Tonight's premiere of The Good Wife marks Julianna Margulies's return to TV. She plays Alicia, the wife of a disgraced politician (Chris Noth), as she moves on in part by going back to work as a lawyer. The plot sounds ripped from the headlines, so when I saw Margulies at the TCA press tour, I had to ask how much the show was inspired by the Eliot Spitzer scandal. She said:

The press conference itself looked very much like the Spitzer press conference, but it's not based on her [Silda Spitzer] and her alone. One thing I did do was Google all of it. It is an amazing journey to watch what they all look like six months before the scandal and then they literally age. It's why in the very opening scene we aged me down — we really drew in lines. I wanted her to look 10 years older than when you see her six months later, because one of the things that I saw was that all of them look exhausted and like they haven't slept in months. And then [later they all look beautiful] — great hair, great clothes!

The show will explore what happens beyond the initial shock of a public fiasco, and we'll get to follow Alicia as she tries to re-build her life. Margulies is no stranger to riveting nighttime drama after years on ER, and from the looks of the pilot, The Good Wife may be a strong Fall contender for ratings. Will you be tuning into CBS tonight for the premiere?

Photo courtesy of CBS