'The Good Wife' Is Ending, But It Can Live Forever If They Take These 10 Spin-off Ideas
If you were watching Super Bowl 50 on Sunday, then you know The Good Wife is coming to an end this year. Creators Michelle and Robert King already had plans to depart after this in-progress seventh season, leaving the show in someone else's less-worthy hands next year if CBS decided to continue on, but the network mercifully made the end official with a promo during the big game. So we'll be saying good-bye to Alicia Florrick this spring, but it doesn't exactly mean we're done with every character. In a conference call today, the Kings shared that they are open to the idea of a spin-off. Michelle King said, "Nothing is off the table. Nothing is formal, but we are not saying no to anything." And her husband Robert said, "What would be appealing is if we could find a way to spin off an ensemble. We wished we had more time to explore other lives [besides only Alicia's]."
OK, Kings. You want spin-off ideas? Here are 10. Call me.
Diane!
Starring: Diane Lockhart, Kurt McVeigh, David Lee
A sexy, Murphy Brown–esque sitcom starring the formidable Diane Lockhart in all of her legal and fashion badassery. We've seen Christine Baranski's comic timing on Cybill, so why not give her a sitcom that can blend legal drama with a realistic depiction of being a working woman in her sixties? Kurt can be on hand for romance and business story lines. And, obviously, David Lee comes along as a foil.
Would Last: Six seasons and a movie
The Bad Husband
Starring: Louis Canning
Canning has a lovely, devoted wife. He, on the other hand, is a slimy bastard and one of The Good Wife's best guest stars. Who wouldn't want to see him leading a charge of moralistic young attorneys and eventually turning them to the dark side? It'd be like How to Get Away With Murder, only starring Michael J. Fox. You can switch out that show's racial politics to explore how Canning often uses his disability to his advantage in court and how that has an effect on his real life.
Would Last: Four seasons, only to be replaced by Scorpion: Mobile, Alabama.
Agos XXL
Starring: Cary Agos, Joe Manganiello (as himself)
Cary goes into severe debt and has to become a part-time stripper to pay the bills. Any questions?
Would Last: Forever
Spy Bros
Starring: The NSA
Paired with The Big Bang Theory, a sitcom about the bros who work at the NSA as they spy on various people across the United States. It will get into real issues about fear and security in America, but it will also have a lot of clichéd story lines and easy jokes because we're trying to get syndication money here.
Would Last: 10 seasons
Just One More Thing
Starring: Elsbeth Tascioni, Lucca Quinn
Alicia gets out of the legal business, so Lucca teams up with The Good Wife's greatest guest star of all time: Elsbeth Tascioni. Elsbeth's Columbo-esque way of practicing the law means we'll get a comedic show that also has a mystery element to it. With Elsbeth and Lucca onboard, it will be the best bad-bitch duo since the early days of Alicia and Kalinda.
Will Last: Six glorious seasons
Florrick 2020
Starring: Peter Florrick, Grace Florrick, Zach Florrick
Peter is the worst, but who could resist giving Chris Noth a starring vehicle? The show will focus on yet another political campaign for Peter, because that's worked so well in the past. No one will care, just like we don't care on The Good Wife.
Will Last: Half a season before getting abruptly canceled
Good Grief, Eli
Starring: Eli Gold, Marissa Gold
Eli leaves the Florrick fold and embarks on his own, trying to run different political campaigns with the help of his daughter, Marissa. It's an anthology series, because Eli is insane and he clearly gets fired each year by people who are less forgiving than Alicia.
Will Last: As long as Ryan Murphy, the godfather of the modern anthology TV series, decrees
The Dead Wives Club
Starring: Colin Sweeney
Colin Sweeney, murderer of wives, will open the series killing yet another spouse, and a team of investigators will work to convict him as he woos his next victim. But this time, maybe the wife might want to kill him?! Just kidding. CBS only likes it when women are in mortal danger.
Will Last: Nine seasons and produce spin-offs set in several other American cities.
Will Gardner, Ghost Attorney-at-Law
Starring: Will Gardner
Josh Charles left The Good Wife to pursue other acting opportunities, but who couldn't resist the urge to return to the fold and play a ghost? Will would help solve cases from the afterlife with the help of Touched by an Angel's Della Reese, because duh.
Will Last: How long did Touched by an Angel last? 90 seasons? Two? Somewhere in there.
Where's Kalinda?
Starring: Random guest stars
Each week, new characters will appear in random settings and wonder where Kalinda Sharma is. They'll receive text messages, find notes left on their desks, and see a woman who vaguely looks like Kalinda in a crowd at times, but they'll never see Kalinda. Julianna Margulies will guest star.
Will Last: Two seasons past the point when we're all uncomfortable.