‘The Good Fight’: John Slattery and André Braugher Talk Their Debuts in Final Season (Exclusive)

The Good Fight has enlisted veteran actors John Slattery and André Braugher to help bring the lawyers of Reddick & Associates home as the Paramount+ show debuts its final season Thursday, Sept. 8. Prior to the premiere, the Mad Men and Brooklyn Nine-Nine alumni, respectively, opened up to PopCulture.com about their enticing new characters, Dr. Lyle Bettencourt and Ri’Chard Lane.

Slattery enters The Good Fight as Dr. Lyle Bettencourt, a therapist who aims to help Diane (Christine Baranski) with her uneasy sense of déjà vu through a new therapy the actor describes as “the equivalent of a ketamine trip.” Things only get more complex from there. “Like any relationship that starts out, it gets more complicated as it goes,” Slattery teased. “It’s professional, and then they start to see similarities in taste and viewpoint. And they become friendlier and the thing kind of takes off.”

Working with Baranski is “great in so many ways,” the Spotlight actor continued. “[Baranski] knows this character so well and has been doing it for 13 years, I think, at this point. So coming in and bouncing off of somebody that knows that much about who they’re playing really gives you a leg up on who you’re playing. Because I didn’t really know a hell of a lot when I came in … I had a couple of scenes in a script, and like most television, you take it on faith and track record and how good everybody is that it’s all going to be OK.”

Coming off of the success of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, in which Braugher played the no-nonsense Captain Raymond Holt, the actor jumped at the chance to play the “tremendous character” of Ri’Chard Lane. “He’s very flamboyant, evangelical, forward-thinking, promotional,” Braugher told PopCulture. “He’s almost the exact opposite of a character that I played for eight years on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. So it’s an opportunity, really, to bust loose for the first time in a long time.”

There’s lots of “head-knocking” in store for Ri’Chard and Liz (Audra McDonald) when the new second-name partner comes bursting into Reddick & Associates with lots of new ideas to take the “sleepy” firm into world-class territory. “He’s one of those kind of guys who wants to forge ahead and step on some toes, if necessary, to get us where we need to be,” Braugher teased of the “fireworks” to come. “But I think, number one, his heart’s in the right place,” he continued. “He’s not a liar. He’s not a manipulator. … And over the course of 10 episodes, we do come together.” The Good Fight Season 6 premieres Thursday, Sept. 8 on Paramount+, with new episodes dropping weekly.