reunited with Marguies in her final episode on the medical drama. The possible scenarios for Gardner included the hot-shot attorney, already suspended once, getting disbarred. However, that would have been a softer blow, and the producers were looking for an event that would shake the show to its core. Related: Q&A: 'The Good Wife's Josh Charles
With that accomplished, how will the series handle the aftermath? The next episode of The Good Wife will deal with the issue of sudden death and its impact on survivors. Understandably, Alicia will be shattered. As for the series losing its original male lead, the ensemble cast is expected to step up, aided by the arrival of Matthew Goode as a new prosecutor and the return of popular recurring guest stars Michael J. Fox for four episodes and of Dylan Baker. And, after the tragedy, The Good Wife is expected to lighten things up, with its comedic side on display for the next few episodes.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
Post By http://www.deadline.com/2014/03/spoilers-good-wife-bombshell-josh-charles/
0 comments Blogger 0 Facebook
Post a Comment