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Video: The stars of ‘The Good Wife’ explain Sunday’s shocker

Fans are still recovering from a wrenching plot twist. What happened? And why?

If you're a fan of CBS's The Good Wife, there's a good chance you've only heard disturbing rumors of a big shakeup on the drama last night. That's because, as so often happens, if you DVRed the show, you got a heaping helping of The Amazing Race instead. (In this case the runover was caused by NCAA basketball tourney action.)

Massive spoiler alert in the offing, folks. Turn away now if you wish to remain in the dark.

For those who already saw it or read about it or just want to be informed:

They killed Will Gardner (Josh Charles)! No warning. No lead-up. Right in the courtroom in the middle of a trial. Shortly after a rather sweet reconciliation scene with Alicia (Julianna Margulies).

In the video (below), released today by CBS, the cast and creators explain how this came about, why they chose this violent exit strategy for Will and what it will mean for the major characters, particularly Alicia and Diane.

If you watched the extended coming attractions on Sunday, it certainly looks like Will is going to be replaced by Louis Canning (Michael J. Fox). What am I saying? You can't replace Will!

Here is a letter the show's creators and executive producers, Robert and Michelle King, released after the episode had aired on the West Coast:

Dear Loyal Good Wife Fans,

We, like you, mourn the loss of Will Gardner. And while Will is gone, our beloved Josh Charles is very much alive and remains an integral part of our family.

The Good Wife, at its heart, is the "Education of Alicia Florrick." To us, there always was a tragedy at the center of Will and Alicia's relationship: the tragedy of bad timing. And when faced with the gut punch of Josh's decision, made over a year ago, to move on to other creative endeavors, we had a major choice to make.

We could "send him off to Seattle," he could be disbarred, or get married, or go off to Borneo to do good works. But there was something in the passion that Will and Alicia shared that made distance a meager hurdle. The brutal honesty and reality of death speaks to the truth and tragedy of bad timing for these two characters. Will's death propels Alicia into her newest incarnation.

Death also created a new dramatic "hub" for the show. We're always looking for these turning points—some event midway through the season that will spin everybody's lives in new directions. These turning points keep the show from slipping into a numbing sameness, and keep the characters fresh: because you see how they react to a completely new status quo. Will's death in many ways becomes a hub for the whole series, violently spinning everybody innew directions.

Finally, we chose the tragic route for Will's send-off for personal reasons. We've all experienced the sudden death of a loved one in our lives. It's terrifying how a perfectly normal and sunny day can suddenly explode with tragedy. Television, in our opinion, doesn't deal with this enough: the irredeemability of death. Your last time with the loved one will always remain your last time. The Good Wife is a show about human behavior and emotion, and death, as sad and unfair as it can be, is a part of the human experience that we want to share.

Thank you for listening...and watching and caring and inspiring us to rise to the level of your passion and intelligence. There are seven wonderful episodes to follow this season and Josh will be directing one of them. We think you will enjoy them. It's not all tears -- there is comedy too. Michael J. Fox is back for four episodes. Dylan Baker. Dallas Roberts. Stockard Channing, as well as amazing new guest actors. And of course, Julianna does some of the best work of her life. Archie, Christine, Alan, Chris and Matt as well. Life does go on.

We've always taken as a guiding principle of this show that drama isn't in the event; it's in the aftermath of the event. We think you'll find that true of this episode

Thank you for your devotion to the show – we are continually grateful.

With all our thanks,

Robert & Michelle King

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