After finishing The Good Wife with the slap-heard-round-the-world in 2016, the team behind the iconic legal drama is spinning off in an exciting new direction. The Good Fight continues the story of The Good Wife by following Diane Lockhart as she moves from her old law firm to a brand-new one. And just as Lockhart is moving from one firm to another, The Good franchise is moving from one platform to another. The Good Fight will be exclusive to CBS All Access, CBS' pay subscription streaming service. So viewers used to seeing Diane on CBS every week likely want to know if they'll be able to watch The Good Fight for free.
Well, the good news is, fans will be able to watch The Good Fight premiere for free, but the rest comes at a price. Much like a complimentary bowl of chips with salsa at a Mexican restaurant is meant to wet the appetite of patrons, CBS will air the first episode of The Good Fight on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. ET. After that appetizer, the remainder of the series will be broadcast on CBS All Access exclusively. The Good Fight will be the first major scripted series to debut there and its performance could define whether or not the platform as a whole succeeds.
However, The Good Fight isn't the only thing that CBS All Access has going for it. In addition to the new spinoff, it has web-only versions of other popular CBS properties including Big Brother: Over The Top and will soon debut Star Trek: Discovery. Alongside its original programming, CBS All Access also has a huge selection of the network's back-catalog, including legendary shows like Cheers, Melrose Place, and enough episodes of reality shows Survivor and Big Brother to last a lifetime. The aspect of CBS All Access most interesting to The Good Fight fans, however, will likely be the ability to marathon all seven seasons of The Good Wife.
If all of that is appealing to you, there are two ways to subscribe to CBS All Access. It offers a $5.99 monthly "Limited Commercials" plan for those who don't want their wallet to get hit too hard, and a $9.99 "Commercial Free" plan for viewers who don't like having to take any breaks in their marathons. The Good Fight may eventually find its way to Hulu or Amazon Prime like its predecessor The Good Wife did, but for now, it seems that your best chance at catching the continued adventures of Diane Lockhart will require a CBS All Access account.
While some fans may be dissuaded from the need to add a subscription to keep up with their favorite Chicago lawyer, The Good Fight may actually have been the perfect show to introduce the world to CBS All Access. Deadline reported that in 2014, The Good Wife was the most popular scripted show with people between the ages of 18 and 49 who make more than $150,000 a year. That audience is more likely to be able and willing to pay $9.99 per month to keep up to date with Diane Lockhart.
Additionally, the universal critical acclaim that The Good Wife garnered in its seven-season run will inspire people to keep up with the story in a way that a spinoff of a less popular show might not. CBS is taking a big gamble by putting The Good Fight exclusively on CBS All Access, but it couldn't have picked a better show to put their faith in. Diane Lockhart never failed viewers in seven seasons of The Good Wife, and it's not likely that she'll start now.
