The makers of The Good Wife owe something of a debt to Tiger Woods’ on-going personal troubles.
“Honestly, it was suggested we should send him flowers,” says actress Christine Baranski (Cybil, Mamma Mia, Chicago).
“Since we shot the pilot, these incidents of famous men cheating on their wives keep happening. I read today where it was suggested that the thing Tiger’s wife should do is to appear beside him in a show of support. Again, that’s our show.”
The Good Wife stars Julianna Marguilies as Alicia, the wife of disgraced politician Peter Florrick (Chris Noth), who is caught in a corruption/hooker scandal that puts him in jail. Humiliated, Alicia is forced back to work as a lawyer under the tutelage of Diane Lockhart (Baranski).
A hit for CBS, the show effectively taps into that oft-debated tabloid question — if your spouse humiliated you in public, would you still stand by him?
“You’re certainly not going to get an answer out of me on that,” says Baranski. “It’s that question that keeps the show interesting. Would you try to keep the marriage alive? Could you live with him?”
The Emmy-winning Baranski says her Good Wife character is still a work-in-progress.
“Early on, the show had to concentrate on the main character and her dilemma. So my character didn’t get a lot of time to develop,” she says.
“I didn’t want her to be the obvious bitch-boss. And I think the writers are doing a good job of defining the character and easing me into the part.”
Beyond The Good Wife, Baranski recently recreated her role as Leonard’s mom on the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory — even locking lips with everyone’s favourite pretentious brainiac Sheldon (Jim Parsons).
“It’s a fantastically original show. So funny. So it was a pleasure,” she says.
As for the future of The Good Wife, Baranski doesn’t fear her much-hyped timeslot competition —The Jay Leno Show.
“No worries,” she laughs.
The Good Wife airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT on Global
