Parents' Guide to

The Good Wife

By Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Timely, mature drama about surviving political scandal.

TV CBS Drama 2009
The Good Wife Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

See all
age 14+

Based on 7 parent reviews

slambert123
slambert123 Adult
March 28, 2022
age 18+
An excellent legal drama, but the overall show is a hot mess! The court cases were intriguing and exciting. The acting was amazing! I enjoy watching top-notch lawyers fighting for their clients. There were a few likable and quirky characters that made the show engaging. I can count on some of this cast to give me good character development, humor, ingenuity, and heart. But I have a few issues that bother me: -It is not a family-friendly show but a messy soap opera with morally bankrupt characters. Every season was a series of scandals, bed-hopping affairs, and political backstabbing, which got on my nerves. I had to fast forward through many offensive scenes. -Bad depictions of what a marriage is all about. I wish more shows would promote good marriages for a change. Both Alicia and Peter are having extramarital affairs that bother me; they had no loyalty or love toward each other. Their conscience was dead, and their so-called friends around them encouraged them to be unfaithful and use each other politically to get ahead but continue to fornicate without consequence. This is an unhealthy damaging, and selfish view of monogamy and marriage. So, I have mixed feelings about the show. I would have given this show 5/5 if it taught family values and morals. Although I enjoyed the cases and some characters, the melodrama made the show a hot mess. If you want a good legal drama with characters who have integrity, I recommend Law & Order or Blue Bloods.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
CSMContentDefault
CSMContentDefault Adult
May 6, 2020
age 2+
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE GOOD WIFE, when former Cook County State Attorney Peter Florrick (Chris Noth) is jailed for political corruption after a very public sex scandal, his wife Alicia (Julianna Margulies) accepts an offer from former law school friend Will Gardner (Josh Charles) to join his firm as a junior associate. As she begins to rebuild her legal career after 13 years away from the courtroom, she finds herself up against the legal profession's traditional "old boys' network" -- which is, ironically, occasionally made worse by female senior partner Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski). Luckily, Alicia gets some support from the firm's in-house investigator, Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi). As Alicia works to prove herself professionally, she also struggles to protect herself and teenage children (played by Graham Phillips and Mackenzie Vega) from the public scandals while coping with her mother-in-law's (Mary Beth Peil) denial about her son's escapades.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (7 ):

This series sets itself apart from other legal dramas because it's set within the backdrop of real-life political/sex scandals that have been sensationalized in the media. Because The Good Wife is told from Alicia's point of view, it establishes a strong, positive voice -- one that's presumably meant to represent the real-life political wives who publicly stand by their husbands but are usually never heard from. It also calls attention to the pain that these scandals -- and the media coverage they receive -- can cause.

While Alicia is a strong survivor, The Good Wife sends some mixed messages about women. It features women in a variety of domestic and distinguished professional roles, but it also shows them resorting to catty and/or desperate measures to get what they want. Meanwhile, Alicia's on-going efforts to support her husband politically and personally sometimes makes her appear more indecisive than empowered. Still, the show offers a well-developed and (unfortunately) timely drama that makes for solid primetime entertainment.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why the media spends so much time reporting scandals, both in reality and in The Good Wife. Why do these stories receive so much attention? What kind of impact can publicity have on the personal lives of those associated with these stories?

  • What kind of impact does sexual content in the media have on viewers? How can parents keep kids who aren't mature enough to handle this sort of thing from being exposed to it, especially when it's in the news?

  • How do the characters in The Good Wife demonstrate integrity? Why is this an important character strength?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended tv lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate