Archie Panjabi goes for action in ‘Blindspot’ TV role

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Archie Panjabi of “The Good Wife” is getting back into series TV with “Blindspot” and out of her comfort zone.

“I have always wanted to do an action-based TV show,” she said. When contacted about the NBC drama, “my first reaction was, ‘Gosh, I’d be terrified to do something like that,’ which is why I finally decided I wanted to do it.”

Panjabi, who played investigator Kalinda Sharma on CBS’ “The Good Wife,” was asked at a TV critics’ meeting Tuesday if her recurring “Blindspot” character would carry Kalinda’s air of mystery. The actress was suitably mysterious in her reply, saying she didn’t want to “give away too much.” But she did throw out some adjectives.

“She’s tough, she’s tenacious, she’s wild and unpredictable,” Panjabi said of Nazanin Al-Obaidy, who leads a clandestine government division in the series starring Jaimie Alexander.

Panjabi was even more circumspect when asked about her tenure on “Good Wife,” which was marked by reports that she and star Julianna Margulies had a tense relationship. She said she loved playing Kalinda and had a “great time on the show,” which she won an Emmy for in 2010 and left in 2015. “Good Wife” ended its run this year.

“In terms of anything that happened on ‘The Good Wife,’ it’s only respectful for it to stay on ‘The Good Wife.’ It was time for me, for many reasons, to unzip the boots and step into another show,” Panjabi said, referring to Kalinda’s fondness for thigh-high boots.

“Blindspot” producers enthusiastically welcomed her.

“It’s like winning the lottery to have Archie on the show,” producer Sarah Schechter said.

The show, which aired in its freshman season at 10 p.m. Monday, will debut at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, and then move to its new regular time slot at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The earlier hour will mean some of the show’s violence will be toned down but “Blindspot” will remain recognizable to its freshman season fans, said another producer, Martin Gero.