When CBS announced it was creating a The Good Wife just one season after Alicia Florrick's journey came to an end, fans were skeptical. Now, Deadline is reporting The Good Fight has been renewed for Season 2, and it is excellent news for fans of feminist TV. While the show is only partway through its first season, it has proven itself to be a necessary part of the TV landscape and an extension of The Good Wife world that may ultimately surpass the original.
Christine Baranski's Diane Lockhart was always a standout on The Good Wife, but since ascending to lead, her character has become even more compulsively watchable. Diane was on the brink of retirement when The Good Fight began, but a Ponzi scheme left her bank accounts and reputation damaged. Seeing Diane start over at a time in her life when she thought she could finally settle down is thrilling.
That she is surrounding by women like her goddaughter Maia (a lawyer and lesbian struggling not to be defined by her parents' mistakes), Barbara (a founding member of the law firm that takes Diane and Maia in), Marissa (a secretary turned P.I.), and newcomer Elsbeth (a boisterous, childish character whose brilliance throws people off-balance), only adds to the show's diverse appeal. The Good Fight follows a predominantly female cast of varying ages, races, sexual orientations, and economic statuses. They each come at the often socially charged cases with unique viewpoints rarely found all on one show.
In its first few episodes, the series has tackled the legal fight for a woman of color to maintain autonomy over her body, police violence, and, in the March 13 episode, the sexual assault allegations against Donald Trump. (Trump has repeatedly denied these allegations.) The Good Fight is daring to be bold and political, not as a ratings grab, but because it is built into the DNA of the show. It is a part of The Good Wife universe that pushes the original's feminism storytelling to new heights.
If the show is this good now, then there is no telling how brilliant and fearless it will be in its second season. For CBS to not only stand by The Good Fight, but to use it to launch their foray into original online programming speaks well of the network and the future of CBS All Access.
Diane may be locked in eternal struggles both legal and personal onscreen, but for viewers, her sarcasm, fearlessness in the courtroom, and anxiety over restarting her career all feel compelling and fresh. Knowing she will continue her next chapter — fighting alongside a cadre of female colleagues in Season 2 — is good for TV viewers everywhere, especially those who are looking for a feminist series with bite.
