Alicia Florrick won’t be showing up on The Good Fight anytime soon, and not just for creative reasons. Though the Christine Baranski–led CBS All Access spinoff has developed its own tone and sensibility in the Trump era, it has often brought back characters from the original series, and as Julianna Margulies said in an interview with Deadline, creators Robert and Michelle King had an idea to bring back Alicia, the good wife herself, for a three-episode arc. “I was really excited about the idea, but CBS refused to pay my (ask),†she said. Margulies’s per-episode fee, per Deadline, is in line with what she made as the star of The Good Wife, and she was offered The Good Fight’s lower rate for guest stars on the show. “I’m not a guest star; I started the whole thing with The Good Wife,†Margulies said. “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.†In short, Margulies is not taking the kind of money the show offers to just any Broadway actor shooting a court scene between performances.
How much has Alicia factored into The Good Fight’s post-Trump, post-slap universe? Back in February, the Kings discussed the possibility at a Television Critics Association panel and said they thought about making an episode where Alicia would appear at an anti-Trump resistance event and “Diane and her face each other.†They added, “But that would be the end of the story. It felt like an asterisk.†One last question: If Archie Panjabi were to show up in The Good Fight, how much would she be paid?