House of Cards, Game of Thrones, Orange Is the New Black and True Detective – these are the shows that have been the cream of the crop of television for the past five years.

There is, however, one show that currently rules them all: The Good Wife.

If you haven’t viewed any of the six seasons of this five-time Emmy-winning show (from 35 nominations), the only big hitter currently being shown on Australian free-to-air television, you need to stop what you are watching and get on it.

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Halfway through season six, the latest season currently on air, major game changers have taken place – details of which we will leave out for the purposes of not spoiling the show.

But that’s the way this show rolls; every episode has a series of plot twists on the stage of either a courtroom battle, in the highest offices of government or in the legal firms of Chicago.

While there is a huge ensemble cast, every one hitting the mark, there are six major players who make this show the phenomenal success that it is.

Set in the fictitious law firms Lockhart/Gardner and Florrick, Agos & Associates, former ER star Julianna Margulies and her co-star Matt Czuchry lead a killer cast of lawyers, politicians, investigators and criminals.

Here are the six characters who make The Good Wife the best show on TV:

6. Peter Florrick (Chris Noth)

From the very first episode in season one, Peter Florrick, the powerful husband of Alicia Florrick, aka ‘The Good Wife’, has been integral in the machinations of the show. As the District Attorney with a very bad past and then as Governor of Illinois, Peter spends his life trying to win elections and his wife back. Played effortlessly by Chris Noth (Sex and the City’s ‘Mr Big’), even when he’s trying to play it straight, things are never fully legitimate where Peter is concerned.

5. Elie Gold (Alan Cummings)

As the political kingmaker on the show, Elie Gold (Allan Cummings) has been a stalwart of The Good Wife since season one. He’s spent the majority of his time trying to win office for Peter, but his attention has always been on Alicia. While his character can at times be hammy, it works in the context of the serious show that has a light-hearted touch.

4. Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi)

Kalinda (British actress Archie Panjabi) is the bisexual sex-bomb of the show, with a heart of gold. Flirting with danger is investigator Kalinda’s raison d’etre. She is the go-to woman for every undercover sleuthing for Lockhart/Gardner, and anyone else who can pay her the right price. Formerly best friends with Alicia, the pair have not been close since Alicia found out Kalinda had sex with her husband, Peter. She also has a lot of unresolved tension with lawyer Cary Agos.

3 Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski)

For every woman who loves the moment Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranksi) walks into the room for her exquisite taste, there are 10 more who would kill for her no-holds-barred capacity to command attention. As the named partner of Lockhart/Gardner, she has had to maintain control of her entire firm, while still wearing her heart on her sleeve as a woman. Diane is also a legal virtuoso, knowing the ins and outs of every case she handles.

2. Cary Agos (Matt Czuchry)

Cary Agos has risen the ranks to find himself the leading man in The Good Wife. Starting out as a junior associate alongside Alicia Florrick in season one, then moving to the District Attorney’s office, he is now the head of his own law firm. While Cary has always risked his neck to win cases, he has a solid honest streak that makes him imminently likeable. He wins cases, woos women, but has had a few scrapes with the law himself, despite being one of the good guys.

1. Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies)

Alicia Florrick is the glue that holds this entire ensemble cast together. Cooly played by Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning actress Julianna Margulies (ER), Alicia has surfed the tsunami of finding out her husband was sleeping with everyone under the sun, before taking up the role of litigator of a top Chicago law film Lockhart/Gardner, followed by her own firm, Florrick, Agos and Associates. Alicia has also been at the centre of one TVs great modern love triangles between herself, her husband and her boss, Will Gardner (Josh Charles).

The Good Wife airs at 9.30pm Wednesdays on Ten. It also can be seen on Foxtel, iTunes and Stan.