You know that feeling when you finish a seven-season binge and suddenly the world feels a little quieter and significantly less stylish? That’s the post-Good Wife depression. Honestly, it’s a specific itch to scratch. You aren't just looking for people in suits shouting "objection" in a courtroom. If that were the case, you could watch any random episode of Law & Order and call it a day. But you’re looking for the Julianna Margulies energy—that precise, high-wire act of prestige drama, backstabbing office politics, and sexual tension that simmers for three years before anyone even holds hands.
Finding shows like The Good Wife is actually harder than it looks because Robert and Michelle King (the creators) bake a very weird, specific DNA into their work. It’s one part cynical look at the American digital age, one part high-fashion runway, and one part "case of the week" procedural. Most legal shows choose one lane. The Good Wife drove in all of them at 90 miles per hour.
The Spin-Off Elephant in the Room
We have to start with the most obvious successor: The Good Fight. If you haven't watched it because you thought a spin-off without Alicia Florrick would feel like a cheap imitation, you're genuinely missing out. It’s not just a continuation; in many ways, it’s the show's id unleashed.
Christine Baranski’s Diane Lockhart takes center stage here, and the transition is seamless. While the original show was a bit more grounded in the traditional "prestige TV" tropes of the 2010s, The Good Fight leans into the absolute absurdity of the modern political and legal landscape. It’s surreal. Sometimes there are animated shorts about the First Amendment. It’s bold.
The budget clearly went into Diane’s necklaces and the writing room's collective fever dreams. You get the same fast-paced legal maneuvering, but with a much sharper, more satirical edge. If you loved the tech-heavy episodes of the original—the ones dealing with Bitcoin, search engine bias, or surveillance—this is your holy grail. It takes those "ripped from the headlines" ideas and pushes them to their logical, often terrifying, extremes.
Why Succession is Secretly a Legal Thriller
Stay with me on this one. On the surface, Succession is about a media mogul and his disaster children. But if you strip away the private jets and the Shakespearean insults, the core engine of the show is remarkably similar to the halls of Lockhart/Gardner.
It’s about the proximity to power.
💡 You might also like: Is Steven Weber Leaving Chicago Med? What Really Happened With Dean Archer
Alicia Florrick’s entire journey was defined by how she navigated the shadows of powerful men—Peter, Will, Eli Gold—until she realized she could be the sun herself. Succession operates on that same frequency of high-stakes negotiation where a single comma in a contract can destroy a legacy. The legal battles in Succession, particularly the DOJ investigation arcs, capture that same "room where it happens" energy. You’ve got Gerri Kellman, who is basically the dark-timeline version of Diane Lockhart. She’s competent, cynical, and always the smartest person in the room.
If what you liked about The Good Wife was the feeling of being inside a high-powered machine where everyone is constantly vibrating with ambition, the Roy family drama is the natural evolution. Just don’t expect any of them to have Alicia’s (initial) moral compass.
The "Scandal" Factor and the Shonda Rhimes Era
A lot of people recommend Scandal when you ask for shows like The Good Wife. I have thoughts on this. Yes, it has the "Fixer" element. Yes, it has the political intrigue. But where Alicia Florrick is restrained and icy, Olivia Pope is a hurricane.
The pacing is different. The Good Wife is a slow burn; Scandal is a sprint off a cliff. However, if your favorite part of the Florrick saga was the Eli Gold-style political machinations—the polling, the dirty tricks, the "fixing" of public perception—then Scandal is mandatory viewing. It’s less about the law and more about the optics of the law.
Then there’s How to Get Away with Murder. It’s much more of a "whodunnit" than a legal procedural, but Annalise Keating shares that "complicated woman at the top of her game" archetype. It’s darker, though. Much darker. You won't find the lighthearted banter of a Cary Agos here; you'll find body bags and existential dread. But for sheer "I can't believe they just did that" plotting, it hits the mark.
Better Call Saul: The Slow-Motion Trainwreck
If we’re talking about legal craft, we have to talk about Jimmy McGill. Better Call Saul is often dismissed by people who didn't like Breaking Bad, which is a huge mistake. It is, at its heart, a show about the law.
📖 Related: Is Heroes and Villains Legit? What You Need to Know Before Buying
Kim Wexler is perhaps the only TV lawyer who could go toe-to-toe with Alicia Florrick. Her dedication to the "pro bono" grind versus the allure of "big law" corporate money is a theme The Good Wife explored for years. The way Saul films legal documents—the actual physical act of filing papers, the highlighter marks, the late nights in the library—feels incredibly authentic to anyone who enjoyed the "process" side of Alicia’s career.
It’s a tragedy, really. You watch a good person slowly erode their ethics for love and ego. Sound familiar? Alicia’s "slap" at the end of the series finale was the culmination of a similar erosion. Both shows understand that the law isn't about justice; it's about winning.
The International Contender: Borgen
If you don't mind subtitles, you need to watch Borgen. It’s Danish. It’s incredible.
It follows Birgitte Nyborg, a minority party politician who unexpectedly becomes the first female Prime Minister of Denmark. This is the show for people who loved the political campaigning side of The Good Wife. It deals with the toll that power takes on a woman's personal life—the exact same trade-offs Alicia had to make.
The media's role in Borgen is also a huge factor, echoing the way the Chicago press corps constantly hounded the Florricks. It’s smart, it’s sophisticated, and the fashion is arguably just as good, though with a more "Scandi-chic" minimalist vibe.
Under-the-Radar Gems You Might Have Missed
Sometimes you don't want a heavy hitter. You want something that captures the vibe without the seven-season commitment.
👉 See also: Jack Blocker American Idol Journey: What Most People Get Wrong
- The Split: A BBC drama about a family of female divorce lawyers. It’s got that high-end litigation feel but focuses heavily on the messy intersection of marriage and the law.
- Goliath: Billy Bob Thornton plays a washed-up lawyer taking on a massive firm. It’s more of a "David vs. Goliath" story (hence the name), but the courtroom scenes are punchy and the stakes feel real.
- Damages: This is the gold standard for high-stakes legal thrillers. Glenn Close as Patty Hewes is terrifying. If you thought Diane Lockhart was tough, Patty Hewes makes her look like a kindergarten teacher. It uses a non-linear timeline that keeps you guessing until the final seconds.
The King DNA: Elsbeth and Evil
Since we're looking for shows like The Good Wife, we have to look at what the creators did next.
Evil is technically a supernatural drama, but it's a "Kings" show through and through. It features many of the same guest actors (you'll see a lot of familiar judges and lawyers), and it approaches the "case of the week" with the same intellectual curiosity. It asks: Is this a demon, or is it just a glitch in a social media algorithm? It’s funny, weird, and deeply cynical about technology.
Then there’s Elsbeth. Carrie Preston finally got her own show, and it’s a delight. It’s more of a "Columbo" style mystery than a legal drama, but having Elsbeth Tascioni on screen is like a warm hug for any Good Wife fan. It captures the whimsical, eccentric side of the original show that often got lost in the drama of Alicia’s love life.
The Verdict on Your Next Binge
You aren't going to find a perfect 1:1 replacement for Alicia Florrick. That show was a lightning-in-a-bottle moment for network television, proving that a "procedural" could actually be a high-art character study.
However, you can piece together the experience.
If you want the politics and the "what is happening to the world" vibe, go with The Good Fight.
If you want the high-stakes corporate warfare, go with Succession.
If you want the intellectual legal maneuvering, go with Better Call Saul.
If you want the strong female lead navigating a man's world, go with Borgen.
Actionable Steps for the Displaced Good Wife Fan:
- Check Paramount+ first. Most of the "King Universe" lives there, including The Good Fight, Evil, and Elsbeth.
- Look for the "Lawyer" trope subversions. The best shows in this genre are the ones where the characters admit the law is a tool, not a moral compass.
- Don't sleep on the guest stars. Part of the magic of The Good Wife was the recurring judges and opposing counsel. Look for shows that treat their secondary characters with that same level of detail—Succession and Better Call Saul are the masters of this.
- Embrace the "Case of the Week." Don't feel like you always need a 10-hour movie. Sometimes the best drama comes from a self-contained 42-minute battle over a patent or a libel suit.
The law is messy, humans are messier, and the best television knows how to play in the gray area between the two. Happy watching.