EXCLUSIVE: One of the most popular recurring characters on the The Good Wife will return for the upcoming spinoff series on CBS All Access, toplined by the original series’ co-stars Christine Baranski and Cush Jumbo. Carrie Preston is set for a guest arc on The Good Fight, reprising her role as quirky but brilliant attorney Elsbeth Tascioni.
Preston won an Emmy award for her role on the original series, created and executive produced by Robert and Michelle King.
After The Good Wife finale in May, Robert King told Deadline that they would bring Preston’s Elsbeth Tascioni “in a heartbeat” for a potential spinoff.
Preston has some unfinished business from the mothership series. The Kings had tried to get her for a major arc in the show’s final chapter but she had been tied up to the NBC comedy series Crowded and only was able to appear in one episode of The Good Wife‘s last season. “Carrie’s Elsbeth Tascioni character we love so much and we wish she could be involved more in the end,” Robert King told Deadline in May.
The Good Fight, executive produced/showrun by the Kings, picks up one year after the events of the final episode of The Good Wife. In the new series, an enormous financial scam has destroyed the reputation of a young lawyer, Maia (Rose Leslie), while simultaneously wiping out her mentor Diane Lockhart’s (Baranski) savings. Forced out of Lockhart & Lee, they join Lucca Quinn (Jumbo) at one of Chicago’s pre-eminent law firms.
Other original Good Wife alums set to return for The Good Fight include Sarah Steele, who is a regular, and Zach Grenier, Jerry Adler and Gary Cole, who will guest star.
The series will premiere in February with a special broadcast on CBS, then move exclusively to CBS All Access, CBS’ VOD and live streaming service. The spinoff is produced by King Size Productions and Scott Free Productions.
True Blood and Person of Interest alumna Preston, who co-stars in the upcoming ABC miniseries When We Rise, is repped by Innovative Artists and Sanders Armstrong Caserta.
Good news! She is brilliant, and I loved her character on The Good Wife! Any chance they’ll get Alan Cumming too? He was my other favorite.
Why would CBS relegate this incredible cast [LOVE Carrie Preston as this character] to a minor video access channels? Crazy. This just goes to show that the networks have no clue and are doomed. They’re afraid a female centric show… despite the success of The Good Wife… isn’t commercial enough or won’t draw audiences. Stupid.
I agree with you completely. My guess is that they are spending a ton on this show to try and attract new subscribers. I’d love to be able to watch this, but I refuse to spend more than the king’s ransom that I’m already spending for TV.
Wait for all episodes to air. Subscribe for one month at $5.99. Watch all episodes in that month. Cancel. That’s my plan.
Prayers answered!