It was the gunshot heard 'round the living rooms of America. March 23, 2014. If you were watching CBS that night, you probably remember exactly where you were when the screen went blurry and the realization sank in: Josh Charles was leaving The Good Wife, and he wasn't going out with a handshake or a move to another firm.
He was going out in a body bag.
Honestly, the death of Will Gardner remains one of the most polarizing moments in prestige network TV history. It wasn't just a plot twist; it was a fundamental shift in the show's DNA. One minute, Will is in a courtroom defending a chaotic client named Jeffrey Grant (played by a very twitchy Hunter Parrish), and the next, he’s caught in a hail of gunfire. No grand monologue. No "I'll always love you, Alicia." Just a cold, sterile hospital room and a pair of feet sticking out from under a sheet.
👉 See also: Why Drake and Josh Theme Song Lyrics Still Hit Different Twenty Years Later
The Real Reason Josh Charles Left
Most people assumed there was some behind-the-scenes drama. You know how it usually goes—salary disputes, ego clashes, or someone threw a chair in the trailer. But the truth about Josh Charles on The Good Wife is actually a lot more professional, if a bit boring.
Basically, his contract was up.
By the end of Season 4, Charles felt he had done what he needed to do with Will Gardner. He was "burnt out" (his own words) and ready to explore other things. He actually wanted to leave at the end of the fourth season, but Julianna Margulies—ever the negotiator—convinced him to stay for 15 more episodes in Season 5 to give the character a proper send-off.
She reportedly used what she called "terrible Jew guilt" to keep him around a bit longer. It worked. We got the "Hitting the Fan" arc, which many critics still call the best run of episodes in the series, but it also meant the writers had a ticking clock.
Why Death Was the Only Option
Robert and Michelle King, the showrunners, were stuck. If they sent Will to another city, he’d just be a phone call away. Alicia would always be looking over her shoulder. The "Will-and-Alicia" tension was the engine of the show, and you can't just turn off an engine and expect the car to keep rolling at 80 mph.
🔗 Read more: Why Studio J Performing Arts Center Actually Works for Busy Families
They felt that anything less than death would be a "meager hurdle." If Will were alive and in Seattle, Alicia would eventually go to him. Or she'd wait. By killing him, they forced her into a "new incarnation." It was brutal, sure, but it was the only way to make the loss permanent and irredeemable.
The Impact of Will Gardner’s Death
The aftermath was almost harder to watch than the shooting itself. The episode "The Last Call" is basically a masterclass in how people actually grieve—not with cinematic crying, but with "desperate minutiae."
Alicia spent the whole hour trying to decode a voicemail Will left her right before he died. Was he angry? Was he about to apologize? Was he over her?
- Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski): Her grief was regal but shattering. Watching her walk through the office, the person who was essentially her work-husband gone, changed the firm's dynamic forever.
- Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi): She went into investigator mode. It was her way of coping. She tracked down the truth of the shooting, even confronting the shooter with his own belt in a scene that felt dangerous and raw.
- Cary Agos (Matt Czuchry): He turned his grief into rage, lashing out at opposing counsel in a deposition. It was one of the few times we saw Cary truly lose his cool.
The show eventually won a TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama that year, largely because of how they handled this transition. But let's be real: for a lot of fans, the show "died" with Will. Even with the addition of great actors like Cush Jumbo or Jeffrey Dean Morgan later on, the "Gardner-shaped hole" was always there.
What Josh Charles Did Next
He didn't exactly disappear. After leaving the courtroom behind, Josh Charles showed up in everything from Inside Amy Schumer (displaying some surprisingly great comedic timing) to Masters of Sex and The Handmaid's Tale.
Most recently, he’s been starring in the Fox series Best Medicine as a curmudgeonly doctor. It’s a far cry from the sleek suits and "win-at-all-costs" attitude of Lockhart/Gardner, but it proves he was right about needing a change of pace. He’s also a father of two now, and he’s been vocal about how the grueling 22-episode-a-year schedule of a network drama just wasn't sustainable for his life anymore.
The Legacy of the "Will and Alicia" Dynamic
The chemistry between Josh Charles and Julianna Margulies was lightning in a bottle. They had known each other for years before the show—she actually called him to suggest he take the role—and that comfort level translated into an effortless, simmering heat on screen.
When you look back at Josh Charles on The Good Wife, it's the "bad timing" that sticks with you. They were always just a few seconds off. A missed elevator. A phone call that went to voicemail. A husband who wouldn't go away.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Rewatchers
If you’re planning a rewatch or just discovering the show for the first time, keep these things in mind to get the most out of the Gardner era:
- Watch the eyes: Charles was a master of the "look." Pay attention to how Will watches Alicia in the courtroom when he thinks she isn't looking. It tells more of the story than the dialogue.
- Season 5, Episode 5: "Hitting the Fan" is the peak of their professional rivalry. If you want to see why Josh Charles earned those Emmy nominations (2011 and 2014), start there.
- The "Final" Scene: In the series finale, Will "returns" in a dream sequence. It’s a polarizing ending, but it’s essential for understanding Alicia’s ultimate choice.
- Check out the "The Last Call" Voicemails: If you listen closely to the background noise in Will's final voicemail, you can hear the chaos of the courtroom starting. It’s a haunting detail.
The exit of Josh Charles was a gamble that changed the landscape of the show. Whether it "ruined" the series or "saved" it from becoming stale is still debated in Reddit threads to this day. But one thing is certain: nobody did the "lovable shark" quite like Will Gardner.
✨ Don't miss: Why the This Is Fine Dog Meme Is Still Relevant Over a Decade Later
To dive deeper into the show's evolution, you can track the change in the firm's name throughout the seasons—it’s a literal map of the power shifts and tragedies that defined the series. If you want to see Charles in his prime, Season 3's "Parenting Made Easy" is the episode he personally considers some of his best work.