'The Good Wife' wraps up May 8 with series finale on US TV

After seven seasons following her legal affairs and tumultuous personal life, TV viewers will soon find out what fate CBS has in store for the series heroine, who brought her own touch to the world of legal TV shows.

Among the horde of attorneys to grace the small screen seen since the dawn of the TV series, very few women have managed to stand out in this male-dominated genre. Before Alicia Florrick, whimsical lawyer Ally McBeal (Calista Flockhart) – on screens in the late 1990s – and the ruthless Patty Hewes (Glenn Close in "Damages") managed to make their mark.

In a show with a completely different premise, Julianna Margulies stepped into the role of this particular female attorney in September 2009 on CBS. After giving up her career as an attorney to take care of their children, this model housewife finds herself publicly humiliated by her politician husband following a political corruption and sex scandal. However, Florrick regains her dignity by picking up her former career while showing unwavering support for her husband. This strong, courageous mother, model wife and brilliant lawyer has been a small-screen staple for seven years, in spite of the show's modest audiences.

As well as the central character's strong personality, the strength of "The Good Wife" lies in its ability to reinvent itself season after season, working current affairs subjects into the political and legal storyline. It's also cleverly scripted. These qualities make the series a genuine rival to cable networks' fictional shows, and it has often been recognised at the most prestigious TV awards ceremonies.

Margulies, previously known for playing nurse Carol Hathaway in "ER," won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 2011, for example.

For its final TV appearance, "The Good Wife" could bring back characters from the series' past. Recent rumors in the American press suggest the return of Will Gardner, the attorney played by Josh Charles who died in season five.