CBS turns up hype for ‘The Good Wife’

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With a new 9 p.m. Sunday time slot that will put it in direct competition with ABC’s ‘Desperate Housewives’ and NBC’s ‘Football Night in America,’ CBS wants to make sure people find its critical darling ‘The Good Wife.’

Not only is the network giving the show’s star, Julianna Margulies, a seductive new ad campaign that is aimed at bringing in more male viewers, CBS is also going to run a crash course special on the show at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 4. The half-hour special is designed to not only refresh fans of the show on the last two seasons but also to introduce the legal drama to a new audience.

A sharp hour about a woman trying break free of the large shadow of her philandering and politically powerful husband, its title is sometimes seen as a difficult selling point for viewers who think it is primarily aimed at females. The new ad campaign even says, ‘Don’t let the name fool you.’ ‘The Good Wife’ was nominated for nine Emmy Awards, including acting nominations for Margulies, Christine Baranski, Josh Charles, Archie Panjabi and Alan Cumming and guest star Michael J. Fox.

Moving the show to Sunday is a big bet by CBS. ‘The Good Wife’ previously called 10 p.m. Tuesdays home, but the network thinks it can broaden its audience with a Sunday time slot.

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— Joe Flint