The fifth season of The Good Wife began airing on September 29, 2013, airing Sundays at 9:00 p.m. The season received critical acclaim, with the general consensus calling it the series' best season. The show's critical resurgence and creative renaissance garnered the series many accolades, including the TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama and the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama.
Video The Good Wife (season 5)
Cast
Main
- Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick
- Matt Czuchry as Cary Agos
- Archie Panjabi as Kalinda Sharma
- Makenzie Vega as Grace Florrick
- Graham Phillips as Zach Florrick
- Alan Cumming as Eli Gold
- Matthew Goode as Finn Polmar
- Zach Grenier as David Lee
- Josh Charles as Will Gardner
- Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart
Recurring
- Chris Noth as Peter Florrick
- Jess Weixler as Robyn Burdine
- Jerry Adler as Howard Lyman
- Ben Rappaport as Carey Zepps
- Melissa George as Marilyn Garbanza
- Nathan Lane as Clarke Hayden
- Stockard Channing as Veronica Loy
- Mary Beth Peil as Jackie Florrick
- Michael J. Fox as Louis Canning
- Renée Elise Goldsberry as Geneva Pine
- Jason O'Mara as Damian Boyle
- Michael Cerveris as James Castro
- Jeffrey Tambor as Judge George Kluger
- Jordana Spiro as Jenna Vellete
- Hunter Parrish as Jeffrey Grant
- Eric Bogosian as Nelson Dubeck
- Christian Borle as Carter Schmidt
- Chris Butler as Matan Brody
- Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni
- Gary Cole as Kurt McVeigh
- Dallas Roberts as Owen Cavanaugh
- Michael Boatman as Julius Cain
- Miriam Shor as Mandy Post
- Mike Colter as Lemond Bishop
- Skipp Sudduth as Jim Moody
- John Benjamin Hickey as Neil Gross
Guest
- Laura Benanti as Renata Ellard
- America Ferrera as Natalie Flores
- James LeGros as Judge Adam Tolkin
- Mary Stuart Masterson as Rachel Keyser
- Rita Wilson as Viola Walsh
- Dreama Walker as Becca
- Kurt Fuller as Judge Peter Dunaway
- Dylan Baker as Colin Sweeney
- Mamie Gummer as Nancy Crozier
Maps The Good Wife (season 5)
Reception
The fifth season of The Good Wife received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 100% certified fresh rating based on 20 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "The verdict is in: The Good Wife is a solid adult drama, with a delicately fine-tuned performance from Julianna Margulies and storylines that become increasingly absorbing as they progress."
Scott D. Pierce, of the Salt Lake Tribune remarked: "I cannot imagine that any series on any network is going to come up with an episode better than [the October 27, 2013 episode]. Television doesn't get any better than this." James Poniewozik of TIME: "A civil war breaks out in the office, and "Hitting the Fan" proves, if there was any doubt, why The Good Wife is currently the best thing on TV outside cable." Chris Harnick; News Editor, HuffPost TV: "'Hitting The Fan' May Be The Best Episode Ever" Stephen Marche of Esquire: "The Good Wife" is network TV's most intellectually ambitious show. It's a rare show that starts to come into its own in the middle of its fifth season, but somehow CBS's The Good Wife has managed to do it. This season has been among the strongest I've seen, and the last two episodes may be the best television produced this year. Phil Dyess-Nugent of The A.V. Club wrote that "My recollection is that it was not one of the greatly anticipated new shows of the fall 2009 season, but for four years now, it's been a great example of a network show refusing to calcify and settle into formula. There was a scene in a recent episode where Robin came to Kalinda to beg for her old job back, and Kalinda instead counseled her to make herself invaluable to her new bosses; it was what Kalinda had to do herself, and she tells Robin, "Losing a job changes you." That line could be on this show's coat of arms." Patrick Freyne of the Irish Times: "The Good Wife [is] the best-made, most nuanced show on television"
The season received numerous accolades including 3 Golden Globe Award nominations, 2 TCA Award nominations, a field-leading 5 Critics' Choice Television Award nominations, and 5 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including mentions for its stars Julianna Margulies, Josh Charles, and Christine Baranski. Margulies ended up winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in "The Last Call".
Awards and nominations
Primetime Emmy Awards
- Won for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Julianna Margulies for "The Last Call")
- Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Christine Baranski for "The Last Call")
- Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Josh Charles for "Hitting the Fan")
- Nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Dylan Baker for "Tying the Knot")
- Nomination for Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series (Mark Saks)
Bruce Springsteen album promotion
During the January 12, 2014 episode, "We, the Juries", snippets of three songs from Bruce Springsteen's new album, High Hopes, which was released two days later, were featured. CBS struck a deal with Springsteen's record label to promote the new album, which will also be streamed through CBS.com from 10pm on January 12 to 7pm on January 13. Writer Keith Eisner, who is from Springsteen's home state of New Jersey said the deal came together after the season's 12th episode had been written and filmed, but not yet edited. He said when he heard of Springsteen's songs being used he literally jumped up and down in excitement. "High Hopes", "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and "Hunter of Invisible Game" will be the songs featured at various points in the episode. CBS said this was a way to gain wider exposure for the album in an unconventional way, and lure his baby boomer fans to the show and the top-rated network's website.
Episodes
U.S. Nielsen ratings
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia