“The Good Wife” star Archie Panjabi is getting a show of her own.
She’s been signed by Twentieth Century Fox TV to a development/holding deal, with the plan for her to headline a drama pilot for the studio this fall.
“Archie is an Emmy-award winning dramatic actress, and rightly so,” said 20th Century Fox exec VP of casting Sharon Klein. “Her work on ‘The Good Wife’ has been extraordinary, and the time has come for her to star in a project of her own. We couldn’t be happier that it will be with us.”
That means Panjabi will be leaving “The Good Wife” at the end of the current season, when her contract is up. The show has handled the departure of other actors deftly, with Josh Charles’ exit last year.
“Archie is an amazing actress who helped build Kalinda from the ground up as an enigmatic, powerful, and sexy character,” said Michelle and Robert King, showrunners and executive producers of “The Good Wife.” “It’s been a pleasure to write for her, and we’ll be sad to see her go; but we still have her for the rest of season 6, so let’s not exhaust our goodbyes yet. We look forward to meeting all the wonderful new characters Archie brings to the screen. But either way, we’re keeping the boots.”
Panjabi won an Emmy award in 2010 for her role in “The Good Wife,” and received Emmy nominations in 2011 and 2012. She also stars opposite Gillian Anderson in the BBC drama “The Fall”; season 2 will be released on Netflix soon.
Panjabi is repped by Leslie Siebert of the Gersh Agency and Ken Weinrib of Franklin, Weinrib, Rudell & Vassallo.

Archie Punjabi as Kalinda added spice and intrigue to The Good Wife. Her departure left a big hole. Alan Cummings’ character, Eli, also adds depth to the show. By contrast, Julianna Margolies’ departure would not damage the show. Perhaps Peter could find another “good wife.”
archie own every scene she was in no matter how big or small the part was i will love kalinda and be a fan of archie for the rest of my life
Julianna Margulies is to blame. She forced the King’s hands in terms of the story line that was written–or not written–for Archie. Both Robert and Michele said they wanted / missed seeing the two actors on the screen together. And went so far as to admit that Julianna was against. I also think she was intimidated by Archie’s light.
Very very good actress Congratulations Archie, will miss her a Kaĺinda. Sorry to see her go. Will definitely watch her next series!
What, no comment from Julianna Margulies, the woman who hasn’t appeared in the same frame with Archie Panjabi in 30 episodes? How can that be?
There have been a lot of good reasons to tune into “the Good Wife” each week, but Kalinda has been the very best one. As an asset of the Lockhardt-Gardner law firm, her value was amazing, and Archie played her perfectly and flawlessly. I can only ask the people at Fox to do their best to create a show with a fabulous story line, compelling setting and pacing, and superb characters, because they don’t deserve a talent such as Archie if they fail to do that.
Archie Panjabi has been an integral part of THE GOOD WIFE’s success, and the loss of Calista (the Swiss Army Knife of supporting characters) will be keenly felt. Calista’s interactions with Bishop, alone, have been worth tuning into each week in Season 6, and if anyone can “fake her death”, she’s the girl. Hopefully, King Productions will keep the possibility of her sliding back into Alicia’s life in an appropriately unexpected way open because I do love those boots!