The Good Wife season 5

The fifth season of The Good Wife began airing on September 29, 2013. The season received critical acclaim, with the general consensus calling it the series's best season. The show's critical resurgence and creative renaissance won the season the TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama and the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama.

Main

 * Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick
 * Matt Czuchry as Cary Agos
 * Archie Panjabi as Kalinda Sharma
 * Makenzie Vega as Grace Florrick
 * Graham Phillips as Zach Florrick
 * Alan Cumming as Eli Gold
 * Matthew Goode as Finn Polmar
 * Zach Grenier as David Lee
 * Josh Charles as Will Gardner
 * Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart

Recurring

 * Chris Noth as Peter Florrick
 * Jess Weixler as Robyn Burdine
 * Jerry Adler as Howard Lyman
 * Ben Rappaport as Carey Zepps
 * Melissa George as Marilyn Garbanza
 * Nathan Lane as Clarke Hayden
 * Stockard Channing as Veronica Loy
 * Mary Beth Peil as Jackie Florrick
 * Michael J. Fox as Louis Canning
 * Renée Elise Goldsberry as Geneva Pine
 * Jason O'Mara as Damian Boyle
 * Michael Cerveris as James Castro
 * Jeffrey Tambor as Judge George Kluger
 * Jordana Spiro as Jenna Vellete
 * Hunter Parrish as Jeffrey Grant
 * Eric Bogosian as Nelson Dubeck
 * Christian Borle as Carter Schmidt
 * Chris Butler as Matan Brody
 * Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni
 * Gary Cole as Kurt McVeigh
 * Dallas Roberts as Owen Cavanaugh
 * Michael Boatman as Julius Cain
 * Miriam Shor as Mandy Post
 * Mike Colter as Lemond Bishop
 * Skipp Sudduth as Jim Moody
 * John Benjamin Hickey as Neil Gross

Guest

 * Laura Benanti as Renata Ellard
 * America Ferrera as Natalie Flores
 * James LeGros as Judge Adam Tolkin
 * Mary Stuart Masterson as Rachel Keyser
 * Rita Wilson as Viola Walsh
 * Dreama Walker as Becca
 * Kurt Fuller as Judge Peter Dunaway
 * Dylan Baker as Colin Sweeney
 * Mamie Gummer as Nancy Crozier

Reception
The fifth season of The Good Wife received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 100% rating based on 25 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "The verdict is in: The Good Wife is a solid adult drama, with a delicately fine-tuned performance from Julianna Margulies and storylines that become increasingly absorbing as they progress."

James Poniewozik of TIME: "A civil war breaks out in the office, and 'Hitting the Fan' proves, if there was any doubt, why The Good Wife is currently the best thing on TV outside cable." Chris Harnick, News Editor of HuffPost TV, commented that "'Hitting The Fan' May Be The Best Episode Ever". Stephen Marche of Esquire wrote that the show is network TV's most intellectually ambitious, commenting "It's a rare show that starts to come into its own in the middle of its fifth season, but somehow CBS's The Good Wife has managed to do it. This season has been among the strongest I've seen, and the last two episodes may be the best television produced this year". Phil Dyess-Nugent of The A.V. Club wrote that "for four years now, it's been a great example of a network show refusing to calcify and settle into formula", citing the scene when Kalinda tells Robyn that 'Losing a job changes you', which he suggests "could be on this show's coat of arms". Patrick Freyne of the Irish Times wrote that the series is "the best-made, most nuanced show on television".

The season received three Golden Globe Award nominations, two TCA Award nominations, a field-leading five Critics' Choice Television Award nominations, and five Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including mentions for its stars Julianna Margulies, Josh Charles, and Christine Baranski. Margulies ended up winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in "The Last Call".

Primetime Emmy Awards

 * Won for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Julianna Margulies for "The Last Call")
 * Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Christine Baranski for "The Last Call")
 * Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Josh Charles for "Hitting the Fan")
 * Nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Dylan Baker for "Tying the Knot")
 * Nomination for Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series (Mark Saks)

Bruce Springsteen album promotion
During the January 12, 2014 episode, "We, the Juries", snippets of three songs from Bruce Springsteen's new album, High Hopes, which was released two days later, were featured. CBS struck a deal with Springsteen's record label to promote the new album, which will also be streamed through CBS.com from 10pm on January 12 to 7pm on January 13. Writer Keith Eisner, who is from Springsteen's home state of New Jersey said the deal came together after the season's 12th episode had been written and filmed, but not yet edited. He said when he heard of Springsteen's songs being used he literally jumped up and down in excitement. "High Hopes", "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and "Hunter of Invisible Game" were the songs featured at various points in the episode. CBS said this was a way to gain wider exposure for the album in an unconventional way, and lure his baby boomer fans to the show and the top-rated network's website.