Verdict is in: spin-off a worthy sequel
The Good Wife fans will be in TV utopia with the spin off series, The Good Fight. Let’s just say the Kings rule with a compelling narrative and exciting cast, writes Debashine Thangevelo
WHEN it comes to a spin-off series of a successful franchise, fans are either going to love or loathe it. To me, those who choose to sit on the fence are nothing more than curious spectators. To that end, the show, should they stick around, will eventually influence them to pick a side.
I’ve followed Julianna Margulies’s journey as Alicia Florrick since season one – a time in TV when the idea of having a female actress at the helm of a show left network executives anxious and secretly perturbed by such an audacious suggestion.
That said, this series, thanks to creators Robert and Michelle King, has in many ways changed perceptions as well as contributed to the empowering era that we now get to celebrate with critically acclaimed and award-winning offerings like The Fixer, How To Get Away With Murder and The Catch.
The legal drama housed compelling and ingenious story arcs while also providing bursts of discontent, sexual tension and moral dilemmas to make it edgy and intriguing.
The Good Wife ended when it should have. It fulfilled the purpose of its birth for both the creators and its lead character.
But there was a whole other world and unsettled lives that were begging to be revisited. This is where The Good Fight comes in.
Does it live up to the legacy of its predecessor? Yes. I would be so bold as to say that it will probably surpass it in the same way that Major Crimes has taken on a life of its own after The Closer with Kyra Sedgwick ended.
Episode one was one dramatic earthquake – think like a 7 or 8 on the Richter scale – for its characters.
The Kings, along with Phil Alden Robinson, lulled the audience into a very safe and comforted state before triggering a volcanic eruption of emotions with a scandal that had a scarring domino effect on the lives of Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski).
She was busy planning a luxurious retirement from Lockhart, Deckler, Gussman, Lee, Lyman, Gilbert-Lurie, Kagan, Tannebaum & Associates. Yes, the company name’s a mouthful.
On the brink of divorcing her husband, who cheated on her, she was looking forward to hanging up those legal stilettos. And she was excited to mentor her goddaughter, Maia Rindell (Rose Leslie), who just passed the bar and is earning her stripes as a rookie lawyer. Diane roped her in on a case involving police brutality and they went up against Adrian Boseman (Delroy Lindo), a lawyer and name partner at Reddick, Boseman & Kolstad.
Meanwhile, Diane’s rival David Lee (Zach Grenier) can’t wait to see the back of her.
The arrest of Henry Rindell (Paul Guilfoyle), a high-flying financial adviser and close friend of Diane, for running a Ponzi scheme, sees a few statuses flat-line.
Diane is left broke and has to put her retirement plans on hiatus. Even worse, her name has become poison. Friends turn on her. Meanwhile, Maia becomes the most hated face and is vilified for her sexuality.
Then there’s the feisty and confident Lucca Quinn (Cush Jumbo), who plays a crucial role in changing the tide in everyone’s “favour”.
The Good Fight looks at issues that are relevant in society around the globe, like blatant racism and office power struggles stemming from that inescapable Old Boy’s Club mentality. It does this while getting viewers invested in its characters’ journeys.
This is a legal drama and the creators don’t take their eye of the ball in fulfilling the mandate of the TV show’s title.
The Good Fight airs on Mondays (DStv Channel 101) at 8.30pm.