How does it feel to be on Season 5 of The Good Wife?
Julianna Margulies: It doesn’t feel like the fifth season. I have more excitement about this season than I have any season. The first season I was so overwhelmed by it all and the second season you’re trying to keep the momentum going, and then all of a sudden you’re in year five and the writing is even better. I feel like I just landed in a pot of gold.
What was your reaction to the Season 4 finale?
When I read the script of the season finale I was like, oh, we’re still doing this triangle and then all of a sudden you realize how smart they are, these writers are just so smart.
How does the Season 4 finale set the stage for Season 5?
Basically what happens is Alicia chooses to leave her firm because she knows as long as she is there, her heart will always be with Will and she can’t live like that – not after recommitting to her husband. And she starts her own firm or talks about starting her own firm with Cary.
More on setting the stage for Season 5?
It picks up on the exact same night. We open up the episode and you see Alicia and Cary on their second bottle of wine – in her kitchen, getting a little drunk and realizing this could be the best thing that’s ever happened.
Are Alicia and Cary the new Will and Diane?
Cary sells it to her by saying we’re the new Will and Diane. She starts watching how Will and Diane work because when Season 5 starts they’re still there, they have to transition, they have to get offices, they have to figure this all out before they abandon and she’s watching Will and Diane work on a death row case with her and then she’s watching how Cary conducts himself and she is realizing this ain’t no Will and Diane.
What challenges does Alicia face at the start of Season 5?
Her husband is elected governor, so she is now the first lady, and is going to figure out how to leave the firm. They have to steal some clients, it’s ugly and it gets really ugly, and it’s going to be a very tense season because of it.
Are there advantages to being the Governor’s wife?
Being the governor’s wife gives her tremendous status as a lawyer and it has completely opened the door for her. It made her partner at Lockhart & Gardner. They could have chosen anyone, however she was much more valuable to them as the governor’s wife.
What damage will Alicia’s new firm create for Will and Diane?
The three biggest clients that she is taking with her are a blow to Lockhart & Gardner. She takes Chumhum, the drug kingpin Lemond Bishop and Sweeney. That’s at least $44 million a year in business for Lockhart & Gardner. So it’s not just that she is leaving the firm to start her own, she is stabbing them in the back and, even though I truly believe that Alicia doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, it’s the cruellest thing she could ever do to two people who were there for her when she had no-one.
More on the damage Alicia’s new firm creates…
It’s a bloodbath. If we were Game of Thrones, there would be a lot of actual blood, but because we’re lawyers in pretty clothing, there are just a lot of really smart words and emotions.
How will Alicia’s move affect her relationship with Diane?
It’s going to get horribly tense and it’s going to be pretty devastating, but then, and I can’t express it because it will ruin it for everybody – in fact no-one on the show knows except for me and the Kings, Brooke Kennedy and David Zucker – but we take a very big turn and through an event that happens Diane and Alicia are brought closer. This is what I’ve always wanted because they’re two such strong women that women connect to, and I hated that the two strong women on the show weren’t friends.
Why is Alicia’s relationship with Eli important?
The only people that know about Alicia and Will are Eli Gold and Diane. Then Eli becomes Chief of Staff of the governor’s office and as he knows all my secrets, it elevates their friendship as well. I think it’s going to be pretty beautiful and pretty devastating.
How does it feel to reach 100 episodes in Season 5?
It’s a milestone to shoot that many episodes and I remember the feeling on ER thinking a 100 episodes, that’s crazy. We’re talking 84-page scripts, so if you look at a feature length film, they’re usually about 125 to 130 pages, and we shoot that amount in eight days -and it’s quality writing and work. It’s definitely something to be proud of and I’m over the moon that we’ve made it this far. I think that audiences really have responded in an incredibly positive way to the show and I do think it’s just getting better and better.
Interview thanks to Channel 4.
An interview with the creators of The Good Wife is here.