“Good Wife” spin-off casts “Game of Thrones” alum

PanARMENIAN.Net - From a wildling, Rose Leslie will next become a lawyer. The Scottish actress, who is known for her roles as Gwen Dawson on "Downton Abbey" and as Ygritte on HBO's "Game of Thrones", has joined the cast of "The Good Wife" spin-off, AceShowbiz said.

The 29-year-old redhead will play Maia, Diane Lockhart's (Christine Baranski) goddaughter who joins her firm just after passing the bar, and is a key part of Diane's plan for the future. Leslie also joins Cush Jumbo, who will reprise her role as Lucca Quinn, and Sarah Steele, who will return as Eli Gold's (Alan Cumming) smart and outspoken daughter Marissa Gold.

Executive producers Robert and Michelle King say in a statement, "We're thrilled to have Rose on board. We needed a young actress who could hold her own with Christine Baranski and Cush Jumbo, and Rose is perfect. She's real, she's strong, and she can play comedy. If we designed an actress from the ground up, we couldn't have done better."

"The Good Wife" spin-off will pick up one year after the events in the finale of the original series. On the new series, a huge financial scam has destroyed the reputation of a young lawyer, Maia, while simultaneously wiping out her mentor Diane Lockhart's saving. Forced out of Lockhart & Lee, they join Lucca Quinn at one of Chicago's pre-eminent law firms.

The first episode of the spin-off will air in February 2017 on CBS before shifting to the streaming service.