Official 'The Good Fight' Season Three Thread

Season two thread.

Great poster! Love Christine.

Trailer from January, if you missed it. Michael Sheen joins the cast this season.

Just watched the first episode. Holy shit they are starting off on FIRE!

Gonna be a great season, can't wait to discuss with what looks to be one other fan here.

Is there anything else worth watching on CBS All Access. I have a hard time justifying 11.00 a month for one show. Was a huge fan of the Good Wife though

The show is so good that I really haven't minded the monthly fee. I haven't watched the new episode yet; maybe tonight. Will they be dropping new episodes every thursday?

Yes I think new episodes on Thursday.

Here r5

Okay, I'm just gonna say it: that was hands down the best episode of this series, and possibly of the whole "The Good X" franchise (or extended universe). I can't recall the last time I so thoroughly enjoyed an hour of TV from start to finish. The writing is even better than in the second season, which was in itself an improvement over the first one. It's like someone took a scalpel and excised everything that wasn't working, while making the good parts even more brilliant. Even Maia and Kurt didn't bother me, not for a moment. They actually started with the MeToo stuff right off the bat, incredible. No "Did he really, maybe some of them are lying?" bullshit to be seen anywhere. Just "He raped this one and that one and there are consequences to those actions". Wonderful.

The NDA song, Maia's visor, and Lucca's breast pump were amazing. Diane conversing with that shotgun wound in the shape of Turd's face and delivering that spectacular monologue about decent men, her banging her head against the wall, and her delivery of "Something that I fucking should've done nine months ago!" were transcendent moments.

That director (Alex Hurt) was handsome as fuck and don't you fight me on this one. Sorry for the long post but eugh, I'm just so ecstatic that this show is back with such a strong start!

R8: Thanks R5

r10 I don't know if you're straight or not, but Strange Angel and Star Trek: Discovery both have gay characters and are pretty delightful shows. I'm not familiar with any of the others on that list.

Glowing reviews everywhere.

[quote]Three things I think about The Good Fight, which begins its third season on CBS All Access this week:

[quote]1) The Good Fight is, with the possible exception of the season five arc with Alicia and Cary leaving Lockhart/Gardner, better than its CBS predecessor The Good Wife ever was. Period. Full stop.

[quote]2) If The Good Fight aired on CBS, it would be the best hourlong series on broadcast TV.

[quote]3) The Good Fight should, to me, very clearly be placed in the comedy field for awards purposes.

LOVED the episode. Funny as hell at times, too.

Isn't it funny how the first episode of the season was so fantastic and yet not a single scene took place in a courtroom? Anyway, I liked the second episode well enough but zoned out completely during Maia's courtroom drama. Had no clue what was going on there.

I love how absolutely annoyed Diane gets with Trump's vermin spawn. She turns crazy within seconds! And of course Baranski nails it every time.

Jeremy Glazer looks so handsome on this show. The darker, warmer lighting really brings out the best in his face.

[quote] Glowing reviews everywhere.

Of course. That's automatic if it is an "incisive focus on a Trumpian world has been both an overwhelming mandate and a therapeutic outlet for her own frustrations".

Here's an interview with Sheen where he explains how he landed on that ridiculous Jewish/Italian accent that he goes in and out of constantly, and which doesn't work for me, at all.

[quote]The Kings said they wanted him to have a real street-fighter feel to him in terms of his politics. Funnily enough, Billy [Finkelstein], who wrote first episode that I’m in, he sounds a bit like that himself. There’s definitely a little bit of Al Pacino in there. I think he sees himself in the courtroom as a cross between Peter Falk in Columbo, Al Pacino, and Tony Soprano.

Well, you failed. Also, he and Ethan Peck (both on CBS AA right now) need to visit a proper barber and get their beard edges done the way they're supposed to be done. A real pet peeve of mine.

r16 Naw, that's not it, Rose. It's a part of it, sure, but it's not the main part. At least for me. So many of the arcs don't touch the Trump stuff in any way.

Love this show but Christine's answer on Les Moonves here could've been better? I guess she still works for CBS

Sorry this is the article above

r20 I was expecting something much worse but she just said it's complicated (for her) because she knows both of them. I agree that she should've gone with a more general answer as this isn't about her.

It’s the best show around. I adore it. The fact that Christine Barinksi doesn’t even get nominated for her work on The Giod Fight is disgraceful.

Is the show not eligible for some reason?

I guess if you're a rich and pampered celebrity you can afford to fret about politics.

Because the rest of us plebs are too busy working in the fields to even think about politics, let alone fret about it.

r23 It's eligible, it's just not picked for nominations for some reason.

I thought I was just being jaded, but the AV Club recapper called Sheen's character a misfire as well.

Kings can be pretty hit or miss when it comes to their kooky characters.

Who is going to pay extra for one show? All of these reviews are bullshit. CBS fucked up big time and should have put this on the network. It seems like the major networks are run by complete idiots.

Plenty of Trekkies pay extra for CBS AA to watch Star Trek: Discovery. That's exactly why CBS has greenlit all those additional Trek shows, so the content will be spread throughout the year. Without this streaming platform, you'd never have four Trek shows airing concurrently on the network.

And the reviews aren't bullshit; this is legitimately an amazing show.

R29, thanks for the input, CBS intern.

Sick burn, Julianna Margulies. Still working on Dietland? Oh, wait...

Thanks for the information, r26. It IS astonishing and outrageous that Baranski's never been nominated for this.

I think the Sheen character/arc is a mistake. I found his scenes in today's episode (#2) nearly unwatchable.

Richard Kind should be working more. I adore him.

r33 He's always a delight! Currently has a very small role in The Other Two as well.

I am so disappointed with this season. The video explainers are so distracting. The Trump stuff is great but it's so over the top. And Sheen? Fentanyl lollipops? Shark. Jumped.

I like the video explainers. Had no idea who Roy Cohn was and shouted "Of course!" when the Trump connection was revealed.

Michael Sheen's character, just like Elsbeth Tascioni on TGW, starts to grate rather quickly when given too much time. The core characters are far more interesting IMHO.

r37 Exactly. Hopefully that was just the introduction and he's used more sparingly from now on, just like Elsbeth.

I love this show but I HATED this episode because of Michael Sheen.

The writing was obnoxious and his performance was worse.

I hope they're not planning to continue these animated "glossary" entries. The first was cute and quirky, but the returns were already substantially diminished by the second one.

And they should lose the Michael Sheen character, too--he's awful to watch and his scenes were ridiculous. Bad writing + indulgent acting= lousy television.

The Roy Cohn footnote was dull. Nothing that any idiot would not have already known and no wit.

The Michael Sheen and Maya characters both could be omitted at this point. Poor Rose Leslie having to deliver those pages of dialogue for a paycheck.

When they start having characters and stories like this along with the cartoon vignettes, it just means the writers can’t write enough material to fill up an hour. The Walking Dead is in the same boat.

Well, this idiot had no idea the roots of Trump's corruption went back as far as they did, all the way to McCarthyism. I find those segments didactic and just long enough not to bother me. So they can stay for now, especially if that means fewer Sheen scenes. My god, can you imagine how he must feel right now, knowing his character bombed from the get-go?

r42 Agreed. Write them out and get a better and more interesting actress.

R44, seriously? The Trump/Cohn connection has been public for decades. Since the campaign it has been commented on. I am not sure where you are, but in the US that has been flogged to death. Though I can see that in Canada or the UK it might be useful to explain it.

Information that's "public" isn't always widely known. God knows there's enough Trump minutiae to sink us all; there's no shame in not knowing the Cohn connection.

r45 Yeah, I'm not from around here...

[quote] The Roy Cohn footnote was dull. Nothing that any idiot would not have already known

If they wanted to tell viewers something they probably didn't already know they might have mentioned Bobby Kennedy was working for Joe McCarthy at the same time as Roy Cohn. He nicely fit in with them.

I can do without Sheen and the Trump crap. Sheen is just there the chew scenery, it’s annoying. Trump, I see enough of him in my everyday life that I don’t need to have him as a fictional storyline on a TV Show. The MeToo storyline was great, do more stuff like that. Feature Christine, Audra, Cush, Rose and Sarah - Forget about Sheen he comes off as a damn clown!

I'm torn on this. I would like to escape the real world as well but seeing Diane go berserk over Trump's kids is too precious for me to lose. Though I'll never understand how she's in a romantic relationship with a right-winger. Of all the men in the world... it says a lot about her and I hope she dumps his enabling deplorable ass eventually in a spectacular fashion. Think Alicia-slapping level of theatrics.

[quote]I think the Sheen character/arc is a mistake.

Agreed. And I'll add my name to the list of posters who found his accent horribly uneven. I would not be sad to see him leave, and for him to take Maia with him. She's as dull as dishwater and he's way to far off the deep end. Maybe the writers thought the characters would complement each other somehow, or that he'd inject some life into her storyline... but no.

I'm also hoping they give Cush Jumbo/Lucca some kind of substantial storyline this season -- she's fantastic, but being put in charge of the divorce division doesn't exactly scream "compelling material."

*too

Yeah, what's going on with Lucca/Cush Jumbo this season? She's one of my favorite characters but has largely been in the background so far.

Were only two shows in, r53, and she had that great scene talking to the baby and the adjacent scenes with Audra and others about taking on the matrimonial practice. I think she's doing fine, and I think the writers know her value--she's really second only to Christine.

Did anyone at all understand what was going on in the courtroom? Seems like the writers wanted Sheen's character's introduction to stand out so much, they intentionally obfuscated the case of the week so it would register only as background noise.

And is it just me or did that courtroom have more golden accents that usual? It looked positively Trumpian in its kitchiness from certain angles.

R55, the courtroom case was hard for me to follow because of Sheen, too.

After the first two episodes this season, I think I'm done. Most of this feels forced, and I've never been a fan of the Baranski marriage. That man would never end up with her. Sorry. It comes off skeevy to me. And the less said about Sheen's character the better. Ah well...

I wonder if the writers are getting the message about Sheen.

The Good Fight probably could have ended up on network prime time if it didn't follow what was possibly the worst season of The Good Wife. Baranski was wasted on that season. They were never going to be able to match the superior writing of season five. I don't think they had any idea just how integral to the show Josh Charles was.

Isn't it too late now? Or is the latter half of the season still in production? I'm sure they'll make a hard course correction next season.

They'd have to do something truly spectacular with him in the next few episodes to undo that bad first impression.

Just watched this week's episode. WTF?

I just love Christine Baranski pictures.

I thought the third episode was better than the second one. It's finally revealed that Sheen's character is [italic]supposed[/italic] to be loathed by the audience - because he's a Trump surrogate! I just loved how Diane ignored his jibes... right up until the moment he mentioned Trump getting a third term. They know all our weak spots, don't they? I also found his speech to her a big old truth bomb for the liberals. Gasped when Maia freaked out in the office in front of everyone.

Lovely seeing the two NSA gays, Urie and Pancholy, back again, even though I detest the NSA and their inability to do anything about the Russian interference.

Audra singing... need I say more?

This show is becoming unwatchable. Every scene with Sheen is agonizing, Diane's trump derangement syndrome is too over the top and the final scenes with Sheen singing I'll Be There was the cherry on the shit sundae of this episode.

Also, the payments that came up in the courtroom scene with Liz and her husband are confusing. Are they supposed to be payments to the women from the first episode, and if so, how much time has passed since it? The timeline seems really off.

The only character i care about right now is Lucca. Hopefully Diane and her deplorable husband decide to retire by the end of this season making Lucca the new Alicia.

The show seems aimless and random this season, like the writers lost their focus. The Sheen arc has been excruciating, as has Rose Leslie's. And has r65 says, the only character worth watching is Lucca--and there's not enough of her.

So none of you enjoyed the divorce drama? I thought that was just delicious; always appreciate seeing nasty divorce proceedings in court.

Diane going crazy over Trump to the extent that she feels like a caricature at moments seems like a deliberate creative choice. I think she's going to go so deep, she's going to end up like the alt-right trolls she had set out to fight. With the lesson being that we can't stoop to their level.

The only things that weren't working for me in this episode were Cain's federal judgeship bid (just kill yourself, Cain, seriously) and Aaron Tveit, whom I can't stand in principle.

Enough with the Trump shit! Don’t we get too much of this asshole in our daily lives? Now he’s taking over storylines in factionalized TV dramas? It’s just too much. I watch TV to escape not to be reminded of our long suffering national nightmare. It almost makes me wish they would have brought back Alicia, made her the villain squaring off against Diane. Now that would have been good TV!

Um, no, no Julianna Margulies in anything ever again, please. Jesus Christ, don't even joke about that shit.

R69 Why not? Wouldn’t you love to see Diane bitch clap her again? Maybe bring back Archie too! I could watch that shit all day. Really knock the hag down a few pegs!

Why hasn’t Alan Cumming reprised his role as Eli Gold given the fact that his daughter Marissa is such a big part of the show? Parker Posey played her mother oh “The Good Wife” but she’s currently doing “Lost In Space” for Netflix.

r70 As much as I'd like to see her get (physically) abused by Diane over and over again, I seriously doubt Juliana would come back if that were in the script. I can't even believe she agreed to that one slap.

Cumming might be too busy playing the lead in Instinct, which has been renewed for another season.

I don't know, r67. The divorce just materialized out of nowhere (I frankly had forgotten she was married) and the story just bounced from highlight to highlight. It seemed that the whole purpose was to demonstrate that these #metoo issues have many unexpected consequences. And maybe they're also teeing up a renewed romance between Audra and the ex- ex-.

[quote]The divorce just materialized out of nowhere (I frankly had forgotten she was married)

Ugh, yeah, I admit that was the case with me as well. I actually thought to myself "Wait, is she still married to Adrian?!"

[quote] Enough with the Trump shit! Now he’s taking over storylines in factionalized TV dramas? It’s just too much

Too much is 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 enough.

Those who want to Fight monsters better be dang sure they don't become them.

I got halfway through episode 3 - I’m out - Sheen is unwatchable and the Diane storyline is ridiculous - Not sure what they were thinking with this season but it’s horrible

That was awesome. I chuckled at Lucca's arc with that Concerned Frau of America that DL loves so much. Did you clock Liz realizing at the end that Diane was fine with ruining that trans person's life, but went berserk when Maia's job was threatened? Yeah, Diane might not be a racist, but the privileged WASP does jump out at every turn.

I still believe the purpose of Diane's resistance arc is to demonstrate that she'll be prepared to do anything to defeat Trump, and in doing so will become Trumpian herself. The moral gray areas are the most interesting, after all. She looked amazing in this suit, though I brightened the shot up a bit to bring out the detail. I'm such a slut for pattern and print mixing.

I fast-forwarded through all of Julius Cain's arc because fuck him. Did you notice how it suddenly rains all the time, even though we barely saw any rain on The Good Wife or in the past two seasons of this show? Love that. There should be more casual rain on TV shows.

A spin-off of The Good Wife I assume. I watched all of The Good Wife and it was entertaining enough, especially the 5th season. That's where it peaked, firing on all cylinders, it became a back-stabbing frenzy. So I'll have to watch The Good Fight too, especially since it apparently had the balls to go directly after Trump. So surprising such a show is on CBS, the old fogy network.

I realised I might be a bit racist myself as I only screenshot Diane's outfits. So here's a kickass one from a black partner. I've noticed correcting the colours cheapens the look, so I'm posting it in its original form.

Is the firm turfing Maia the producers' way of (finally) appeasing fans of the show who have been bemoaning that character almost from the get-go?

If she's not written off the series completely, does this at least mean she'll be less of a central figure now?

r80 I thought the exact same thing when she got fired but then the preview dashed my hopes completely. We're getting even more of her, probably.

We probably are, r81. My guess is that they have too many plots centering directly on the firm and no room for Maia in any of them, so they had to construct a story for her outside the firm. And that also makes a place for Sheen.

I really hope this show isn't about to derail itself.

[quote] Diane was fine with ruining that trans person's life, but went berserk when Maia's job was threatened?

Have we forgotten than Maia is her goddaughter, and Diane brought her into the firm?

r83 No, I haven't forgotten, but it still came across as hypocritical to me and obviously to Liz as well.

Maia has actual experience now. What they do with her could get interesting. The show started with her. There are so many threads in the plot that draw back on corruption in public life. Now they’ve started to move onto some shockingly sensitive stuff: Democrats seeming themselves as Republicans see them, or - a mirror darkly. It’s gutsy television.

After Diane went ballistic over Eric and Don Jr, to find she had fallen in with fraud and responsible with creating a fake internet rumor that resulted in a riot at a brokerage, it’s starting to occur to her how easily we lose control and just how fragile our system may be.

R78 is very late to the party.

Better late than never!

r85 Exactly what I've been telling people who say they don't like the Trump-bashing in this show, as if this is the only thing Diane's arc is about. They're exploring some really nasty things in those of us on the left as well. I mean, that sight of them obsessing over his approval ratings on the backboard reminded me so much of the approval hawks here on DL and on 538, who are convinced he only needs to go a couple points down and he'll be gone overnight. So I was ecstatic when they finally shifted their strategy to the deplorables in those swing states the new Dem candidate needs to win. Of course, that's also exactly where their game turned particularly underhanded.

[quote]Maia has actual experience now. What they do with her could get interesting. The show started with her.

But is there actually anyone anywhere watching this show who thinks, "I really want to see more of Maia!"?

Yes, the show kicked off with her smack dab in the middle of the main storyline, but I think viewers (and possibly showrunners) realized pretty quickly that she was the cast's weakest link and most easily disposable character.

I really don't think they're going to dispose of Maia. On the other hand, I hope the showrunners understand that many people want to see more of Lucca.

I know a couple of lesbians who came into this show because of Maia and I'm sure they appreciate the representation. Although I haven't asked them about their feelings on the show three season in... The showrunners must be aware that she is hardly anyone's favourite, but their response seems to be to make her more relatable or redeem her somehow, rather than giving her less to do.

I also want to see more of Lucca. I went nuts when that concern frau harassed her in the park! I don't know why but the Permit Pattys and the Barbecue Beckys of this world trigger me unlike anything else. I guess it's the self-righteousness of it all that does it for me.

They'll turn Maia into the Alicia Florrick of The Good Fight. You can kind of see where this is going: she'll join or start a rival firm, really have it in for Boseman et al., maybe even align with Michael Sheen's character to take down those who she thinks have wronged her while working there, etc.

I hope they don't do anything like that. She really can't carry that major a story arc.

^^ Amen to that, R92. Maia is way too bland and boring to pull off that kind of move, even if Sheen's character "helps" her. I could see HIM starting a firm of his own and trying to recruit her... though I hope I'm wrong because I really wish his character would be written off and never heard from again.

[quote]I also want to see more of Lucca.

And amen to that, as well, R90.

[bold]Julianna Margulies On Why She Didn’t Reprise Her ‘Good Wife’ Role On ‘The Good Fight’[/bold]

[quote]"The showrunners had found a nice away to reintroduce my character, a story that was to span three episodes. I was really excited about the idea, but CBS refused to pay my (ask).”

[quote]She elaborated to Deadline that she had not asked for more than her regular fee, which I hear was in line with what Margulies made on The Good Wife. I hear what she was offered was a Good Fight guest star rate. “I’m not a guest star; I started the whole thing with The Good Wife,” Margulies told Deadline. “I wanted to be paid my worth and stand up for equal pay. if Jon Hamm came back for a Mad Men spinoff or Kiefer Sutherland wanted to do a 24 spinoff, they would be paid.”

[quote]After the deal fell through, Margulies rules out a possible stint on future seasons of The Good Fight, which she said she loves. She praised the quality of the storytelling and the cast, sharing her regret she would not be able to work again with Baranski and Cush Jumbo, her co-stars on The Good Wife and who are her friends. She also said that she regrets she would not be bringing back Alicia for the fans who had been asking for the character’s return to The Good Fight ever since the spinoff was announced.

[quote]Margulies today echoed some comments she made last week in France. “To be perfectly honest, I was shocked. I was more surprised than hurt. I thought, what are you worth? If you are worthless, if you are not valued for your work, than what’s the point?”

It's difficult to not sympathize in principle with Julianna until you stop and think the new show has a very limited audience on the new pay network. Smaller venues and smaller budgets and paychecks go together.

Margulies was looking for the same per episode rate she pulled in on the “Good Wife”? Is she fucking nuts? I would assume on the finale season she was making $200-250K per episode. Baranski is probably pulling in around $200k per episode as the star of “The Good Fight”. Margulies has always been difficult. We all remember to notorious green screen incident with Archie after she refused to film with her for several seasons then eventually had her pushed off the show. On the final season of “The Good Wife” Margulies rarely filmed with the regular cast members which I don’t think was a coincidence and that final slap from Baranski in the finale told us how the producers really felt about her. “The Good Wife” could have gone another couple of seasons had it not been for the notoriously difficult Margulies.

So what happened to Maia's girlfriend? She's clearly living alone.

[QUOTE] “I wanted to be paid my worth and stand up for equal pay. "

Sure Jan.

She hasn't got a fucking clue what equal pay actually means, has she?

So, we're openly advocating for violence against neo-Nazi's now?

I’m out. I cannot deal with the Michael Sheen character. Also, the political propaganda of the show has just turned me off.

I'm probably right behind you, r101.

Ah, yes, the political propaganda of denouncing the neo-Nazis, that old thing...

The agenda is getting kinda overwhelming, R103. Characters are becoming cardboard cutouts to the message.

I am tired of the cute little songs in every episode. It was a neat surprise at the end of last season, but Hollywood has just got to pound any good idea into the ground.

I thought the outcome (?) of the voting-location riot was confusing: we see Lucca et al. being pummelled, chaos breaking out... and then, a few hours later, everyone's fine, unscathed and sipping beers in the woods? Even the news reporter who, presumably, would have at least had to go back to the station to edit/file her report after being smack dab in the middle of a hugely newsworthy story?

I agree with the other posters who feel the political content of the show is overtaking good storytelling -- it feels like the writers and producers are trying to shoehorn in as much commentary on the current political climate as possible, to the detriment of the series' characters and storylines.

We'll get smaller moments as the season progresses, I'm sure.

Why did Maia shun Lucca at the end? What did Lucca ever do to her? Wasn't it Diane who fucked up her job thing?

[quote]Why did Maia shun Lucca at the end?

I wondered the same thing. Closing the door in Lucca's face = not cool. It just cemented my dislike of the Maia character.

Lucca is the "collateral damage" in the war she is going to wage against her former firm.

Christine certainly has come a long way since her short term role on "All My Children" as Jewel, a trailer park owner who aided Billy Clyde Tuggle (real life husband Matthew Cowles) in his kidnapping of Adam Chandler. Christine played a good hearted but trashy character whom Susan Lucci tells to stop whining while her, Mike Roy and Adam are waiting for the police to come arrest Billy Clyde. I guess Adam didn't press charges against her because she let him go. I had remembered seeing this when it aired (watched it again yesterday), but didn't really notice her in anything substantial until she played the sophisticated girlfriend of Jeremy Irons in "Reversal of Fortune", not quite a bitchy role, but definitely closer to what she's been known for over the past few decades.

Were she and Matthew Cowles already together then or did they meet on set?

R111 They married in 1983. That same year, Christine was also on "Another World" playing a short-term character named Beverly Tucker. I watched "AW" at the time but do not recall her.

Thanks, r112.

The Good Fight plays games hinting at Trump assassination.

Is the The Resistance actually real?

The Good Fight is responsible for unleashing non-binary and trans craziness, SJWs, Omar and other fascism of the left.

Diane Lockhart should remember that those who fight monsters better be damn sure they don't become them.

The deporables have seized on the show and are talking about the incitement of violence everywhere.

[quote] The Good Fight is responsible for unleashing non-binary and trans craziness, SJWs, Omar and other fascism of the left.

Got lost on your way to Breitbart or Gab? May I recommend kindly fucking off? Thanks!

Okay, this Melania episode was CRAZY! I kept cackling throughout. This is exactly the kind of kooky humour I tune into this show for. And the best thing about the episode - a Lucca-centred arc with no Maia to be seen anywhere.

Loved seeing Diane go nuts over those axes. "Are you ready to get serious?" - cut to a business card "Serious axes". A couple of brilliant quotes:

[quote]I never wanted any of this. I just want to live a normal life. Without people thinking my Christmas trees are ugly. They're cranberry clusters. It's art! - Melania

[quote]🎵 Hard work and determination. One day she woke, with a man by her side. Finally she rose to her station, now she's be's the best. 🎵

Who knew Marissa had the pipes, eh?

They need to put this show out of its misery. The writers for this season should never be hired in Hollywood again. Last night's episode was mindnumbingly awful. I have no idea what's going on with Michael Sheen's character's story arc. My brain shut down every time he was onscreen. How did they crash and burn so badly between seasons?

Aside from Sheen's arc, I disagree with that assessment completely. I think the writing in this last episode was near genius. But that's a matter of personal taste so we definitely shouldn't be making calls as to the writers' future employment opportunities.

The trump obsession has ruined it in my opinion. It's bad enough to hear about him every other scene, but an entire episode centered on Melania was too much.

Titus Burgess + Brooke Smith + Cush Jumbo = so much talent and potential for narrative greatness thrown away on a punchline storyline that ultimately went absolutely nowhere.

Does Brooke Smith not work much these days, or do I just not know where to look?

[quote]Does Brooke Smith not work much these days, or do I just not know where to look?

She's had a few supporting/recurring roles on several TV series in recent years, but seems to be primarily a guest star. She needs a breakout gig like Margo Martindale's "The Americans" character, IMO, since they're both super-talented character actors.

Thx, r125. I looked at her Wiki entry and her recurring roles have been almost exclusively on shows I wasn't watching. I do remember her arc on Grey's Anatomy, but that's about it. It's always a treat to see her.

I’m just discovering season 1.

Delroy Lindo deserves an Emmy.

The guest star lawyers are pretty good. I always love watching Christine Lahti.

Christine Lahti is amazing. Presence coming off of her in waves.

I was surprised to learn Gina friggin' Gershon played Melania in the last episode. She looked just like her with the lights dimmed!

The show is also suffering for lack of cutie Justin Bartha (Colin) and kooky brilliant Andrea Martin. They need to erase this season and restart.

I hate how loud Christine's jackets are compared to TGW, even though she wears them with so much elegance. Polyester lurex brocade may be Valentino, but it is still polyester lurex brocade.

What happened to the cute baby daddy. His mother is present but baby daddy is absent.

I'm a fan of Michael Sheen, but I can't stand him in this. I loathe his character, and hate that they're shoving it down our throats.

Also not a fan of all the little songs. It was mildly amusing when it was the first one, but that's it.

And this latest plot about "Melania." Awful. Too much cutesyness by far. And the bitch fight between Brooke Smith and Cush Jumbo, with Brooke saying "You're mean!" was ludicrous.

[quote]That director (Alex Hurt) was handsome as fuck and don't you fight me on this one.

It's amazing how much Alex Hurt looks like his father.

r134 I had no idea they were related! But yeah, same long face.

[quote]And the bitch fight between Brooke Smith and Cush Jumbo, with Brooke saying "You're mean!" was ludicrous.

r133 Okay, yeah, that little tiff was pretty surreal, I'll give you that. But I also think that was the point - to add to the whole WTF?! vibe of the episode.

Everything is WTF now on the show. They haven't lost me yet, but they're getting close.

Grown up Alex Hurt looks even more like Dad.

r138 I know, I posted that old photo to compare him in the gif at r9 to his younger dad.

Renewed.

Let's hope the Kings have Trump and Jonathan Coulton out of their system by then.

Let's hope Trump is out of [italic]our[/italic] system by then.

Agree on the Jonathan Coulton part. I like those segments but I still hope they're a one-season thing only.

I LOVE this show. The Good Wife was my favourite show on (American) network tv for the first five seasons so I was looking forward to seeing some of the same characters. It's been even better than I'd hoped. The first season was good, although too Maia-centric and I didn't like the woman who was trying to oust Diane. Just recently I picked it up again and the 2nd season was _really_ good and now I'm caught up in the 3rd, having just watched fake Melania.

I like all the sly Trump cracks--the Trump-masked exhibitionists! ("That's an insurance agency"), the OTT news clips! or was that Diane on drugs?? Who knows? It's the funhouse mirror reflection of our times. I like the Schoolhouse Rock segments. I LOVE all the returning guest characters. Did you see the photo of David Lee on someone's laptop? And the NSA guys to pile on the paranoia! Let's kill all the lawyers! Jane Lynch and the birds that hit her window at noontime, omg. Cush Jumbo is a star. Marissa is brilliant. Audra McDonald, so glad they made her an ally of Diane's and not another back-stabbing foe. I _like_ her marriage to Kurt ("No, I voted for Ted Cruz") because, well I can't explain it except he's a pretty decent guy except for his politics and he doesn't throw that in her face. And I've even come around on Michael Sheen because it is funny how shameless he is. ("Are you high?" "No. Maybe.")

Part of the reason it took me so long to watch season 2 is because I didn't hear any buzz about it so I kinda assumed it was not as good as the first season. Instead it was even better. I don't think it could be this good on regular CBS. Now it's kind of stealth good. Lucky for us viewers, not sure it's good for the bottom line but it's been renewed.

r143 THANK YOU. I thought I was the only one left here who loves this show!

[quote]It's the funhouse mirror reflection of our times.

Exactly this. I think people just want a straight-up legal procedural completely isolated from the current political climate and that's why there's been so much complaining going on. But I can always rewatch the first season of this show or the entire season of The Good Wife if I want to see more of that.

Personally, I wouldn't mind if they went full Ally McBeal with this show eventually.

On top of everything else that's gone wrong this season, Diane's character has become unrecognizable. She's supposed to be a respected, brilliant lawyer, but she's a mentally-unstable Modesty Blaise wannabe.

No Maia, again, so there's that.

But there's too much Trump stuff.

Another amazing episode. No Maia to be seen anywhere and Lucca getting a love interest - fuck yeah!

Diane's arc went exactly as I said it would, i.e. the liberal activists are turning deplorable themselves. How can anyone not like this show after that beautifully written conversation Diane and Liz had? These are exactly the kinds of conversations we need on our (scripted) TV right now.

Can't believe Kathy Najimy's judge is on the take. Also, why isn't Kathy Najimy everywhere on TV? She's magnetic to watch. I hate to admit it, but I kinda liked Sheen's character in this episode? He's like a cartoon and I did say I wanted this show to incorporate more Ally McBeal vibes...

Gary Carr as Gary Carr was so meta to watch, especially when he started talking about the differences between real life and acting. Though I had to laugh when civilians went nuts over him - his role on DA wasn't universally beloved, especially because he can't really sing well enough for the role of a famous jazz singer. But damn, I would lick that beautiful man head to toe.

I'm bummed to hear so many give up on this show. I was getting pressed by all the politics as well but then I began to see the writers point, they are trying their best to clearly illustrate exactly what we are up against. Blum is a student of and lover of Roy Cohen. He represents those tactics and how they are being used against us. Hes what we are up against. Just like with the book club.

I was feeling like I didn't need to see anymore of this shit either but then I began to get the point. They don't get tired, those people destroying our way of life, they don't get tired. If you think it's a bad show by all means don't watch. But if you are simply running from the reality of it. . . The other guys win.

R148, to paraphrase a famous line, we didn't leave the show, the show left us.

Famous awful line that conveys precisely nothing. Plenty of us still are still fans so it's obviously not the show's fault. Anyway, the end result is you stopped watching so why are you still here?

I liked Lucca's old boyfriend who seems to now be dead, though I can appreciate the Meta new boyfriend.

Not dead. Ran for Congress or something.

[quote] I liked Lucca's old boyfriend who seems to now be dead, though I can appreciate the Meta new boyfriend.

You don't think that this is going to be the potential focal point of Lucca's storyline this season? The babydaddy is very much alive and still in DC.

Yeah, what happened to Lucca's - was he her boyfriend or her husband? I mean, they had a baby together, and Andrea Martin as his mother has shown up once this season, but otherwise it's like he doesn't exist. Did they have a breakup at the end of last season? Or something that would explain why he doesn't exist in her life at all this year?

Yes, r154; they really were never much of a couple.

R153, the actor that plays Colin very publicly did not renew his contract this year. I'd be very surprised to see him show up.

Justin Bartha? He split from The Good Fight?

Yep, R157.

It sounds as if TGF didn’t OFFER a contract to Justin Bartha for season 3. You guys are acting as if he turned them down.

I won’t give up on the show, but my patience has been tried, even If I accept all the writers’ intentions that I’m reading here. The last couple weeks have been much( better than the first couple, and add me to the list of those sick of Maia. I don’t like the character or the actress.

Michael Sheen is a nightmare in this role. I didn’t need GROSSLY OBNOXIOUS to get the point. I hate him. The animated songs? I guess we’re getting those every week. Bad decision. Have enjoyed guest stars like Gary Carr and Kathy Najimy, who is a really good actress. I love to watch her work.

Cush Jumbo has been great from the jump, and I love Christine Baranski, who’s the reason I’ll stick with the series until it’s done.

[quote]Michael Sheen is a nightmare in this role. I didn’t need GROSSLY OBNOXIOUS to get the point. I hate him.

This, over and over again.

I just caught up on the last episode. Is tonight the finale? I hope not, now that I've rediscovered it, I don't want it to end.

One thing I didn't understand, the woman (who is she now?) tells Boseman that the judge is on the take but doesn't say anything more? And then he and Diane confront her at the diner and don't offer any evidence? That seemed very naive. And really they should have asked Michael Sheen's character, he would've known but then he'd leverage it into a partnership deal.

I would never have recognized that actor from DA but it was a funny set up. It's too bad about Justin Bartha though, he and Cush Jumbo's character had _real_ chemistry in S1, like Alicia-Will did.

The cartoony bit, wanting to use a clip from DA but not being able to get the rights in time and Lucca shutting her computer before it finished playing. C'mon, you have to admit that's funny.

This episode was back to the basics, what with the heavy ethical dilemma in the courtroom. I screamed when Jane Curtin appeared on the screen and I couldn't believe they showed her in a bra. What a good sport she is. And the NSA homos are back! I'm going to say it: John Cameron Mitchell is too old for that haircut.

Too bad Lucca's love story is over already, though it was totally worth it just for the sight of her literally running away from a proselytizing scieno. Hysterical!

I want to strangle the deplorable enabling Kurt to death. Maia's back next week, so that fucking sucks. Two more episodes, r161.

[quote]One thing I didn't understand, the woman (who is she now?) tells Boseman that the judge is on the take but doesn't say anything more? And then he and Diane confront her at the diner and don't offer any evidence? That seemed very naive. And really they should have asked Michael Sheen's character, he would've known but then he'd leverage it into a partnership deal.

r161 That judge that Boseman is fucking seems so suspicious to me, I wouldn't be surprised to learn she's the dirtiest judge of them all. I couldn't believe they confronted Kathy Najimy in a restaurant like that. Imagine a judge calling your bluff and then having no backup plan? Agree on the point regarding Michael Sheen's character's involvement. Boseman wanted to play this card himself but it blew in his face.

Yes, the Chumhum episode was so refreshing, recalling everything that made this series great early on. Great performances, tight script, no cutesy song.

Don't they do 13 episodes a season?

Yes. They're barely at the halfway mark.

The first season had 10 episodes, the second 13, and the third is back to 10 again. There's a chance it might get an extension, but that would have been announced by now.

It was announced they are having a fourth season so maybe they are doing an every other type thing.

[bold]The Only TV Show That Gets Life Under Trump[/bold]

[quote]According to the Kings, there are sometimes just weeks between editing an episode and broadcasting it, so while they don’t quite overlap with the news cycle, they’re not far behind it. “We’re making it as we’re showing it,” Robert said, adding, “So it does give us the opportunity to change things if the reality changes.”

Oh man, I didn't like Jane Curtin as judge. I wanted to but it's like she watched all the episodes with the idiosyncratic judges and decided to be wacky but she couldn't commit to total wackiness. I don't think Rob Reiner worked either when he was on before.

I guess I shouldn't like that Kurt did his investigative thing, found out who left the note (wait, what did the 2nd note say?), flushed him out, got the voting machines replaced and basically fixed Diane's problem without telling her. But it was an neat piece of detective work. I appreciated that when he had the screenshot of the car, when he zoomed in on the license plate, it just got more pixelated. Instead of using the Enhance command to make it clearer.

Another clever take on the cartoon. I really enjoy this show.

Baranski is a trumpkin in spirit, if not in voice. I mean COME ON.

The arrogance? The disdain? It SCREAMS Trump.

Cybill needs to guest star

R171, you’re fucking nuts.

r170 Yes, Curtin was quite restrained but I appreciated that; it would look bizarre to me if a judge her age was full-on wacky all the time. Although her interacting with that black woman in the audience did make me cringe. And I think she was on the show before.

Kurt did nice detective work but I still can't stand him and his trips to Mar-a-Lago. "The Family wants to install their own voting machines." That sounds like mafia business and it made me shudder when he said it.

[bold]‘The Good Fight’: Creators Explain the Show Casting Gary Carr… to Play Gary Carr[/bold]

[quote]One touch that added to the meta component is the fact that Jumbo, who plays Lucca, is actually British (though her American accent never wavers even after Carr drops his initial American persona.) “It’s a little bit of craziness,” Michelle said.

Jumbo is British, WTF?!

[quote]Jumbo is British, WTF?!

Indeed she is. And quite charming.

The trip to Mar a Lago was a joke, I thought it was funny. I didn't think it was believable that he could access a database of government car license plate numbers even granting that a low level NSA employee would have one *and* get Doris Day parking but they have to move quickly in an hour show.

Yes, I made I mistake there. Still, can't stand him being so cosy with La Famiglia. Again, there's no way someone like Diane would be able to date a conservative. And it's not like he's loaded either.

Jumbo is also in a British show called Vera. A friend of mine recommended it and It's my new viewing "comfort food". Like a British murder she wrote except Jessica Fletcher is disheveled, calculating, irascible and takes her share of nips now and again. There's a very human quality to the show that wins the heart. The early seasons star David Leon who is pretty hot, along with Brenda Blythen. Cush comes in regularly in the 4th & 5th seasons.

[bold]'Censored' Good Fight Scene Was No Joke: CBS All Access Confirms It Had 'Concerns With Subject Matter'[/bold]

Holy shit, that wasn't a joke!

[quote]A spokesperson for CBS All Access confirms to TVLine that it “had concerns with some subject matter in the episode’s animated short,” adding that the message viewers saw represented “the creative solution that we agreed upon” with series creators Robert and Michelle King.

[quote]So what was the concerning subject matter? Based on the scene that led directly into the ultimately-excised short, the Kings presumably were going to clue viewers in on the morally flexible lengths some U.S. companies will go to in order to break into the lucrative Chinese market (which tied into the episode’s B-story involving the fictional search engine behemoth ChumHum).

Wow. That's wild, hope they included it on some directors cut or replays with extra scenes.

Ha. I thought it was their clever way of responding to complaints about the animated shorts. (Actually I've only read about the complaints here, maybe most viewers have no problem.) They have a pretty fast turnaround per r169.

I'll check out the later seasons of Vera, I've only seen the first.

I don't mind the animated shorts, I remember School House Rock and loved it, so this is a fun throw back to that. I learned things I could not otherwise remember because of School House Rock. We could use a return of those government ones on a 24 hour loop. Too many people do not understand how the government works and they do not appreciate it either.

I like the animated shorts, I just don't like the singer straining when he tries to hit those high notes. Why compose in the range that's not yours in the first place?

Oddly, Jonathan Coulton songs almost always sound better when someone else sings them, although I don't mind his voice. He's quite humorous and personable on "Wait Wait Don't' Tell Me." This is my favorite song of his (because it perfectly fit the tone of the awesome game it was from ):

Whoops, it's "Ask Me Another," not "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" I get these NPR gameshows confused.

[bold]CBS Censors “The Good Fight” for a Musical Short About China[/bold]

More about that bit of censorship; seems like things actually got quite heated. You can find the content of the animated short described in the article as well.

[quote]The segment had been fully written and animated, then vetted by legal and run through all the regular corporate oversight. Then, less than two weeks before the episode was going to air, CBS told the Kings to cut the animated sequence. In response, the co-creators threatened to stop writing the show. In a subsequent conversation, the two sides reached what CBS called a “creative solution”: the Kings wouldn’t quit, but CBS would agree to display that placard where the short was meant to go.

[quote]The Kings’ initial plan was to leave the placard up for the entire ninety seconds that the song was meant to run, accompanied by a countdown clock. During the sound mix, they reconsidered: that approach felt potentially self-indulgent and bratty, and maybe punishing to viewers. Eight and a half seconds of protest seemed like enough, after which they would cut back to the regular episode. As a result, many “Good Fight” viewers interpreted the sign as a satirical gesture, not a real indication that CBS had censored a forbidden subject. “It did not occur to me that people would think that it was a joke—until, literally, we saw our family this weekend and people didn’t realize it had happened,” Michelle King told me.

Okay, now I've got to see this short.

CBS is fearless against what they pretend is an evil dictatorial regime at home, and fold like a cheap suit to an actual tyranny even though it's 8000 miles away. An excellent summary of Hollywood progressiveness.

My name is Lucca. I live on the second floor.

NYT has picked up the story as well.

[quote]Mr. Coulton said he bore no ill will toward CBS, understanding that as a large multinational corporation, it had some “tough choices to make.” Still, the whole situation is the “definition of irony,” he said.

[quote]“The song ends with me saying, ‘I hope this song is banned in China,’ ” Mr. Coulton said. “Now it’ll never get the chance.”

I always fast forward through the short animated stuff. Patronizing and out of place.

Marissa is bisexual? Has that been established previously? Also, they went from former coworkers enjoying a friendly catch-up to almost kissing, so that was weird. The betrayal would carry just as much weight without this turn of events.

No animated short this week.

I'm not sure her bisexuality was established in this episode.

It looked to me from the preview that next week is the final episode of the season. Is that right?

Yeah, the season ends next week.

I hope we'll get rid of Blum&Maia after that.

The writers have certainly cleared the way for both of them to be gone.

Used to attend a class at uni with someone who had PBA like that lawyer. Only in her case it was shrieking/crying uncontrollably as a result of brain damage after her car accident. It happened just a couple of times for five seconds or so and she very politely apologized every time, but it was a pretty uncomfortable experience nonetheless. I guess I just don't know how I feel about neurological disorders being used for comedic effect.

[quote]I guess I just don't know how I feel about neurological disorders being used for comedic effect.

It's nothing new for the Good Wife or the Good fight. I'm fine with it.

So tired of Blum and Maia. I hope they both get blown up in the season finale.

Maia’s betrayal of Marissa shows what total shit she is.

I was one of the people up above who was considering stopping after the Melania episode. Tonight I watched the three that have come after it and am glad I came back. With Blum (and Maia's) screen time dialed back, it has been much more enjoyable and even with the annoyances of this season, it's better than 90% of what's on tv most of the time.

I've got a horrible feeling their new firm is going to become this huge thing next season. I still hope they wrap it up by the end of this one.

My understanding was that Sheen was only brought on for this season. Are they gonna go down the route of something happening to Blum, so Maia will be running that firm in the future (i.e. in the next season)?

r202 Best news I've heard all week, thanks. And it would make sense, what with him getting disbarred and all.

Maia leading her own firm next season seems unrealistic and like a TGW ripoff, but whatever, I'll take what I can get.

I suppose I could tolerate Maia, but Sheen has been a disaster.

R193 This week's animated short played during the credits.

This season has been a mess. It has reached Boston Legal levels of suspension of belief. I hated the Blum character!

[quote]This week's animated short played during the credits.

I see. I checked it out just now and it was about cultural appropriation and blackface. I understand why they decided against featuring it during the episode as those interracial tiffs weren't really the main focus of the episode. They were like a C-plot, if that. Lucca was totally wasted on that.

I hope there are serious discussions with the showrunners about what's worked and what hasn't.

Michael Sheen has a new show on Fox, so hopefully he's out of The Good Fight for good after this season.

Let us pray.

And here's the new science vs. religion series from the Kings that is going to air on the network itself, not just on All Access.

Some familiar faces.

Rose Leslie is out, THANK FUCK!

Okay, now that I got that most important thing out of the way, some more thoughts...

Hated the first scene as it was clearly shot in front of a green screen, and sloppily at that. So that's what the storm motifs through the season led up to? Okay. I quite liked the summation animation short and feel like that's the end of animation shorts on this show.

That Trump appointee's courtroom with the red drapes looked like full-on Nazi Germany, didn't it? Shudder. I'm ready for Kurt to fall and break his fucking neck already, as I'm starting to low-key hate Diane for loving a deplorable Trump enabler. The scene with the notes mixup was funny, though.

All of Lucca's lines were so good in this episode and Cush delivered them so well; I think I might be slowly starting to stan this actress. The conversation about the black thing was doubly meaningful because she's a British black actress and we know that's another uncomfortable conversation right there.

Rose is leaving and no upcoming projects on her IMDb page, same as her husband. Maybe they're going to take some time and work on their already failing marriage.

At least her character did one good thing, going away with Blum.

r213 All shade and yet not one word of a lie; that's exactly how it's done.

Hopefully, both she and her beard will be official inclusions in the "They tried to crack America" thread ten years hence. Five, if we're lucky.

Can the Kill All Lawyers assassin come back to knock off Michael Sheen?

K thanx

Am I crazy or was this the butler from The Nanny?

No more Julius??? Noooooooooooo.

Julius the TRUMP appointee can fuck right off. Coming after abortion and gay rights as I type, no doubt.

I like Julius. He was a good actor.

The actor WAS good but his character... gurl. He's a deplorable through and through, there's no two ways about it.

Well, I will miss Julius.

And yes, r216, that is most certainly Niles the Butler (Daniel Davis).

It’s been fun having this much diversity of perspective instead of the nodding heads you sometimes get on shows.

There's all the diversity of perspectives I can eat in real life already. It's nice to relax a bit when watching TV, imho.

On the whole, I thought this season was a dud. I'm glad we've seen the last of Rose and Sheen--he really ruined it for me.

The cliffhanger was creepy af. It will probably figure in my nightmares.

I gotta say that Diane and Liz sending their firm investigators out to try to intimidate the Book Club was asinine. Didn't they know better than anyone the scorched-earth tactics they're capable of? A more saavy writer would have had Diane and Liz coming up with a strategy, such as involving a journalist or government investigators through Kurt's connections. But to walk up and say "Diane says quit it" was lame.

Unsatisfying finale, even though it disposes of Maia and Blum, who I hated. Sheen was a cancer on the entire season.

Casting one of the stars of This Is Us as the Trump judge was a mistake. In addition, he was written as too, too stupid. I hate extremes like that. Awful.

Lucca is too smart to be so clueless about the “you’re not black enough” charge. Not believable.

The storm stuff didn’t work for me.

Exactly, R226. And the song was particularly tepid.

This is what the David E Kelley shows used to look like right before they went completely off the rails and became unwatchable.

225 I think they did that to establish who the big bad will be next season. Blum is gone next up, the book club.

R228, you’re so right about the David E Kelley writing. Even that last scene with the swatting screamed of Kelley hyperbole.

The book club might very well be the big bad nex5 season, although it will be an absolute mess if it is. I just hate all these plots being so outlandish and outrageous.

Also, as much as I love Christine Baranski, I think we can cut back anytime on Diane’s laugh.

[quote]Unsatisfying finale, even though it disposes of Maia and Blum

Does it, though? For sure? (I say this hoping it DOES, btw.)

Given how much politics has figured into the season, and Maya's comment about Blum only being disbarred in Illinois -- I think she said "not Virginia" or something to that effect (?) -- I'm wondering if they might return in guest-star capacities if the firm finds itself involved in a Federal case.

I, too, was glad I stuck out the season, which improved in the last few episodes, but I was underwhelmed on the whole.

And Lucca was completely wasted this season on hollow subplots. Here's hoping Cush Jumbo gets meatier material next season.

I bet they're gone for good. Sheen has his own show now and Leslie won't demean herself with guest appearances. She thinks she's too hot for that and when she finally realises she isn't, the show will have ended already.

I'm really grateful to the Kings that they're able to read the room and fix what isn't working, even if that means writing out one of the main characters.

[quote]I'm really grateful to the Kings that they're able to read the room and fix what isn't working

They've done nothing except end the season. We'll see if they're actually any good at "reading the room" next year. They certainly failed this one.

Anyone with a bit of sense for storytelling could sense the finality of that scene. Also disagree completely that they failed as I loved this season.

I wanted to love this season, but ultimately was turned away--not only by Sheen and the Blum/Maia arc but by the disjointedness of the stories. I kept feeling like I must have dozed off during the episodes.

And to the poster upthread who's about done with Baranski's laugh, I'm with you.

Margulies still going on about that fucking salary she didn't get. But this bit about The Slap was interesting:

[quote]Margulies also addressed the slap that jarred fans into a collective gasp in the final minutes of The Good Wife finale. Margulies said she knew the ending long before the end came for the seven-season series.

[quote]“The day I shot that pilot of me slapping Chris Noth, Robert and Michelle King said to me, ‘We have seven years in us to write this show if it gets picked up. In the ending, you will be slapped.’ They knew the ending when they shot the pilot, “and that’s their right,” Margulies said. “I said, ‘You guys created the show, you are the visionaries, I will do what you say. My job is just to make it look real.'”

Uh, what a trouper.

Finally watched the last two episodes. I still love it. All the quirky stuff, the bizarre lightning, the Facetime glitch which Apple will surely have fixed by now! made me laugh out loud.

Ending with the SWAT team though, I am scared for Kurt. He's not a Trump supporter!! He voted for Ted Cruz.

(Lol)

Julianna Margulies is right about the salary she was offered and what she deserved. Unfortunately, DL doesn’t like her so she’s treated like the cunt who shouldn’t be hired for anything.

The Kings have told the SAME story about the slap that ended the series. Unfortunately, DL doesn’t like her so she’s called the liar who was slapped because the Kings turned on her.

She ruined the last seasons of TGW with her antics so she can fuck off.

Instead of binging this show I watched all ten episodes over ten days. I recommend that to those who can’t watch week to week.

I have to give Sheen points for at least working on his accent. In his first two episodes he made the typical Brit faux pas of pronouncing “office” like “AH-fiss.” He didn’t do that in his remaining episodes.

One thing I simply couldn’t stand on TGW and which occurs in nearly every episode of TGF is groups of people (usually in the law firm) all yelling and arguing at each other. This doesn’t ever happen in real life and it’s fucking annoying. And even a fairly good-sized firm like Reddick Boseman Lockhart wouldn’t resemble Grand Central Station with 50 or so extras milling about in literally every scene. Most of them would be at their desks.

[quote]I have to give Sheen points for at least working on his accent. In his first two episodes he made the typical Brit faux pas of pronouncing “office” like “AH-fiss.” He didn’t do that in his remaining episodes.

Per the quote at r17, he was doing (well, trying to do) a mix of Peter Falk in Columbo, Al Pacino, and Tony Soprano. So I think the "AH-fiss" makes perfect sense in this context. Of course, the accent was still pretty abominable on the whole, just like his character.

[quote]This doesn’t ever happen in real life and it’s fucking annoying.

I was reading a listicle the other day of lawyers ranking legal dramas. One lawyer said TGW was her favourite show because whenever such a shouting scene happens at her own place of work, she wishes she was more like Alicia Florrick, who said "Okay, this is the situation we find ourselves in, let's just calm down and try and find a solution." So I suppose it does happen in real life now and then. I enjoy those scenes, personally. Love seeing people be passionate, even though it's obviously heightened reality. I mean, most of those courtroom shenanigans don't happen in the real world either.

I liked Julius. It kind of needed a rightwing voice and the actor was great. Shame he's gone, but I'm cheering for Michael Sheen. Worst New York Jew ever.

But R242, the “AH-fiss” mistake was clearly not because he was channeling Pacino, Falk, etc. He was simply falling into the trap Brits fall into time and time again when doing an American accent. The “aw” sound in “office,” “dog” and “coffee” constantly messes them up. But, like I said, he obviously noticed he’d done that and in the other episodes, particularly the later one when Maia presented him with the new office. he said it in a relatively correct accent.

Well, I guess we'll never know if he did it because he realised the mistake or because he toned down the whole Italian thing overall.

[quote]Worst New York Jew ever.

r243 Seriously. And what odd accent inspirations for a supposedly Jewish character...

Sorry, an obnoxious, annoying, abrasive character can’t be saved because he fucking pronounces office correctly.

I've liked Sheen in everything I've seen him in, except this. He's always been subtle and authentic in his roles, like Masters of Sex or The Special Relationship. However, for some reason he decided to play this as a scenery-chewing. bug-eyed maniac. It had to be what he was directed to do, I can't see him making that awful choice all on his own.

R238: What makes you think they were coming for Kurt? Remember that butch-looking Book Club chick said they were coming after Diane -- and they "swatted" that make-believe Trump staffer.

So what are the actual statistics when it comes to swatting? This show made it seem like everyone who gets swatted automatically dies.

Yes, Diane is the one she's after but Kurt is probably going to get killed. He's a gun nut remember? He probably has one under the pillow.

I just really like their story as a couple so I don't want to see him written off the show. Maybe they have a panic room and get to it before the shooting starts. The fact that swatting exists in real life and people get killed is very disturbing.

Baranski's bits from The Hollywood Reporter Drama Actress Roundtable.

Bam!

The new tension between Diane and Mia actually worked - it was the first time I liked the Mia character. That would have been an interesting angle to take, protege turning on mentor, a kind of take on the DAMAGES relationship between Patty and her protege Ellen, with Diane as a more subdued diva and Mia taking on a more Eve Harrington role.

CBS is running Season 1 on network this summer, beginning on June 16.

No, R254, all the reports are saying they’re airing Season 3, which I think is good because the show goes full throttle against Trump and Maia is way more sharper focused than she was in S1 and S2.

I wish they aired all of the seasons instead of just the last one. People are going to be so confused. And imagine Michael Sheen's character being your first contact with this show... Oof.

Oops, sorry, I stand corrected. The original reports said it would be Season 3 but I guess CBS decided it should be Season 1.

r257 That does make more sense from the marketing perspective.

Bring back Bartha

I liked Bartha's character well enough but hated his storyline and thought it detracted from the overall story and also added nothing of value to it. Besides, I'm so done with election arcs after The Good Wife.

Well, R260, if Instinct gets cancelled I have a feeling we’ll be seeing Alan Cumming finally appear on TGF as Eli Gold.

I even forgot that Instinct still exists. I don't know a single person who watches it. But a lot of dramas and comedies launched within the past couple of years are like that: media hype and ads on TV and in the press, only to disappear into total obscurity.

The second season of Instinct is being dumped by CBS this summer.

How The Good Fight Trimmed Down Its Sex Scenes and Explicit Cursing for CBS

Interview with the Kings about the editing process for the network.

Good Fight: Rose Leslie's Exit Confirmed

An original Good Fight cast member is exiting the ring.

Rose Leslie — who has played legal eagle Maia Rindell since the CBS All Access drama launched three years ago — will not be returning as a series regular for Season 4. Good Fight creators Robert and Michelle King confirmed the news to TVLine Thursday at San Diego Comic-Con, describing the series’ Season 3 finale as Leslie’s “sendoff.” (Watch my interview with the Kings here).

News of Leslie’s exit hardly comes as a surprise seeing as how the Season 3 finale literally sent Maia off to Washington D.C., where she was poised to launch a new firm with Michael Sheen’s Roland Blum. Truth be told, the writing has been on the wall since Season 2, when the show’s focus — and overall tone — morphed from legal thriller to Trump-skewering political satire. The ensemble has shifted along with the narrative, with original cast members Justin Bartha and Erica Tazel also being phased out and new blood — from the likes of Audra McDonald, Michael Boatman and Nyambi Nyambi — joining the full-time ranks.

Leslie appeared to hint at her exit back in April on live television. While making a cameo during husband/SNL host Kit Harington’s opening monologue, the actress expressed faux concern that Game of Thrones‘ conclusion would leave them with no source of income, implying that she, too, was unemployed. “Honey, don’t worry, we’ll be OK,” Harrington joked back. “I’ll make my jewelry. And you… have your little songs.”

The Good Fight‘s 10-episode fourth season is set to bow in 2020. https://tvline.com/2019/07/18/the-good-fight-season-4-rose-leslie-leaving-maia-not-returning/

YES! I told you bitches it was over for her the moment that finale aired, yet you remained sceptical.

[quote]Michael J Fox to Reprise His ‘Good Wife’ Role on CBS All Access’ ‘The Good Fight’

Good for him.

Hugh Dancy will be in season 4

r268 Omg, he's so sexy! But now I miss Hannibal all over again.

R269 I'm always surprised to see him in tv side parts when he should be lead in Oscar bait.