The Good Wife's Split-Screen Bar Scene, 10 Years Later: An Oral History

What, you didn't think TVLine would let the 10-year anniversary of the split-screen bar scene go without commemoration, did you?

On May 10, 2015, CBS' The Good Wife aired the Season 6 finale "Wanna Partner?" in which Stern, Lockhart & Gardner investigator Kalinda Sharma (played by Archie Panjabi) — Out of fear for her safety after turning state's evidence on Lemond Bishop (Mike Colter) — said some hasty good-byes before vanishing.

We knew that Kalinda's farewell was coming; Panjabi announced her exit the October prior. What was less certain was whether or not the CBS legal drama would give long-time fans some much-craved resolution between Kalinda and estranged pal Alicia (series lead Julianna Margulies) — a rift prompted by the revelation Kalinda had slept with Alicia's hubby Peter (Chris Noth) prior to their becoming friends.

After all, at that point Margulies and Panjabi had not truly shared a scene in some three years.

Kalinda surprised Alicia in a bar, and over some tequila shots old business smoothed over. Alicia admitted that when she lost the state's attorney election, she "gave up," and it made her miss sitting on a barstool next to Kalinda. The typically pithy Ms. Sharma got real, too, noting her time as friends with Alicia was "the best I ever had," then apologizing "for screwing that up." Kalinda then quietly exited stage right.

Thing is, Margulies and Panjabi famously did not shoot that scene together. Why was that? Here is everything that has been said, by all involved parties, about the split-screen scene that from thence on led us all to always look for the "seams"....

Five days after the finale aired — and in the wake of some eagle-eyed observations that the lighting in the scene was inconsistent... Margulies and Panjabi made no physical contact... and that the characters' eyes never quite met — TVLine founder Michael Ausiello confirmed that body doubles were in fact used, and the actresses filmed their halves of the scene separately.

In an op-ed titled "Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi Did Not Shoot that Good Wife Finale Scene Together – and It's Not OK," Ausiello wrote, "I felt duped. More importantly, I was disappointed as a fan of the show and of these two actresses for whom I have huge admiration, whose work I have championed."

"It was one scene," Aus argued. "We all work with people we don't like. (Think about the poor souls who had to act opposite a certain CSI: Miami actor for the better part of a decade.) But you grin, bear it and get the job done. That's what needed to happen here."

Three months later, then-CBS Entertainment chief Nina Tassler was asked about the conspicuous filmmaking choice, and any backstage feud that may have fueled it.

"I'm not going to reveal movie magic," the network boss hedged. "The ending of the show was a very satisfying ending for the relationship between those two characters. I stand by how [series creators] Robert and Michelle King produce their show.

"The way a producer shoots their show, that's really all I care about," Tassler continued, adding that she was unaware that some viewers were frustrated by the trickery. "I haven't really heard that," she countered. "They love the show. People are much more invested in Alicia's journey and that's where the show is going, forward to the future."

Days after then-CBS boss Nina Tassler waved off the controversy, Good Wife creators Robert and Michelle King agreed to address the still-hot topic in an exclusive TVLine Q&A.

Robert King said it "was not the intent" to dupe viewers, with the way the scene was filmed. Michelle King concurred, saying, "We are certainly never ever hoping to hurt the fans' feelings or make them feel like that trust has been broken. But we're making the show every day using tricks — like, if you're in a car and there's green screen and it looks like Chicago out the window but that's not exactly where we are. That's an everyday, run-of-the-mill thing on the show."

Pressed for more insight, Robert King noted, "We've had reporters in the editing room before and they can see the tricks we bring to [the show]. What I don't like is how this [specific scene] connects itself to gossip.... The mechanics of how we do our show is its own thing and we're usually an open book about it, until it comes down to gossip."

In an October 5, 2015 Vulture piece — now nearly five months after the split-screen scene aired — Margulies herself chimed in for a first time.

"I've heard about [the feud]. Who says that? It's totally gossip," she said. "I heard that question had been asked to Robert King. There's no story there, sorry...

"I actually had heard [that rumor] and I feel that it has been talked about and answered," the actress added. "I feel people just like to have gossip or make something into something that isn't there. There's no animosity on my part. It's a shame, because I wonder if it was two men [characters], when one finds out that he f—ed his best friend's wife, if it would get that same attention, you know what I mean?"

Margulies would then share an "explanation" for her and Panjabi filming separately....

Julianna Margulies suggested in the Vulture piece that it was co-star Archie Panjabi's commitment to the BBC drama The Fall — and not any alleged feud — that led them to the anticipated Alicia-Kalinda reunion scene separately. 

"It was shot the way Robert [King] wanted to shoot it, and the storyline, too," she said. "You also have to remember, there's difficulty ... [Panjabi] was also doing another show, called The Fall. I went along with whatever Robert asked me to do and I did it happily."

Panjabi, however, on that same day took issue with Margulies' claim that a scheduling conflict was behind the split-screen imbroglio, saying via Twitter that The Fall "was not even in production at that time and I was in New York ready to film the scene!"

While promoting Blindspot 10 months after that "She Said, She Said" exchange, Archie Panjabi was asked to set the record straight about the reason behind The Good Wife's infamous split-screen bar scene.

"I loved playing the role of Kalinda," she responded. "I had such a great time. It's something that's very special to me.

"In terms of anything that happened on The Good Wife, I think it's only respectful to let it stay on The Good Wife," she deferred. "It was time for me for many reasons to unzip [Kalinda's trademark knee-high] boots and step into another show. But I can tell you for those of you who miss the boots, I do wear a pair of knee-high boots on Blindspot."

And she did.

Where were you when The Good Wife aired its May 2015 split-screen bar scene?