# Robert and Michelle King
**Robert and Michelle King** are an American husband-and-wife team of television writers, showrunners, and executive producers, best known as the co-creators of *The Good Wife* (CBS, 2009–2016), its spinoff *The Good Fight* (Paramount+), and the supernatural drama *Evil* (CBS and Paramount+).[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows) • [2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=robert-and-michelle-king-4) They have been creative collaborators for more than 25 years and married for over 35 years, and they reside in New York City.[2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=robert-and-michelle-king-4)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Signature series | Co-creators, showrunners, and executive producers of *The Good Wife* (CBS, 2009–2016), *The Good Fight* and *Evil* (Paramount+), and *Elsbeth* (CBS)[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows) • [2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=robert-and-michelle-king-4) |
| Other credits | Co-creators of *BrainDead* (CBS), *The Bite* (Spectrum), and *In Justice* (ABC); executive producers of *Your Honor* (Showtime) and *Happy Face* (Paramount+)[2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=robert-and-michelle-king-4) |
| Film background | Robert wrote a dozen produced features, including *Vertical Limit* and *Red Corner*; earlier, under Roger Corman, he wrote *Bloodfist* and *The Nest*[2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=robert-and-michelle-king-4) • [1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows) |
| Production company | King Size, launched in 2015 to spend more time producing the work of others[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows) |
| Honors | Peabody Award, Humanitas Prize, Sidney Lumet Award for Integrity in Entertainment; recognition from the American Film Institute, the Writers Guild of America, and the Television Critics Association[2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=robert-and-michelle-king-4) |
| Division of labor | Robert oversees the writers' room, directing, and editing; Michelle supervises hiring, casting, costuming, makeup, and network relations[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows) |
## Background and marriage
[Robert King](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-king) met Michelle Stern in 1983 at the sock wall at Frontrunners, a Brentwood shoe store where both were co-workers. He was an aspiring screenwriter; she was a senior at U.C.L.A.[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows) Robert grew up in San Jose, one of seven children of a computer programmer and a homemaker; he attended Westmont College, a Christian school in Santa Barbara, where two of his plays were produced. Michelle is a secular Jew, the only child of [Holocaust survivors](https://www.edgepedia.org/holocaust-survivors) who had hidden in Holland during the Second World War and met in Los Angeles in the 1950s.[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows)
Their engagement happened by accident. In 1987, after four years of dating, the couple scheduled an "informational" meeting with Robert's parish priest to discuss whether a Church wedding was possible; when Robert asked if they could marry in the Church, the priest misunderstood and pulled out a calendar, and the couple were too shy to object.[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows)
## Film career and move to television
**Screenwriting years.** When Michelle became an assistant at a small, family-run movie company, a colleague found Robert a screenwriting gig with the producer [Roger Corman](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-corman), whose operation ran on unknowns. Under Corman, Robert wrote the martial-arts film *Bloodfist*, which became a cult hit, and *The Nest*, a thriller about killer cockroaches.[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows) After finding an agent in 1987, he wrote steadily for the movies for about a decade, including *Phantom of the Mall*, *Clean Slate*, *Speechless*, and the pirate film *Cutthroat Island*, one of the biggest box-office failures in history. Robert later described screenwriting as a crushing experience, with scripts unrecognizable by the time they reached the screen.[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows) His produced features eventually totaled a dozen, including the mountain-climbing action film *Vertical Limit*, starring [Chris O'Donnell](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-odonnell), and *Red Corner*, starring [Richard Gere](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-gere).[2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=robert-and-michelle-king-4) Michelle worked in development at various studios and production companies.[2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=robert-and-michelle-king-4)
Around 2000, when both were approaching forty, they joined forces and moved into television, a medium they had never considered writing for. After three failed pilots for ABC, one was picked up: *In Justice*, a midseason replacement about an organization like the [Innocence Project](https://www.edgepedia.org/innocence-project), which lasted thirteen episodes.[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows)
## The Good Wife and The Good Fight
*The Good Wife*, which ran on CBS from 2009 to 2016, was at once a sleek legal procedural and an antihero drama, starring [Julianna Margulies](https://www.edgepedia.org/julianna-margulies) as [Alicia Florrick](https://www.edgepedia.org/alicia-florrick), a wife and mother who re-enters the workforce after her politician husband's public sex and political scandal lands him in jail.[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows) • [3](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/good-wife-the) The show was inspired by the story of Silda Spitzer, wife of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in 2008 amid a prostitution scandal; instead of focusing on the husband, the show followed Alicia's return to the practice of law.[4](https://www.bchalloffame.com/2026/robert-michelle-king) The series was critically acclaimed and won a Peabody Award in 2011, though it was never won the Emmy for outstanding drama series despite nominations for its first two seasons.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455080/awards/) • [6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-critics-notebook-the-good-wife-finale-20160505-snap-story.html)
The workload was heavy: in the 2015/16 season the Kings oversaw 35 hours of programming in a single year.[7](https://dramaquarterly.com/drama-royalty/) In 2015 they launched the production company King Size, aiming to spend more time producing the work of others.[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows)
*The Good Fight*, a spinoff set at a Chicago law firm where Diane Lockhart ([Christine Baranski](https://www.edgepedia.org/christine-baranski)) is a partner, premiered in early 2017. Donald Trump's election win forced the Kings to rewrite the entire first season: a scene in which Diane packs away a photo of herself with [Hillary Clinton](https://www.edgepedia.org/hillary-clinton), filmed the night before the election, never aired, and Diane's motivation for retiring changed from celebrating a Clinton victory to escaping a Trump administration.[8](https://time.com/4672460/the-good-fight-donald-trump/) The show became known for incorporating current events; Michelle described a writers' room that starts each day discussing the news, with heated discussions signaling good episode material.[9](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a32380925/the-good-fight-season-4-michelle-robert-king-interview/)
## Evil, Elsbeth, and later work
*Evil*, which premiered on CBS in 2019, teams a priest-in-training, David Acosta ([Mike Colter](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-colter)), with a skeptical forensic psychologist, Kristen Bouchard ([Katja Herbers](https://www.edgepedia.org/katja-herbers)), and an atheist scientist ([Aasif Mandvi](https://www.edgepedia.org/aasif-mandvi)) to assess possible supernatural phenomena, from demonic activity to miraculous healings.[10](https://www.ncregister.com/features/good-vs-evil-interview-with-the-husband-wife-team-behind-the-hit-show) • [1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows) The Kings often describe the show as an extension of their own long-running dispute about the origins of human malevolence: Robert believes in demonic influences, Michelle in psychology and sociology.[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows) After its first season on CBS, the show moved to Paramount+ for its second season, where the audience was smaller but the rules looser.[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows)
During the pandemic the Kings produced *The Bite*, a zombie satire about COVID-19, filmed over Zoom with temporarily unemployed Broadway actors in their apartments.[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows) Their other co-creations include *BrainDead*, a satirical zombies-in-Washington series, and *Elsbeth*, a CBS procedural starring [Carrie Preston](https://www.edgepedia.org/carrie-preston) as the attorney character she had played on *The Good Wife* and *The Good Fight*; the Kings created the show for her after binge-watching *Columbo* early in the pandemic.[2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=robert-and-michelle-king-4) • [11](https://apnews.com/article/acfeab83f8f2001fec4d8c4a5948e9ec) They have also served as executive producers of the Showtime series *Your Honor* and the [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) series *Happy Face*, adapted from the true-crime podcast of the same name.[2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=robert-and-michelle-king-4) • [12](https://worldscreen.com/tvdrama/robert-michelle-king-talk-creative-collaboration/)
## Working method
The Kings divide responsibilities rather than co-writing every page. Robert runs the writers' room and oversees directing and editing; Michelle supervises hiring, casting, costuming, and makeup, along with the work of functioning within a network. In their scripts, he is strong on dialogue and humor, she on structure.[1](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows) When they wrote *The Good Wife* pilot, they sat side by side.[13](https://lubieenserie.fr/rencontre-avec-un-couple-de-showrunner-les-king/)
Their stated values shape the work: pragmatism over pretension, a dislike of didactic art, and comfort working within systems. Robert has summarized the difference between their broadcast and streaming work by saying *The Good Wife* and *The Good Fight* were "always coloring between the lines," while *Evil* let them go further.[14](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/evil-creators-robert-and-michelle-king/) Jonathan Tolins, showrunner of *Elsbeth* and a member of the Kings' writers' rooms since *The Good Fight*, has said the pair "cracked a code" by combining complicated, less-likable characters, common on cable, with the procedural structure of broadcast television.[4](https://www.bchalloffame.com/2026/robert-michelle-king)
## References
1. [Emily Nussbaum, "The Couple Behind TV's Boldest Shows," The New Yorker, June 20, 2022](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/the-couple-behind-tvs-boldest-shows)
2. [Robert and Michelle King bio, Paramount Press Express, CBS Entertainment, July 2025](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=robert-and-michelle-king-4)
3. [The Good Wife, Paramount Global Content](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/good-wife-the)
4. [Robert and Michelle King: 2026 Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame](https://www.bchalloffame.com/2026/robert-michelle-king)
5. [Michelle King, Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455080/awards/)
6. ["How 'The Good Wife' created TV's New Woman," Los Angeles Times, May 2016](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-critics-notebook-the-good-wife-finale-20160505-snap-story.html)
7. ["Drama royalty: The Good Wife creators Michelle and Robert King," Drama Quarterly](https://dramaquarterly.com/drama-royalty/)
8. ["How The Good Fight Was Rewritten to Be a Show About the Era of Donald Trump," TIME, February 2017](https://time.com/4672460/the-good-fight-donald-trump/)
9. ["The Good Fight Creators Michelle and Robert King Break Down Season 4," ELLE, 2020](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a32380925/the-good-fight-season-4-michelle-robert-king-interview/)
10. [Steven D. Greydanus, "Good vs. 'Evil': Interview With the Husband-Wife Team Behind the Hit Show," National Catholic Register, November 4, 2019](https://www.ncregister.com/features/good-vs-evil-interview-with-the-husband-wife-team-behind-the-hit-show)
11. ["'The Good Wife'-verse expands with new series 'Elsbeth' starring Carrie Preston," AP News, 2024](https://apnews.com/article/acfeab83f8f2001fec4d8c4a5948e9ec)
12. ["Robert & Michelle King Talk Creative Collaboration," TVDrama, World Screen](https://worldscreen.com/tvdrama/robert-michelle-king-talk-creative-collaboration/)
13. ["Rencontre avec un couple de showrunner : les KING !," Lubie en Série, May 27, 2019](https://lubieenserie.fr/rencontre-avec-un-couple-de-showrunner-les-king/)
14. ["Creating 'Evil,' with laughs," CBS News, June 12, 2022](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/evil-creators-robert-and-michelle-king/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Producers, studio executives, and showrunners › Television producers and showrunners › Drama series showrunners*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license