"The Good Wife" - Taking a Chance on in Your Face Diversity

Monday's episode of "The Good Wife" had a hot Lesbian kiss you never saw coming. The series has aired quite a few racy scenes. Perhaps that's one reason you watch it, but there are other things that draw viewers each Monday night.

"The Good Wife" has smart dialogue, witty plots and weekly court cases reminiscent of today's headlines. While the sight of two women kissing might have shocked or annoyed some, the writers were just shoving a little diversity in your face.

Here's a glimpse at "The Good Wife" showing diversity in action in "Poison Pill," a recent episode.

Law firm diversity

Diversity was the watchword on "The Good Wife." The episode began with an older woman (Dianne), a young white male (Josh), an African American male (Derrick), a middle aged woman (Alicia) and a few assorted others discussing a Lockhart Gardner and Bond class action suit. The defendant is a drug company that manufactured an antidepressant with horrific side effects.

After rejecting a divorced middle aged man and an overweight woman, the lawyers agreed on 18 year old Caitlan Fenton (a young white woman) as a class action test case plaintiff. While taking the defendant's antidepressants, her mother killed her husband then committed suicide. Dianne and Alicia (Two women) were to try the case. Dianne believed "three women at the plaintiff's table" against a team of out of town lawyers made for pretty good prospects.

Candidate diversity

Candidate Peter Florrick had problems with his first political challenger, but his new opponent, Wendy Scott-Carr (African American) may be an even bigger problem. She has a White husband, no negative paper trail and no controversial issues that they can find. She even sings the National Anthem with perfect pitch.

Wendy's "good" too. She donates 10% of her earnings to charity, works at a soup kitchen and volunteers at her kid's public school. It looks like she has a lock on diversity and goodness but investigators will keep digging until they find something.

Courtroom diversity

The trial against MRJ Pharmaceuticals was supposed to look like a bunch of bad guys beating up on two little lady lawyers and a girl plaintiff. Instead, the LGB defense team were the ones who came across like "Goliath." They got trumped on diversity when Louis Canning showed up instead of the expected New York City attorneys.

Canning had Tardiv Dyskinesia, a disorder that triggers uncontrollable movement. He was willing to use his disability to his advantage, distracting the jury and disrupting court proceedings during key moments. After pushing Alicia to the brink of anger, he asked, "Have you thought you might have a problem with disabled people."

Sexual diversity

We now know that Kalinda (Indian), the firms die hard investigator, is a Lesbian. She hasn't come out at work yet, but that passionate barroom kiss with her ex, Public Defender, Donna Seabrook, made it perfectly clear to anyone watching the show.

The second season of "The Good Wife" has gone the distance to tip the diversity scales. The show may simply be keeping up with recent trends or making a play for high ratings but it makes for great television.

Last year's cast was a great beginning, but since the merger with African American, Derrick Bond's firm, "The Good Wife" has walked a line that would make a Diversity Coordinator proud.