TCA Press Tour 2011: ‘The Good Wife’s’ Julianna Margulies had to tutor husband on dramatic license
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Fans of ‘The Good Wife’ know that the courtroom drama often uses real events and people as inspiration. But not everyone can get on board with the generous dramatic liberties the show takes -- such as, for instance, star Julianna Margulies’ husband, Keith Lieberthal.
‘My husband is a lawyer,’ Margulies told reporters at the TV press tour in Pasadena on Friday. ‘He wasn’t a big television watcher -- of course, he was to watch it now -- and when he saw the first episode, he’s like, ‘Well, that would have taken months, that case.’ And I said, ‘You’re absolutely right. And then again, we have 42 minutes.’
‘And that’s our artistic license as storytellers on television. Sadly, we don’t have the luxury of time,’ the star added. ‘Otherwise, how would we be able to tell the story?’
‘Now it doesn’t bother him anymore,’ Margulies said of her husband.
The star also batted aside the notion of ‘The Good Wife’ appealing -- as most CBS shows do -- mainly to aging adults. On the series, Margulies plays Alicia Florrick, a mother who returns to legal practice after her husband is disgraced in a sex-and-corruption scandal.
‘I live in New York City,’ Margulies said. ‘The people who watch me who approach me on the streets aren’t that old, to be honest. A lot of kids, 13, 14, 15, who watch the show with their parents [and] are loving the connection and the way Alicia parents her children. ... This season we’ve done quite well in the younger demographic.’
Co-creator Robert King even revealed an un-CBS desire to be naughty. ‘The Good Wife was always meant ironically,’ he told reporters. ‘It would be nice to be ironic and call it ‘The Sexy Wife.’’
-- Scott Collins
Twitter/@scottcollinsLAT
