The West Wing#Foreign

{{Main list|List of The West Wing characters{{!}}List of The West Wing characters}}

The West Wing employed a broad ensemble cast to portray the many positions involved in the daily work of the Executive Branch of the federal government. The president, the first lady, and the president's senior staff and advisers form the core cast. Numerous secondary characters, appearing intermittently, complement storylines that generally revolve around this core group.

{{multiple image

| align = right

| footer = Rob Lowe, Dulé Hill and Allison Janney

| image1 = Rob Lowe 2012 Shankbone 2.JPG

| image2 = Dule Hill by Gage Skidmore.jpg

| image3 = AllisonJanneyTIFFSept2011.jpg

| total_width = 350

}}

{{multiple image

| align = right

| footer = Richard Schiff, John Spencer and Martin Sheen

| image1 = Richard Schiff 2009.jpg

| image2 = John Spencer - Sarasota Herald-Tribune.jpg

| image3 = Sheen, Martin (2008).jpg

| total_width = 350

}}

{{multiple image

| align = right

| footer = Janel Moloney, Stockard Channing and Joshua Malina

| image1 = Janel Moloney (15087095697) (cropped).jpg

| image2 = Stockard Channing 1984 crop.JPG

| image3 = Joshua Malina 2013.JPG

| total_width = 350

}}

{{multiple image

| align = right

| footer = Mary McCormack, Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda

| image1 = Mary McCormack 2022.jpg

| image2 = Jimmy Smits 2 (48591893606).jpg

| image3 = Alan Alda 2015.jpg

| total_width = 350

}}

• Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn (seasons 1–4; guest season 7): the deputy communications director to Toby Ziegler. In his time at the White House, Sam is responsible for writing many of Bartlet's speeches. Following the reelection of President Bartlet, he departs the White House to run for Congress. He is recruited to become Santos's deputy chief of staff at the series end.
• Moira Kelly as Mandy Hampton (season 1): a media consultant contracted by the Bartlet administration and is Josh Lyman's ex-girlfriend. She departs without explanation following the first season.
• Dulé Hill as Charlie Young: originally the personal aide to the president and later a deputy special assistant to the chief of staff. He is in a relationship with Zoey Bartlet. At the series end he begins to study law at Georgetown.
• Allison Janney as C. J. Cregg: the press secretary. She succeeds Leo McGarry as chief of staff and departs the White House at the end of the Bartlet administration. Post-series, she marries Danny Concannon and has a child.
• Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler: the communications director who writes many of Bartlet's speeches, including both inaugural addresses and many State of the Union addresses. He is fired from the Bartlet administration after confessing to illegally leaking highly classified information about a secret space shuttle, though he is pardoned for his crimes at the series' end. He has twin children with his ex-wife, Andrea Wyatt, who is a congresswoman from Maryland.
• John Spencer as Leo McGarry: Bartlet's close personal friend and chief of staff. Following a heart attack, he becomes counselor to the president, and later the Democratic candidate for vice president. He wins but dies before assuming office.
• Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman: the deputy chief of staff to Leo McGarry. Josh later leaves the White House to become the "Santos for President" campaign manager. When Santos is elected, Josh becomes White House Chief of Staff.
• Martin Sheen as Jed Bartlet: the president of the United States. An economist by training, he is a former congressman and governor from New Hampshire who unexpectedly won the Democratic Party nomination. He suffers from multiple sclerosis, a fact he initially hides from the electorate. Sheen described him as a conglomeration of John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton.{{Cite web|title=Who's Who On The West Wing|url=https://www.empireonline.com/west-wing/whoswho.html|access-date=September 25, 2020|website=Empire Online|archive-date=October 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004080347/https://www.empireonline.com/west-wing/whoswho.html|url-status=live}} He is succeeded by Matt Santos.
• Janel Moloney as Donna Moss (seasons 2–7; recurring season 1): the senior assistant to Josh Lyman. She later departs to be a spokesperson for the Russell campaign and then the Santos campaign. Upon Santos's election, she becomes chief of staff to the first lady.
• Stockard Channing as Abbey Bartlet (seasons 3–7; recurring seasons 1–2): the First Lady, Jed's wife, and a physician.
• Joshua Malina as Will Bailey (seasons 4–7): initially hired as a speechwriter and moves into the role of deputy communications director. He later becomes chief of staff to the vice president, Russell's campaign manager, and communications director. After the series end he becomes a congressman for Oregon.
• Mary McCormack as Kate Harper (seasons 6–7; recurring season 5): the Deputy National Security Advisor. Before the West Wing she was in the Navy, and CIA.
• Jimmy Smits as Matt Santos (seasons 6–7): a congressman from Texas who is convinced by Josh Lyman to run for president. He eventually wins the nomination and later the election.
• Alan Alda as Arnold Vinick (seasons 6–7): a senator from California who becomes the Republican nominee for president. After his loss in the general election, he is nominated Secretary of State by President-elect Santos.
• Kristin Chenoweth as Annabeth Schott (season 7; recurring season 6): the deputy press secretary and later works on the Santos campaign. At the series end, she is appointed press secretary to the incoming First Lady.

NBC originally ordered the pilot episode in March 1998 for a midseason premiere the following year, and the casting of Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Bradley Whitford, Allison Janney and Richard Schiff was officially reported in March 1999.{{Cite web |last=Hontz |first=Jenny |date=March 2, 1998 |title=No Reubens for fall NBC |url=https://variety.com/1998/tv/news/no-reubens-for-fall-nbc-1117468261/ |access-date=February 18, 2025 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Hontz |first=Jenny |date=March 30, 1999 |title=Sheen elected prez for NBC's 'Wing' |url=https://variety.com/1999/tv/news/sheen-elected-prez-for-nbc-s-wing-1117492808/ |access-date=February 18, 2025 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} NBC officially picked up the series in May 1999 for its fall schedule.{{Cite web |last=Lowry |first=Brian |date=1999-05-17 |title=NBC Makes Some Serious Changes |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-17-ca-37991-story.html |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}

In an interview on the first season DVD, Bradley Whitford said that he was originally cast as Sam, even though Aaron Sorkin had created the Josh character specifically for him. In the same interview, Janel Moloney stated she had originally auditioned for the role of C.J. and that Donna, the role for which she was eventually cast, was not meant to be a recurring character. Other actors were seriously considered for other roles, including Alan Alda and Sidney Poitier for the President, Judd Hirsch for Leo, Eugene Levy for Toby, and CCH Pounder for C.J.{{cite web |first=Bob |last=Sassone |url=http://www.aoltv.com/2006/05/07/a-look-back-at-the-west-wing-entertainment-weekly-in-60-seconds/ |title=A look back at The West Wing: Entertainment Weekly in 60 seconds |publisher=AOL TV |date=May 7, 2006 |access-date=May 19, 2006 |archive-date=February 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225160517/http://www.aoltv.com/2006/05/07/a-look-back-at-the-west-wing-entertainment-weekly-in-60-seconds/ |url-status=live }}

Each of the principal actors made approximately $75,000 per episode, with the established Sheen receiving a confirmed salary of $300,000.{{cite web |first=Marcus |last=Errico |url=http://www.eonline.com/news/41940/detente-on-west-wing-set |title=Détente on West Wing Set |publisher=E! |date=July 21, 2001 |access-date=December 12, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110190330/http://www.eonline.com/news/41940/detente-on-west-wing-set |archive-date=November 10, 2013}} Disparities in cast salaries led to very public contract disputes, particularly by Janney, Schiff, Spencer, and Whitford. During contract negotiations in 2001, the four were threatened with breach of contract suits by Warner Bros. However, by banding together, they were able to persuade the studio to more than double their salaries. Two years later, the four again demanded a doubling of their salaries, a few months after Warner Bros had signed new licensing deals with NBC and Bravo.{{cite web |first=Lia |last=Haberman |url=http://www.eonline.com/news/45571/west-wing-salarygate |title=West Wing Salarygate |publisher=E! |date=July 28, 2003 |access-date=November 25, 2011 |archive-date=January 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121005923/http://www.eonline.com/news/45571/west-wing-salarygate |url-status=live }}

In July 2002, it became public that Rob Lowe, who had a separate salary deal from the other main cast members, would be leaving the series during the fourth season, which Variety attributed to salary dissatisfaction and the evolution of Martin Sheen's character to have a more primary regular role.{{Cite web |last=Fleming |first=Michael |date=2002-07-24 |title=Lowe won't be back on 'West Wing' |url=https://variety.com/2002/scene/markets-festivals/lowe-won-t-be-back-on-west-wing-1117870177/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=CNN.com - Rob Lowe leaving 'West Wing' - July 24, 2002 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/24/west.wing.lowe/index.html |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=edition.cnn.com}}{{Cite news |date=2002-07-25 |title=Lowe confirms West Wing exit |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2150891.stm |access-date=2025-03-09 |language=en-GB}}{{Cite news |date=2002-08-30 |title=West Wing's Lowe considers staying |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2225406.stm |access-date=2025-03-09 |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=2002-10-19 |title=Sorkin: 'Door Is Always Open' for Lowe on 'West Wing' |url=http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?27962 |access-date=2025-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021019055948/http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?27962 |archive-date=October 19, 2002 }}{{Cite web |date=2002-07-24 |title="West Wing": Low Pay Sparks Lowe Exit |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/43631/west-wing-low-pay-sparks-lowe-exit |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=E! Online}} He would return for guest appearance roles at the end of the final season.

Joshua Malina's role as a series regular was first reported in December 2002.{{Cite web |last=Adalian |first=Josef |date=2002-12-13 |title=Malina will 'Wing' regular gig |url=https://variety.com/2002/scene/markets-festivals/malina-will-wing-regular-gig-1117877414/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2003-02-24 |title=Sports Night Star Replaces Rob Lowe |url=http://www.tvguide.com/newsgossip/insider/030205b.asp |access-date=2025-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030224035420/http://www.tvguide.com/newsgossip/insider/030205b.asp |archive-date=February 24, 2003 }} The teaser of the Season 4 Christmas episode Holy Night is almost entirely in Yiddish, in part inspired by Richard Schiff's own family history.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-20 |title=Interview: Richard Schiff on Becoming Eve, His Welcome Return to His New York Theater Roots - TheaterMania.com |url=https://www.theatermania.com/news/interview-richard-schiff-on-becoming-eve-his-welcome-return-to-his-new-york-theater-roots_1767846/ |access-date=2025-04-14 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Aushenker |first=Michael |date=2002-12-19 |title='West Wing'-ing It |url=https://jewishjournal.com/judaism/up_front/7185/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Jewish Journal |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2016-08-29 |title='The West Wing' Is Still the Jewiest Show for Our Post-Jewish Times |url=https://forward.com/opinion/348688/the-west-wing-is-still-the-jewiest-show-for-our-post-jewish-times/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=The Forward |language=en}}

The show was renewed for two seasons in January 2003 despite falling ratings.{{Cite web |last=Lowry |first=Brian |date=2003-01-14 |title=Parties Close to a Deal on 'West Wing,' Sources Say |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jan-14-fi-westwing14-story.html |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2003-01-22 |title=NBC Signs Two-Year 'West Wing' Deal |url=http://apnews.myway.com/article/20030118/D7OKHT600.html |access-date=2025-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030122092622/http://apnews.myway.com/article/20030118/D7OKHT600.html |archive-date=January 22, 2003 }}

The news of Aaron Sorkin's and Tommy Schlamme's departures from the show was reported at the beginning of May 2003 with many sources referring to growing tensions over budgets, delayed scripts and ratings.{{Cite web |title=Producers leaving 'West Wing' |url=https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2003/may/02/producers_leaving_west/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=LJWorld.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2003-05-02 |title=Schlamme, Sorkin leave NBC's 'Wing' |website=The Hollywood Reporter |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hollywoodreporter/frontpage/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1878687 |access-date=2025-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030519095703/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hollywoodreporter/frontpage/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1878687 |archive-date=May 19, 2003 }}{{Cite web |date=2003-05-01 |title=E! Online News - Sorkin, Schlamme Quit "West Wing" |url=http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,11712,00.html?eol.tkr |access-date=2025-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030621095412/http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,11712,00.html?eol.tkr |archive-date=June 21, 2003 }}{{Cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=2003-05-02 |title=Writer of 'The West Wing' Is Resigning From the Show |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/02/business/writer-of-the-west-wing-is-resigning-from-the-show.html |access-date=2025-03-09 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Lowry |first=Brian |date=2003-05-02 |title=A Changing of the Guard at NBC's Broken 'West Wing' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-may-02-fi-westwing2-story.html |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2003-05-02 |title=West Wing Creator Quits! What Now? |url=http://www.tvguide.com/newsgossip/insider/030502a.asp |access-date=2025-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030519224843/http://www.tvguide.com/newsgossip/insider/030502a.asp |archive-date=May 19, 2003 }}{{Cite news |date=2003-05-01 |title='West Wing' Creator Aaron Sorkin Quits Ailing Series - The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2003/05/02/west-wing-creator-aaron-sorkin-quits-ailing-series/82d9ad0e-a4d1-45b3-9201-69dae73c03c2/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |newspaper=Washington Post}}{{Cite news |last=Burkeman |first=Oliver |date=2003-05-07 |title=Next week on The West Wing ... erm |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/may/07/television.channel4 |access-date=2025-03-09 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqbiRdd67d8 |title=John Wells discusses Aaron Sorkin leaving "The West Wing" - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG |date=2017-04-14 |last=FoundationINTERVIEWS |access-date=2025-03-10 |via=YouTube}}

The show was renewed for a seventh season in March 2005.{{Cite web |date=2005-03-20 |title=NBC Keeps "Wing," "Joey," "Jordan" - Mar 17, 2005 - E! Online News |url=http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,16146,00.html |access-date=2025-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050320053651/http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,16146,00.html |archive-date=March 20, 2005 }}

In the seventh and final season, many of the actors appeared in fewer episodes as the show faced budget constraints, but were still paid the same amount for the episodes they were in, according to Richard Schiff.{{Cite web |last=Owen |first=Rob |date=August 1, 2005 |title=Tuned In: Group reshaping indecency debate |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05213/546910.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050913171210/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05213/546910.stm |archive-date=September 13, 2005 |access-date=March 9, 2025 |website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette}} Schiff, who has been very vocal about his unhappiness with his character's final storyline, was contracted for 11 episodes after initially being offered four episodes.{{Cite web |date=August 13, 2019 |title=7.05: Here Today (with Richard Schiff) |url=https://thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/705 |access-date=March 9, 2025 |website=The West Wing Weekly |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=October 21, 2005 |title='West Wing' actor bitter |url=https://www.deseret.com/2005/10/21/19918301/west-wing-actor-bitter/ |access-date=March 9, 2025 |first=Scott D. |last=Pierce |website=Deseret News |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=January 1, 2006 |title=From The West Wing To George Street |url=https://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?titlelink=from-the-west-wing-to-george-street |access-date=March 9, 2025 |first=Gary |last=Wien |website=New Jersey Stage |language=en}}

John Spencer died of a heart attack on December 16, 2005, about a year after his character experienced a nearly fatal heart attack on the show.{{cite web |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-12-16-spencer-obit_x.htm |title='West Wing' actor John Spencer dies |work=USA Today |first=Bill |last=Keveney |date=December 16, 2005 |access-date=October 30, 2013 |archive-date=November 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101153149/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-12-16-spencer-obit_x.htm |url-status=live }} Martin Sheen gave a brief memorial message before "Running Mates", the first new episode that aired after Spencer's death. The loss of Spencer's character was addressed beginning with the episode "Election Day", which aired on April 2, 2006.

The ending of the series was announced in January 2006, with NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly saying the decision had been made before John Spencer's death, citing lower ratings.{{Cite web |date=2006-01-22 |title=NBC Cancels 'The West Wing' - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nbc-cancels-the-west-wing/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}

High profile real life guest appearances over the course of the show included Yo-Yo Ma, Jon Bon Jovi, Foo Fighters, The Whiffenpoofs,{{Cite web |date=2002-11-22 |title=Whiffenpoofs Journey to Hollywood for West Wing Appearance {{!}} Yale News |url=https://news.yale.edu/2002/11/22/whiffenpoofs-journey-hollywood-west-wing-appearance |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=news.yale.edu |language=en}} Penn & Teller, and characters from Sesame Street.

Interior scenes were filmed on soundstages at Warner Bros. Studios Burbank in California.{{Cite news |last=Steinberg |first=Jacques |date=April 10, 2006 |title='West Wing' Writers' Novel Way of Picking the President |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/10/arts/television/west-wing-writers-novel-way-of-picking-the-president.html |access-date=February 16, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqOpobIwOzs |title=Leo McGarry's Visual Guide to The West Wing offices |date=October 17, 2018 |last=The West Wing Weekly |access-date=February 17, 2025 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite web |last=Glassman |first=Thea |date=September 17, 2024 |title=7 Secrets of The West Wing Sets |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/secrets-of-the-west-wing-sets |access-date=February 17, 2025 |website=Architectural Digest |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Political Animal |url=https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/1204-Fall-2012/DGA-Interview-Thomas-Schlamme |first=Amy |last=Dawes |date=Fall 2012 |access-date=February 17, 2025 |website=DGA Quarterly Monthly |language=en}} The production also filmed exterior scenes on trips to the Washington, D.C. area, including at what was then the Newseum building in Rosslyn,{{Cite web |last=Friedlander |first=Whitney |date=June 18, 2024 |title=How 'The West Wing's' 'difficult' assassination-attempt episodes were pulled off |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2024-06-18/west-wing-assassination-episode-season-2-premiere |access-date=February 17, 2025 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=A West Wing Extras Journal |url=https://www.angelfire.com/journal2/josta/westwing.html |access-date=February 17, 2025 |website=www.angelfire.com}}{{Cite web |title=Typecasting, meme formats and working with Aaron Sorkin: Q&A with Bradley Whitford |url=https://www.miamistudent.net/article/2024/03/bradley-whitford-q-a-miami-university-actor-get-out-the-west-wing |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Typecasting, meme formats and working with Aaron Sorkin: Q&A with Bradley Whitford - The Miami Student |language=en-US}} Maryland,{{Cite web |last=Slagle |first=Eric |date=May 18, 2004 |title=Hollywood in Thurmont: 'The West Wing' goes on location |url=https://www.fredericknewspost.com/archives/hollywood-in-thurmont-the-west-wing-goes-on-location/article_dc315d8b-1f75-52ae-b331-6ac074aecf56.html |access-date=February 17, 2025 |website=The Frederick News-Post |language=en}} New York City,{{Cite web |date=May 14, 2002 |title=West Wing' Comes to Broadway: NBC Shoots Prez Drama at Booth Theatre |url=https://playbill.com/article/west-wing-comes-to-broadway-nbc-shoots-prez-drama-at-booth-theatre-com-105762 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020183129/https://www.playbill.com/article/west-wing-comes-to-broadway-nbc-shoots-prez-drama-at-booth-theatre-com-105762 |archive-date=October 20, 2020 |access-date=February 17, 2025 |website=Playbill}} Pennsylvania,{{Cite web |last=Crowell |first=Susan |date=August 29, 2002 |title=Tinseltown comes to tiny town |url=https://www.farmanddairy.com/news/tinseltown-comes-to-tiny-town/324.html |access-date=February 17, 2025 |website=Farm and Dairy |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title='The West Wing' films in Greene County |url=https://www.heraldstandard.com/news/2002/aug/28/the-west-wing-films-in-greene-county/ |first=Frances |last=Borsodi Zajac |date=August 28, 2002 |access-date=February 17, 2025 |website=Herald-Standard |language=en-US}}{{cite web |url=https://archive.triblive.com/news/library-to-serve-as-train-station-in-west-wing-episode/ |title=Library to serve as train station in 'West Wing' episode |website=TribLIVE.com |first=Treshea |last=N. Wade |date=August 14, 2002 |access-date=February 14, 2025}}{{Cite web |title=VOLANT, PA. 'West Wing' extras are ready to roll |url=https://vindyarchives.com/news/2002/aug/22/volant-pa-west-wing-extras-are-ready-to-roll/ |date=August 22, 2002 |access-date=February 17, 2025 |website=Vindy Archives}} and in Ontario, Canada.{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |title=West Wing flies north |url=https://playbackonline.ca/2004/11/22/westwing-20041122/ |website=Playback |date=November 22, 2004 |access-date=February 17, 2025}}{{Cite web |first=Craig |last=Campbell |title=White House interested in Valley Town |url=http://www.dundasstarnews.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=brabant/Layout/Article&c=Article&cid=1100213416475&call_pageid=1069851996007&col=1073476868082 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050313075841/http://www.dundasstarnews.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=brabant/Layout/Article&c=Article&cid=1100213416475&call_pageid=1069851996007&col=1073476868082 |archive-date=March 13, 2005 |access-date=February 17, 2025 |website=Dundas Star News}}

{{multiple image

| align = right

| footer = Series creator Aaron Sorkin (left) served as head writer for the first four seasons before departing. The role was assumed by executive producer John Wells (right) for subsequent seasons.

| image1 = Aaron Sorkin at PaleyFest 2013.jpg

| image2 = JohnWellsHWoFJan2012 (cropped).jpg

| total_width = 350

}}

The series was created by Aaron Sorkin, who served as executive producer for the pilot episode alongside director Thomas Schlamme and John Wells. Kristin Harms and Llewellyn Wells were producers for the pilot. Michael Hissrich acted as a co-producer.{{cite web |title=The West Wing |url=http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-west-wing/cast/100534/ |work=TV Guide |access-date=August 18, 2016 |archive-date=August 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807161933/http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-west-wing/cast/100534 |url-status=live }}

The first season proper saw the return of all of the pilot production team along with the addition of Ron Osborn and Jeff Reno as consulting producers and Rick Cleveland as a second co-producer with Robert W. Glass as an associate producer. Glass left the production team after only five episodes. Julie Herlocker joined as Associate Producer beginning with episode six. Osborn and Reno departed after nine episodes. Paul Redford served as a story editor throughout the first season. Lawrence O'Donnell worked as executive story editor for the second half of the season.

With the second season, Kevin Falls became a co-executive producer. Cleveland left the production team and Redford and O'Donnell were promoted to co-producer. Peter Parnell and Patrick Caddell became co-producers and Julie Herlocker and Mindy Kanaskie became associate producers. O'Donnell was promoted again to producer five episodes into the season and Hissrich joined him twelve episodes into the season.

The third season saw the departure of Parnell, Caddell, and Herlocker and the temporary absence of O'Donnell. Director Christopher Misiano became a supervising producer, Patrick Ward joined the series as an associate producer, and Eli Attie joined the writing staff as a staff writer. Redford was promoted to producer. With the thirteenth episode of the third season director Alex Graves became an additional supervising producer and Attie became a story editor.

The fourth season marked the temporary departure of Hissrich. Misiano and Graves became co-executive producers alongside Falls. Attie was promoted to executive story editor and Debora Cahn became a staff writer. The fourteenth episode of the season saw Redford promoted to supervising producer and Kanaskie, Ward and Attie promoted to co-producers.

The fifth season saw the departure of both Sorkin and Schlamme as executive producers. Schlamme remained attached to the series as an executive consultant. John Wells remained the sole executive producer and showrunner. Co-executive producer Kevin Falls also left the show. O'Donnell rejoined the production team as a consulting producer. Wells also added Carol Flint, Alexa Junge, Peter Noah, and John Sacret Young as consulting producers. Andrew Stearn came aboard as a producer and Attie was promoted to producer. Cahn became story editor and Josh Singer replaced her as staff writer. With the tenth episode Flint, Junge, Noah and Sacret Young became supervising producers.

With the sixth season Misiano and Graves were promoted to executive producers. Redford and Junge left the production team and Dylan K. Massin became a co-producer. Cahn was promoted to executive story editor and Singer replaced her as story editor. Lauren Schmidt filled the staff writer role. The fourth episode saw the departure of original crew member Llewellyn Wells. Debora Cahn was promoted to co-producer with the fourteenth episode.

The seventh season saw Noah and O'Donnell promoted again, this time becoming additional executive producers. Attie became a supervising producer. Hissrich returned to his role as producer for the final season.

{{See also|List of The West Wing episodes{{!}}List of The West Wing episodes}}

{{:List of The West Wing episodes}}

Multiple story arcs on The West Wing span several episodes and entire seasons. In addition to these long-running narratives, each episode contains smaller storylines that usually begin and end within a single episode.

Most episodes follow President Bartlet and his staff through particular legislative or political issues. Plots can range from behind-closed-doors negotiating with Congress to personal problems like post-traumatic stress disorder, from which Josh suffers during the second season. The typical episode loosely follows the President and his staff through their day, generally following several plots connected by some idea or theme. A large, fully connected set of the White House allowed the producers to create shots with very few cuts and long, continuous master shots of staff members conversing as they walk through the hallways. These "walk and talks" became a trademark of the show. The final two seasons presented a narrative change, with the focus of the show divided between plots in the West Wing with President Bartlet and his remaining senior staffers and plots revolving around the rest of the main cast on the campaign trail for the 2006 election.

• In the first season, the Bartlet administration is in its second year and is still having trouble settling in and making progress on legislative issues.
• The second season covers the aftermath of a shooting at Rosslyn, the 2000 midterm elections, and dealings with a new Congress and sees scandal when the White House is rocked by allegations of criminal conduct and the President must decide whether he will run for a second term.
• The third and fourth seasons take an in-depth look at the campaign trail and the specter of both foreign and domestic terrorism.
• In the fifth season, the President begins to encounter more issues on the foreign front, while at home he faces off with the newly elected Speaker of the House, battles controversy over Supreme Court appointments and oversees a daring plan to save Social Security.
• The sixth season chronicles the quest to replace President Bartlet in the next election, following the primary campaigns of several candidates from both parties, while the President himself attempts to build his legacy but finds his ability to govern compromised by his illness.
• In the seventh season, the President must face a leak of confidential information about a secret Department of Defense program from inside the White House, while the Democratic and Republican candidates battle to succeed him in the general election.

The series was developed following the success of the 1995 theatrical film The American President, for which Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay, and in which Martin Sheen played the White House Chief of Staff. Unused plot elements from the film and a suggestion from Akiva Goldsman inspired Sorkin to create The West Wing.{{cite book |title=The West Wing – Pilot Script |first=Aaron |last=Sorkin |publisher=Warner Bros.}} Sorkin said that the airing of the show was delayed for about a year due to the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/19/arts/television/aaron-sorkin-the-west-wing-25th-anniversary.html |title=Aaron Sorkin Thinks Life Still Imitates 'The West Wing' |website=The New York Times |first=Marc |last=Tracy |date=September 19, 2024 |access-date=September 28, 2024}} Around the same time, a completely separate series called West Wing was under development for Lifetime by a former White House staffer about a White House press secretary with a college friend working as a TV news correspondent, with future The West Wing guest star Annabeth Gish attached to star, but it was not picked up to series.{{Cite web |last=Dempsey |first=John |date=March 2, 1998 |title='West Wing' capitalizes on Lifetime first-run drive |url=https://variety.com/1998/tv/news/west-wing-capitalizes-on-lifetime-first-run-drive-1117468251/ |access-date=February 18, 2025 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=July 12, 2019 |title=BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Josh King, VP for comms at Intercontinental Exchange |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/12/playbook-birthday-josh-king-1411965 |access-date=February 18, 2025 |website=Politico |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=June 15, 2013 |title=Episode 106, with guests Dawn Ostroff of Condé Nast Entertainment and Ben Smith of BuzzFeed |url=https://polioptics.com/2013/06/episode-106-with-guests-dawn-ostroff-of-conde-nast-entertainment-and-ben-smith-of-buzzfeed/ |access-date=February 18, 2025 |website=Polioptics |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=The Definitive History Of The West Wing |url=https://www.empireonline.com/west-wing/thingsyoudidntknow.html |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Empire Online}}{{Cite web |title=Listen: Josh King '87 on Elections & Political Campaigns in the Age of Optics :: News & Events :: Swarthmore College |url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/listen-josh-king-87-elections-political-campaigns-age-optics |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=www.swarthmore.edu |language=en}}

According to the DVD commentary, Sorkin intended to center the show on Sam Seaborn and the other senior staff with the President in an unseen or a secondary role. However, Bartlet's screen time gradually increased, and his role expanded as the series progressed. Positive critical and public reaction to Sheen's performance raised his character's profile, decreasing Lowe's perceived significance. In addition, the storylines began to focus less on Sam and more on Josh Lyman, the Deputy Chief of Staff. This shift was one of the reasons for Lowe's eventual departure from the show in the fourth season.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2150891.stm |title=Lowe confirms West Wing exit |work=BBC News Online |date=July 25, 2002 |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110192042/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2150891.stm |url-status=live }}

For the first four seasons, drawing on research materials, scene drafts, and occasionally entire draft scripts from his writing staff, Sorkin wrote almost every episode of the series, occasionally reusing plot elements, episode titles, character names, and actors from his previous work, Sports Night, a sitcom on which he began to develop his signature dialogue style of rhythmic, snappy, and intellectual banter. Fellow executive producer and director Thomas Schlamme championed the walk and talk, a continuous shot tracking in front of the characters as they walk from one place to another that became part of The West Wing{{'s}} signature visual style. Sorkin's hectic writing schedule often led to cost overruns and schedule slips,{{cite web |first=Bill |last=Carter |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/24/arts/west-wing-comes-to-terms-with-gop.html |title=The West Wing Comes to Terms With the G.O.P. |work=The New York Times |date=September 23, 2003 |access-date=December 12, 2005 |archive-date=November 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114154614/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/24/arts/west-wing-comes-to-terms-with-gop.html |url-status=live }} and he opted to leave the show after the fourth season, following increasing personal problems, including an arrest for possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms.{{cite news |first=Jim |last=Rutenberg |title=Sorkin Arrested |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/18/arts/tv-notes-sorkin-arrested.html |work=The New York Times |date=April 18, 2001 |access-date=October 28, 2007 |archive-date=April 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406073302/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/18/arts/tv-notes-sorkin-arrested.html |url-status=live }} Thomas Schlamme also left the show after the fourth season. John Wells, the remaining executive producer, took the helm after their departure.{{cite news |title=Sorkin sulking away from 'Wing': Regime change for NBC White House series |first=Josef |last=Adalian |date=May 1, 2003 |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2003/scene/news/sorkin-sulking-away-from-wing-1117885506/ |access-date=January 7, 2012 |archive-date=July 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712023505/http://variety.com/2003/scene/news/sorkin-sulking-away-from-wing-1117885506/ |url-status=live }}

The West Wing aired on Wednesdays at 9:00 pm ET from its debut until the end of its sixth season. NBC elected to move the series to Sundays at 8:00 pm for its seventh season, a move universally regarded as the beginning of the series' end (since NBC and the NFL had reached a deal for Sunday Night Football to return to the network in the fall of 2006), and the series finale aired on May 14, 2006. The West Wing took a large ratings hit with the move, which put it up against ABC's Top 20 hit Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and CBS' Top 30 hit Cold Case in its timeslot.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4638552.stm |title=Political drama West Wing is axed |date=January 23, 2006 |work=BBC News Online |access-date=September 17, 2010 |archive-date=May 13, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513004357/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4638552.stm |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7239294.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104184345/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7239294.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 4, 2012 |title='West' is at its very best |url-access=subscription |last=Pierce |first=Scott D. |date=October 8, 2005 |work=Deseret News|access-date=September 16, 2010}}

The show's legitimacy, political slant, and idealist representations of Washington, as well as its notable writing and film merits, have generated considerable discussion.

In 2011, The New York Times reported the then-fledgling government of Myanmar used DVDs of The West Wing episodes to study democracy.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/world/asia/clintons-visit-to-myanmar-raises-hopes-and-concerns.html |title=Clinton's Visit to Myanmar Raises Hopes and Concerns |website=The New York Times |first=Steven Lee |last=Myers |date=November 29, 2011 |access-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020092235/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/world/asia/clintons-visit-to-myanmar-raises-hopes-and-concerns.html |url-status=live }} This was corroborated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the following year.{{cite web |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2012/09/clinton-burma-learned-democracy-from-west-wing.html |title=Hillary Clinton: Myanmar Parliament Learned Democracy From The West Wing |website=New York Magazine |first=Margaret |last=Hartmann |date=September 19, 2012 |access-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020012638/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2012/09/clinton-burma-learned-democracy-from-west-wing.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/10/why-the-west-wing-is-a-terrible-guide-to-american-democracy/263084/ |title=Why 'The West Wing' Is a Terrible Guide to American Democracy |website=The Atlantic |first=Yair |last=Rosenberg |date=October 1, 2012 |access-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-date=October 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021191727/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/10/why-the-west-wing-is-a-terrible-guide-to-american-democracy/263084/ |url-status=live }}

In March 2014, cast members Bradley Whitford, Janel Moloney and Richard Schiff participated in a Harvard Institute of Politics event with show writer and MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell to discuss the impact of the show.{{cite web |url=https://iop.harvard.edu/events/revisiting-west-wing-0 |title=Revisiting "The West Wing" |publisher=The Institute of Politics at Harvard University |access-date=September 16, 2024}} The following month, Whitford and Schiff also participated in a discussion with writer Eli Attie at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG0B4uq-irg |title=IOP Political TV Festival Session #3 - "The West Wing" |publisher=UChicago Institute of Politics |via=YouTube |date=April 14, 2014 |access-date=September 16, 2024}}

In 2016, Sorkin and the cast reunited to mark the 10th anniversary of the show's finale at the ATX Festival.{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/2016/06/22/west-wing-atx-festival-video/ |title=The West Wing cast reflects on show 10 years after finale |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |first=Shirley |last=Li |date=June 22, 2016 |access-date=September 16, 2024}}{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHEsMDjf1dY |title=The West Wing Reunion // ATX TV Festival // Season 5 |publisher=ATX TV |via=YouTube |date=October 12, 2016 |access-date=September 16, 2024}} In 2021, cast members reunited virtually as part of the Stars in the House series.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2021/03/stars-in-the-house-reunions-west-wing-thirtysomething-little-house-on-the-prairie-1234709952/ |title='The West Wing', 'Thirtysomething', 'Little House On The Prairie' Reunions Set For Stars In The House Anniversary Week |website=Deadline |first=Greg |last=Evans |date=March 9, 2021 |access-date=October 22, 2024}}{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuXyQKDJTYw |title="The West Wing" Reunion with Allison Janney, Martin Sheen, Bradley Whitford, + more! |work=Stars in the House |via=YouTube |date=March 19, 2021 |access-date=October 22, 2024}}

In 2024, the Paley Center for Media in New York hosted an exhibition marking the 25th anniversary of the show's premiere,{{cite web |url=https://decider.com/2024/07/15/paley-center-west-wing-exhibit/ |title=The Paley Center Is Honoring 'The West Wing's 25th Anniversary With An Exciting New Exhibit |website=Decider |first=Rachel |last=Rosenfield |date=July 15, 2024 |access-date=September 9, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.paleycenter.org/events/2024-west-wing-25/ |title=Inside The West Wing: A 25th Anniversary Salute |website=The Paley Center for Media |date=June 6, 2024 |access-date=September 17, 2024}} which cast member Janel Moloney wrote about attending.{{cite web |url=https://airmail.news/issues/2024-9-14/tangled-up-in-the-west-wing |title=Tangled Up in The West Wing |website=Air Mail |first=Janel |last=Moloney |date=September 14, 2024 |access-date=September 16, 2024}} Sorkin had previously marked the show's 20th anniversary at a Paley panel in New York in 2019 following a screening of episode "Two Cathedrals",{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/aaron-working-the-west-wing-20th-anniversary-trump-1203360249/ |title=Aaron Sorkin Gets Political At 'The West Wing' 20th Anniversary Panel: 'Better Voters Get Us Better Candidates' |website=Variety |first=Elizabeth |last=Wagmeister |date=October 4, 2009 |access-date=September 16, 2024}}{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVbfD4fAKsE |title=A Look Back With Aaron Sorkin - West Wing Then and Now |publisher=The Paley Center for Media |via=YouTube |date=October 7, 2019 |access-date=September 16, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=&p=1&item=138222 |title=Paley Center for Media, the: PaleyFest NY 2019: The 20th Anniversary of The West Wing: A Look Back With Aaron Sorkin {Long Version} |publisher=The Paley Center for Media |access-date=November 2, 2024}} while both Sorkin and cast members had previously participated in a Paley panel in Los Angeles in 2000 with a screening of the episode "In Excelsis Deo".{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi6KwBjnHhk |title=The West Wing - "We Needed the Eight Best Actors There Were" |publisher=The Paley Center for Media |via=YouTube |date=July 6, 2024 |access-date=September 16, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=&p=1&item=T:59672 |title=Museum of Television & Radio, the: William S. Paley Television Festival 2000: The West Wing {Long Version} |publisher=The Paley Center for Media |access-date=November 2, 2024}}

In September 2024, cast members also reunited to mark the 25th anniversary in an appearance at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards to stress the importance of voting and announce the winner for Outstanding Drama Series.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2024/09/west-wing-reunion-emmys-2024-1236086400/ |title='The West Wing' Stars Reunite At Emmys To Encourage People To Vote & Talk About Political Storylines That Would Have Been "Far-Fetched" |website=Deadline |first=Peter |last=White |date=September 15, 2024 |access-date=September 17, 2024}} Later that week, cast members and producers were invited to the White House where they met President Joe Biden before participating in an outdoor anniversary celebration with First Lady Jill Biden.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/aaron-sorkin-west-wing-reboot-white-house-visit-1236152241/ |title=Aaron Sorkin Considering 'West Wing' Reboot After White House Visit: 'I Just Got a Couple of Ideas For Episodes' (EXCLUSIVE) |website=Variety |first=Michael |last=Schneider |date=September 20, 2024 |access-date=September 21, 2024}}{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2shsLR9fg0 |title=The White House Celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Television Series, The West Wing |publisher=The White House |via=YouTube |date=September 20, 2024 |access-date=September 21, 2024}} In his remarks, Sorkin referred to Biden's decision not to run for reelection on July 21, 2024, as a "West Wing moment." Before the news about Biden had broken that day, Sorkin had written an op-ed in The New York Times comparing Bartlet's decision to run for reelection to Biden's dilemma, and suggested the Democrats could nominate Mitt Romney.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/opinion/biden-west-wing-aaron-sorkin.html |title=Aaron Sorkin: How I Would Script This Moment for Biden and the Democrats |website=The New York Times |first=Aaron |last=Sorkin |date=July 21, 2024 |access-date=September 21, 2024}} But after the news about Biden's decision and endorsement of Kamala Harris became public later that day, he communicated via cast member Joshua Malina's social media profiles: "I take it all back. Harris for America!"{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/aaron-sorkin-west-wing-democrats-nominate-mitt-romney-1235953958/ |title=Aaron Sorkin Takes Back Mitt Romney Suggestion for Democratic Nominee: "Harris for America" |website=The Hollywood Reporter |first=Zoe G. |last=Phillips |date=July 21, 2024 |access-date=September 21, 2024}}

In December 2024, cast members Richard Schiff, Dulé Hill and Melissa Fitzgerald attended an event marking the 20th anniversary of the Clinton Presidential Center.{{Cite web |last=Farrar |first=Thomas |date=2024-12-08 |title=Clintons celebrate 20 years of Presidential Center, urge unity in polarized times |url=https://katv.com/news/local/clintons-celebrate-20-years-of-presidential-center-urge-unity-in-polarized-times-bill-hillary-robinson-center-kumpuris-distinguished-lecture-the-west-wing-richard-schiff-melissa-fitzgerald |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=KATV |language=en}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPSPP7cOgOI |title=Kumpuris Distinguished Lecture with the Clintons and Special Guests |date=2024-12-07 |last=Clinton Center |access-date=2025-04-20 |via=YouTube}}

Cast members have individually become active and jointly reunited in person and virtually to support several candidates and organizations associated with the Democratic Party, in some cases as part of campaign ads and fundraisers, including Joe Biden's 2008 primary campaign,{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2024/07/27/west-wing-biden-harris-election/ |title=Even Richard Schiff thinks we're living in 'The West Wing' |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Jada |last=Yuan |date=July 27, 2024 |access-date=October 22, 2024}} the 2008 Barack Obama campaign,{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV1bx70ULxs |title=Bradley Whitford for Barack |via=YouTube |author=@barackobama |date=October 21, 2008 |access-date=October 22, 2024}} the 2012 Barack Obama campaign,{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oErEtzT8aM4 |title=Bradley Whitford Gets Out the Vote - OFA Wisconsin |via=YouTube |author=@barackobama |date=November 4, 2012 |access-date=October 22, 2024}} Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown's 2012 campaign,{{cite web |url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/2012/06/01/martin-sheen-tours-with-sherrod/23331751007/ |title=Martin Sheen tours with Sherrod Brown |website=The Columbus Dispatch |first=Joe |last=Vardon |date=June 1, 2012 |access-date=November 2, 2024}} the 2014 Democratic Party of Wisconsin campaign in support of Mary Burke,{{cite web |url=https://www.wpr.org/politics/actor-bradley-whitford-visits-uw-campuses-campaign-mary-burke |title=Actor Bradley Whitford Visits UW Campuses To Campaign For Mary Burke |website=Wisconsin Public Radio |first=Gilman |last=Halsted |date=October 3, 2014 |access-date=October 22, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2014/10/28/on-the-trail-with-two-white-house-aides-only-one-of-them-real/ |title=On the Trail With Two White House Aides, Only One of Them Real |website=The New York Times |first=Julie |last=Hirschfeld Davis |date=October 28, 2014 |access-date=October 22, 2024}} the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign,{{cite web |url=https://people.com/celebrity/the-west-wing-cast-reunites-to-campaign-for-hillary-clinton/ |title=The Bartlet Administration Backs Clinton: Inside 'The West Wing' 's Passionate and Prank-Filled Campaign Trail Reunion |website=People |first=Lindsay |last=Kimble |date=October 4, 2016 |access-date=October 22, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1267948653261661 |title=Join the cast of The West Wing for a round of Hillary trivia! |website=Facebook |date=October 2, 2016 |access-date=November 2, 2024}} the 2020 Joe Biden campaign,{{cite web |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/521294-hollywood-gives-bidens-digital-campaign-final-star-studded-push/ |title=Hollywood gives Biden's digital campaign final star-studded push |website=The Hill |first=Judy |last=Kurtz |date=October 16, 2020 |access-date=October 22, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/how-a-grassroots-effort-in-wisconsin-sparked-hollywoods-2020-reunion-movement-4092985/ |title=How Wisconsin Democrats Used Hollywood Reunions to Make a "Critical Difference" in the 2020 Election |website=The Hollywood Reporter |first=Jackie |last=Strause |date=November 17, 2020 |access-date=October 22, 2024}}{{Cite web |last=Kotcher |first=Matthew |date=November 4, 2024 |title=America's Hardest-Working Democrat: An Interview with Ben Wikler |url=https://brownpoliticalreview.org/americas-hardest-working-democrat/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |website=Brown Political Review |language=en-US}} and the Wisconsin Democrats 2022 Midterms campaign.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2022/10/veep-west-wing-reunion-2022-midterms-wisconsin-1235139593/ |title='Veep' And 'The West Wing' Reunions Raise Almost $700,000 For Wisconsin Democrats As Cast Members Warn That Democracy Is On The Line In Midterms |website=Deadline |first=Ted |last=Johnson |date=October 9, 2022 |access-date=October 22, 2024}} In 2024, they supported the organization Red Wine & Blue,{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODuzmp7c6LM |title=Debate Prep With The West Wing Cast |work=Red Wine and Blue |via=YouTube |date=September 11, 2024 |access-date=October 22, 2024}} Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey Jr.,{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/west-wing-reunion-bob-casey-pennsylvania-1236174481/ |title='West Wing' Cast to Reunite in Support of Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey (EXCLUSIVE) |website=Variety |first=Jordan |last=Moreau |date=October 10, 2024 |access-date=October 22, 2024}} Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown,{{cite web |url=https://secure.actblue.com/donate/westwingforsherrod |title=Join The West Wing Cast with Senator Sherrod Brown! |website=ActBlue |access-date=November 2, 2024}} and the 2024 Kamala Harris campaign.{{cite web |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/4943131-west-wing-wisconsin-harris/ |title='The West Wing; cast hits the trail for Harris in Wisconsin |website=The Hill |first=Ashleigh |last=Fields |date=October 19, 2024 |access-date=October 22, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://wislawjournal.com/2024/10/19/roe-vs-wade-takes-center-stage-in-milwaukee-with-west-wing-cast/ |title=Roe vs. Wade and religion take center stage in Milwaukee with West Wing cast |website=Wisconsin Law Journal |first=Steve |last=Schuster |date=October 19, 2024 |access-date=October 22, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.wisn.com/article/the-west-wing-cast-campaigns-for-harris-in-wisconsin/62659878 |title='The West Wing' cast campaigns for Harris in Wisconsin |website=WISN |first=Emily |last=Pofahl |date=October 20, 2024 |access-date=October 22, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.dailycardinal.com/article/2024/10/the-west-wing-cast-triumphs-abortion-climate-policy-for-harris-walz-ticket-in-madison |title='The West Wing' cast triumphs abortion, climate policy for Harris-Walz ticket in Madison |website=The Daily Cardinal |first1=Bryna |last1=Goeking |first2=Sreejita |last2=Patra |date=October 21, 2024 |access-date=October 22, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.dailycardinal.com/article/2024/10/q-a-the-west-wing-star-bradley-whitford-wants-madison-to-vote |title=Q&A: 'The West Wing' star Bradley Whitford wants Madison to vote |website=The Daily Cardinal |first1=Bryna |last1=Goeking |first2=Sreejita |last2=Patra |date=October 21, 2024 |access-date=October 22, 2024}}{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYoovYHiL8c |title=Bradley Whitford Tees Off On Donald Trump, Urges Voters To Send Him To 'The Dustbin Of History' |work=Forbes |via=YouTube |date=October 22, 2024 |access-date=November 2, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.wispolitics.com/2024/harris-campaign-icymi-the-cast-of-the-west-wing-tours-wisconsin-slamming-trumps-extreme-project-2025-agenda/ |title=Harris campaign: ICYMI — The cast of The West Wing tours Wisconsin, slamming Trump's extreme Project 2025 agenda |website=WisPolitics |date=October 21, 2024 |access-date=November 2, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/10/west-wing-nostalgia-election/680349/ |title=This Election Is No West Wing Reunion |website=The Atlantic |first=Mark |last=Leibovich |date=October 24, 2024 |access-date=November 2, 2024}}{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMJcZYLHdd4 |title='West Wing' cast members reunite to endorse Harris for president in new ad |work=MSNBC |via=YouTube |date=November 4, 2024 |access-date=November 4, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://lincolnproject.us/west-wing-ad-lincoln-project/ |title=West Wing Cast Members Reunite to Endorse Harris in New Ad and Statement |website=The Lincoln Project |date=November 2, 2024 |access-date=November 4, 2024}}

While The West Wing is not completely accurate in its portrayal of the actual West Wing,{{cite web |last=Seelye |first=Katharine Q |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/08/national/west-wing-fact-and-fiction.html |title=Q&A: 'West Wing' Fact and Fiction |date=July 8, 2001 |website=The New York Times |access-date=June 15, 2020 |archive-date=June 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618171937/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/08/national/west-wing-fact-and-fiction.html |url-status=live }}{{cite video |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?176333-1/real-west-wing |title=The Real West Wing |publisher=C-SPAN |date=April 24, 2003 |access-date=June 15, 2020}}Levine, Myron A. "The West Wing and the West Wing." Reprinted in The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama. Edited by Peter C. Rollins and John E. Connor. 2003. former White House staffers and journalists have described the show as capturing its feel.{{cite journal |first=Matthew |last=Miller |url=http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/news/archives/2000/03/the_real_white.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060426115423/http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/news/archives/2000/03/the_real_white.html |title=The Real White House |journal=Brill's Content |date=March 1, 2000 |archive-date=April 26, 2006 |url-status=dead}} President Gerald Ford's daughter Susan made the comment "I can't watch [the show]. They turn left and right where you are not supposed to."{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/nevius/article/Just-ask-Chelsea-Jenna-and-Barbara-Escaping-the-2808210.php |title=Just ask Chelsea, Jenna and Barbara: Escaping the glare of the spotlight isn't easy for kids whose dads work in the Oval Office |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=January 22, 2004 |access-date=March 4, 2012 |first=C. W. |last=Nevius |archive-date=October 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018134742/http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/nevius/article/Just-ask-Chelsea-Jenna-and-Barbara-Escaping-the-2808210.php |url-status=live }} Some West Wing veterans have said it exaggerates the formality and volume of chatter in the West Wing, under-represents the number of people involved in a decision, and over-idealizes its occupants.

Former Senate aide Lawrence O'Donnell and former White House aide and presidential campaign speechwriter Eli Attie were both longtime writers on the show (O'Donnell for seasons 1–2 and 5–7, Attie for seasons 3–7). Former White House Press Secretaries Dee Dee Myers and Marlin Fitzwater and pollsters Patrick Caddell and Frank Luntz also served as consultants, advising the writing staff for part of the show's run. Other former White House staffers, such as Peggy Noonan and Gene Sperling, served as consultants for brief periods.

A documentary special in the third season compared the show's depiction of the West Wing to the real thing. Many former West Wing denizens applauded the show's depiction of the West Wing, including advisor David Gergen, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, and former Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton.{{cite web |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2002/04/22/west-wing-episode-acts-as-documentary-with-real-life-politicos-in-the-mix/ |title='West Wing' Episode Acts As Documentary With Real-life Politicos In The Mix |agency=Cox News Service |date=April 22, 2002 |work=Orlando Sentinel |access-date=September 18, 2010 |archive-date=June 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614031430/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2002-04-22/news/0204210425_1_west-wing-creator-aaron-sorkin-president-george-w |url-status=live }}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN4zbFGMQQg |title=Interviews With President Carter {{!}} The West Wing |date=January 13, 2025 |last=The West Wing |access-date=January 28, 2025 |via=YouTube}}

While critics often praised The West Wing for its writing, others faulted the show as unrealistically optimistic{{cite news |first=Joyce |last=Millman |url=http://www.salon.com/2000/09/11/emmys_2000/ |title=Don't blame me, I voted for Martin Sheen! |work=Salon |date=September 11, 2000 |access-date=December 10, 2005 |archive-date=July 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701103755/http://www.salon.com/2000/09/11/emmys_2000/ |url-status=live }} and sentimental.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2009/oct/23/the-thick-of-it-armando-iannucci |title=The Thick of It: cynical, cruel and lacking in heart |work=The Guardian |date=October 23, 2009 |access-date=November 11, 2009 |archive-date=November 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112031335/http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2009/oct/23/the-thick-of-it-armando-iannucci |url-status=live }} A large part of this criticism came from the perceived naiveté of the characters. Television critic Heather Havrilesky asked, "What rock did these morally pure creatures crawl out from under and, more important, how do you go from innocent millipede to White House staffer without becoming soiled or disillusioned by the dirty realities of politics along the way?"{{cite web |first=Heather |last=Havrilesky |url=http://www.salon.com/2003/05/14/west_wing_5/ |title=Will The West Wing go south? |date=May 14, 2003 |access-date=December 10, 2005 |work=Salon |archive-date=October 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023052215/http://www.salon.com/2003/05/14/west_wing_5/ |url-status=live }}

Despite acclaim for the veracity of the series, Sorkin said, "our responsibility is to captivate you for however long we've asked for your attention."{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec00/sorkin_09-27.html |title=Extended Interview: Aaron Sorkin |publisher=PBS |date=September 27, 2000 |access-date=September 23, 2011 |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105001110/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec00/sorkin_09-27.html |url-status=live }} Former White House aide Matthew Miller noted that Sorkin "captivates viewers by making the human side of politics more real than life—or at least more real than the picture we get from the news." Miller also noted that by portraying politicians with empathy, the show created a "subversive competitor" to the cynical views of politics in media. In the essay "The West Wing and the West Wing", author Myron Levine agreed, stating that the series "presents an essentially positive view of public service and a healthy corrective to anti-Washington stereotypes and public cynicism."

Dr. Staci L. Beavers, associate professor of political science at California State University, San Marcos, wrote a short essay, "The West Wing as a Pedagogical Tool". She concluded, "While the series' purpose is for-profit entertainment, The West Wing presents great pedagogical potential." The West Wing, in her opinion, gave greater depth to the political process usually espoused only in stilted talking points on shows like Face the Nation and Meet the Press. However, she noted that the merits of a particular argument may be obscured by the viewer's opinion of the character. Beavers also noted that characters with opposing viewpoints were often set up to be "bad people" in the viewer's eyes. These characters were assigned undesirable characteristics having nothing to do with their political opinions, such as being romantically involved with a main character's love interest. In Beavers' opinion, a critical analysis of the show's political views can present a worthwhile learning experience to the viewer.Beavers, Staci L. "The West Wing as a Pedagogical Tool." PS: Political Science & Politics. December 24, 2001. Reprinted in The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama. Edited by Peter C. Rollins and John E. Connor. 2003.

While it aired, The West Wing offered viewers an idealist liberal administration that provided a sort of catharsis to those on the left who felt that their political beliefs were largely forgotten or ignored in the era of the Bush administration. Writer Hédi Kaddour remarked that The West Wing "show[ed] what [liberals] would have liked to have seen and had: a different American administration, closer to our desires as people more or less on the left."{{cite journal |last=Kaddour |first=Hédi |title=From Dream to Invention: 'The West Wing' |journal=MLN |volume=127 |number=5 |year=2012 |pages=1071–1095 |jstor=43611282 |doi=10.1353/mln.2012.0136|s2cid=162039301 }}

One of the stranger effects of the show occurred on January 31, 2006, when The West Wing was said to have played a hand in defeating a proposal backed by Tony Blair's government in the British House of Commons, during the so-called "West Wing Plot". The plan was allegedly hatched after a Conservative Member of Parliament watched the episode "A Good Day", in which Democrats block a bill aimed at limiting stem cell research, by appearing to have left Washington D.C. but actually hiding in a congressional office until the Republican Speaker calls the vote.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1509435/Blairs-whips-fooled-by-West-Wing-plot.html |title=Blair's whips fooled by West Wing plot |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=February 2, 2006 |access-date=June 21, 2023 |last1=Helm |first1=Brendan Carlin |archive-date=June 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604192101/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1509435/Blairs-whips-fooled-by-West-Wing-plot.html |url-status=live }}

File:White House Big Block of Cheese Day 2015 promo.webm

A number of episodes referred to a practice of the administration having one day each year on which they accepted meetings with people or groups who would not normally receive an audience with high-level White House staffers, referring to the event as "Big Block of Cheese Day". The name came from the fact that President Andrew Jackson had a large wheel of cheese placed in the White House from which the public were invited to eat during a reception,{{cite web |last1=Trex |first1=Ethan |title=Andrew Jackson's Big Block of Cheese |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/27228/andrew-jacksons-big-block-cheese |website=Mental Floss |access-date=January 18, 2015 |date=January 26, 2014 |archive-date=January 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118174645/http://mentalfloss.com/article/27228/andrew-jacksons-big-block-cheese |url-status=live }} while discussing issues of the day with politicians.{{cite magazine |last1=Begley |first1=Sarah |title=The White House 'Big Block of Cheese Day' Is Back |url=https://time.com/3671796/white-house-big-block-of-cheese/ |magazine=Time |access-date=January 18, 2015 |date=January 16, 2015 |archive-date=January 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150117150553/http://time.com/3671796/white-house-big-block-of-cheese/ |url-status=live }} In 2014, the White House announced that it was to host an online Q&A with Obama administration officials and staff, called a Virtual "Big Block of Cheese day", on January 29, 2014.{{cite web |last1=Lindsay |first1=Erin |title=The First-Ever Virtual "Big Block of Cheese Day" – The White House is Open for Questions |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/01/29/first-ever-virtual-big-block-cheese-day-white-house-open-questions |access-date=January 18, 2015 |date=January 29, 2014 |archive-date=January 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121212844/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/01/29/first-ever-virtual-big-block-cheese-day-white-house-open-questions |via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov |url-status=live }} The event was promoted with a video featuring stars from The West Wing.{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=Ellie |title=The "West Wing" Cast Reunited For A Video About The White House's "Big Block Of Cheese Day." |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/the-west-wing-cast-reunited-for-a-video-about-the-white-hous |website=BuzzFeed |access-date=January 18, 2015 |date=January 16, 2015 |archive-date=January 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120001510/http://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/the-west-wing-cast-reunited-for-a-video-about-the-white-hous |url-status=live }} The event was repeated on January 21, 2015,{{cite web |last1=Wall |first1=Alex |title=Big Block of Cheese Day Is Back, and It's Feta Than Ever |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2015/01/16/big-block-cheese-day-back-and-its-feta-ever |access-date=January 18, 2015 |date=January 16, 2015 |archive-date=January 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121033032/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2015/01/16/big-block-cheese-day-back-and-its-feta-ever |via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov |url-status=live }} again promoted by stars from the show. On April 29, 2016, Allison Janney appeared in character as C.J. Cregg during a White House press briefing to call attention to the issue of substance abuse.{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/29/politics/allison-janney-cj-cregg-white-house/index.html |title=C.J. Cregg makes a return to the White House |publisher=CNN |first=Julia |last=Manchester |date=April 29, 2016 |access-date=December 18, 2017 |archive-date=January 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103001135/http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/29/politics/allison-janney-cj-cregg-white-house/index.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJCBiH6l4AI |title=4/29/16: White House Press Briefing |date=April 29, 2016 |last=The Obama White House |access-date=February 26, 2025 |via=YouTube}}

Despite its commercial and critical success, The West Wing has also received criticism from the right. Jewish Journal columnist Naomi Pfefferman once referred to The West Wing as "The Left Wing" because of its portrayal of an ideal liberal administration, and the moniker has also been used by Republican critics of the show.{{cite web |last=Pfefferman |first=Naomi |url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/up_front/article/the_left_wing_20011012 |title=The Left 'Wing' |publisher=Jewish Journal |date=October 11, 2001 |access-date=November 11, 2009 |archive-date=October 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007222001/http://www.jewishjournal.com/up_front/article/the_left_wing_20011012/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/daily/051506/westwing.html |title=City Says Goodbye to 'West Wing,' Its Chattier Self |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 15, 2006 |access-date=November 11, 2009 |first=Daniel |last=de Vise |archive-date=November 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109144249/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/daily/051506/westwing.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/arts-and-culture/2007/05/west-wing-sorkin-television |title=The war on culture |work=New Statesman |date=May 21, 2007 |access-date=November 11, 2009 |archive-date=February 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206013722/http://www.newstatesman.com/arts-and-culture/2007/05/west-wing-sorkin-television |url-status=live }} Chris Lehmann, former deputy editor and regular reviewer for The Washington Post{{'s}} Book World section, characterized the show as a revisionist look at the Clinton presidency.Lehmann, Chris. "The Feel-Good Presidency: The Pseudo-Politics of The West Wing." Reprinted in The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama. Edited by Peter C. Rollins and John E. Connor. 2003. {{ISBN|0-8156-3031-X}}.

However, criticism of the show has been made from the left as well. Cultural critic and Jacobin columnist Luke Savage has taken issue with the show's portrayal of "technocratic governance" as "exciting, intellectually stimulating, and, above all, honorable", and its attendant liberal elitism, saying, "there is a general tenor to The West Wing universe that cannot be called anything other than smug."{{cite journal |url=https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2017/04/how-liberals-fell-in-love-with-the-west-wing |title=How Liberals Fell In Love With The West Wing |journal=Current Affairs |first=Luke |last=Savage |date=June 7, 2017 |issue=Mar/Apr 2017 |access-date=August 2, 2018 |archive-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803014827/https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/04/how-liberals-fell-in-love-with-the-west-wing |url-status=live }} The hosts of socialist podcast Chapo Trap House are frequent critics of Sorkin and have called The West Wing an "expression of the patronizing self-entitlement of liberals."{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/23/chapo-trap-house-leftwing-breitbart |title=Leftwing Breitbart? Chapo Trap House is strong new voice in resistance to Trump |last=Helmore |first=Edward |date=July 23, 2017 |work=The Guardian |access-date=January 31, 2019 |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=January 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128215226/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/23/chapo-trap-house-leftwing-breitbart |url-status=live }}

On the other hand, some Republicans have admired the show since its inception, even before the departure of Sorkin and the show's resulting shift toward the center.{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.com/news/968925.asp?cp1=1 |title='West Wing' goes more bipartisan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050213141236/http://www.msnbc.com/news/968925.asp?cp1=1 |archive-date=February 13, 2005 |publisher=MSNBC News |date=September 18, 2003 |access-date=November 10, 2013}} In his 2001 article "Real Liberals versus The West Wing," Mackubin Thomas Owens wrote, ″Although his administration is reliably liberal, President Bartlet possesses virtues even a conservative could admire. He obeys the Constitution and the law. He is devoted to his wife and daughters. Being unfaithful to his wife would never cross his mind. He is no wimp when it comes to foreign policy—no quid pro quo for him."{{cite web |first=Mackubin T |last=Owens |url=http://ashbrook.org/publications/oped-owens-01-liberals/ |title=Real Liberals versus the West Wing |publisher=John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University |date=February 2001 |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105072912/http://ashbrook.org/publications/oped-owens-01-liberals/ |url-status=live }}

Journalist Matthew Miller wrote, "Although the show indeed has a liberal bias on issues, it presents a truer, more human picture of the people behind the headlines than most of today's Washington journalists."

File:westwing trackingshot.jpg and Josh Lyman converse in the hallway in one of The West Wing{{'}}s noted tracking shots.]]

In its first season, The West Wing attracted critical attention in the television community with a record nine Emmy wins. The show has been praised for its high production values and repeatedly recognized for its cinematic achievements. The series has also been praised for Sorkin's rapid-fire and witty scripts.{{cite web |first=Oliver |last=Burkeman |date=May 6, 2003 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/may/07/television.channel4 |title=Next week on The West Wing ... erm |work=The Guardian |access-date=December 10, 2005 |archive-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110202024/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/may/07/television.channel4 |url-status=live }} The series had a budget of $2.7 million per episode.{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/2002/08/09/what-really-made-rob-lowe-quit-west-wing/ |title=The Lowe Down |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |first=Nicholas |last=Fonseca |date=August 9, 2002 |access-date=August 8, 2014 |archive-date=August 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809234617/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,333363,00.html |url-status=live }}

The West Wing is noted for developing the "walk-and-talk"—long Steadicam tracking shots showing characters walking down hallways while involved in long conversations. In a typical "walk-and-talk" shot, the camera leads two characters down a hallway as they speak to each other. One of these characters generally breaks off and the remaining character is then joined by another character, who initiates another conversation as they continue walking. These "walk-and-talks" create a dynamic feel for what would otherwise be long expository dialogue, and have become a staple for dialogue-intensive television show scenes.{{cite web |first=Greg M. |last=Smith |url=http://www2.gsu.edu/~jougms/Wwing.htm |title=The Left Takes Back the Flag |access-date=December 10, 2005 |archive-date=August 21, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060821071757/http://www2.gsu.edu/~jougms/Wwing.htm |url-status=live }}

{{Main list|List of awards and nominations received by The West Wing{{!}}List of awards and nominations received by The West Wing}}

In its first season, The West Wing garnered nine Emmys, a record for most won by a series in its first season.{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/10/emmys.05/ |title=West Wing' sets Emmy record |publisher=CNN |date=September 11, 2000 |access-date=September 23, 2011 |archive-date=April 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410030734/http://edition.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/10/emmys.05/ |url-status=live }} In addition, the series received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003, tying Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Mad Men and Game of Thrones for most won in this category. Each of its seven seasons earned a nomination for the award. With its 26 total awards, The West Wing tied with Hill Street Blues as the drama with the most Emmy wins{{cite web |url=http://www.tvguide.com/special/best-of-decade/photogallery/Best-Decade-Emmy-1011359 |title=Best of the Decade: Emmy Winners |work=TV Guide |access-date=November 10, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110193415/http://www.tvguide.com/special/best-of-decade/photogallery/Best-Decade-Emmy-1011359 |archive-date=November 10, 2013}} until Game of Thrones broke the record for most wins in 2016, with 38 total awards.{{cite news |last1=Elderkin |first1=Beth |title=Game of Thrones Becomes the Most-Awarded Drama in Emmy History |url=http://io9.gizmodo.com/game-of-thrones-becomes-the-most-awarded-drama-in-emmy-1786496357 |access-date=September 11, 2016 |work=io9 |date=September 11, 2016 |archive-date=September 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912100845/http://io9.gizmodo.com/game-of-thrones-becomes-the-most-awarded-drama-in-emmy-1786496357 |url-status=live }}

The series shares the Emmy Award record for most acting nominations by regular cast members (excluding the guest performer category) for a single series in one year. (Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Game of Thrones, Succession and The White Lotus also hold that record). For the 2001–2002 season, nine cast members were nominated for Emmys. Allison Janney, John Spencer and Stockard Channing each won an Emmy (for Lead Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress respectively). The others nominated were Martin Sheen (for Lead Actor), Richard Schiff, Dulé Hill and Bradley Whitford (for Supporting Actor), and Janel Moloney and Mary-Louise Parker (for Supporting Actress). In addition, that same year Mark Harmon, Tim Matheson and Ron Silver were each nominated in the Guest Actor category (although none won the award). This gave the series an Emmy Award record for most acting nominations overall (including guest performer category) in a single year, with 12 acting nominations. Twenty individual Emmys were awarded to writers, actors, and crew members. Allison Janney is the record holder for most wins by a cast member, with a total of four Emmys. The West Wing won at least one Emmy in each of its seasons except the sixth.{{cite web |url=http://www.emmys.com/shows/west-wing |title=The West Wing |publisher=Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-date=October 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012035651/http://www.emmys.com/shows/west-wing |url-status=live }}

In addition to its Emmys, the show won two Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, in 2000 and 2001, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Martin Sheen was the only cast member to win a Golden Globe Award, and he and Allison Janney were the only cast members to win SAG Awards. In both 1999 and 2000, The West Wing was awarded the Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting.{{cite web |url=http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-west-wing |title=The West Wing (NBC) |publisher=The Peabody Awards |year=1999 |access-date=September 29, 2014 |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006133118/http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-west-wing |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-west-wing1 |title=The West Wing (NBC) |publisher=The Peabody Awards |year=2000 |access-date=September 29, 2014 |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006155957/http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-west-wing1 |url-status=live }}

The following table summarizes award wins by cast members:

Many cast members were Emmy-nominated for their work on The West Wing but did not win, including Martin Sheen—who was nominated for six of the seven seasons of the series without receiving the award—as well as Janel Moloney, who was nominated twice, and Dulé Hill, Rob Lowe, and Mary-Louise Parker, who were all nominated once. Matthew Perry, Oliver Platt, Ron Silver, Tim Matheson, and Mark Harmon also received Emmy nominations for guest starring on the show.

Thomas Schlamme won two Emmys for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (in 2000 and 2001), and Christopher Misiano won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series in 2003. The West Wing{{'s}} only Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series was in its first season, when Rick Cleveland and Aaron Sorkin shared the award for "In Excelsis Deo".

W. G. Snuffy Walden received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music in 2000 for "The West Wing Opening Theme".{{cite web |url=https://www.emmys.com/bios/wg-snuffy-walden |title=W.G. Snuffy Walden |website=Emmys.com |access-date=September 9, 2024}}

"The West Wing Documentary Special" won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Program in 2002, with the award shared by Aaron Sorkin, Tommy Schlamme, documentarian Bill Couturie, show writers Eli Attie and Felicia Willson, and others.

Readers of TV Guide voted the cast of The West Wing their Best Drama cast of all time, receiving 37% of the votes, beating Lost, which received 23%.{{cite journal |title=Your Favorite TV Casts |journal=TV Guide |date=January 3, 2011 |page=11}}

A Wall Street Journal poll in 2016 named Martin Sheen's Josiah Bartlet as the second greatest fictional president, behind Harrison Ford's President James Marshall in Air Force One.{{cite news |title=44 Fake Presidents From Worst to Best |url=http://graphics.wsj.com/image-grid/44-fake-presidents/ |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=July 12, 2016 |access-date=July 24, 2016 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=July 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160725083029/http://graphics.wsj.com/image-grid/44-fake-presidents |url-status=live }}

On review aggregator website Metacritic, the first season has a score of 79 out of 100, based on 23 critics indicating "generally favorable" reviews.{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-west-wing/season-1|title=The West Wing – Season 1 Reviews|website=Metacritic|access-date=February 22, 2022|archive-date=February 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222203336/https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-west-wing/season-1|url-status=live}} On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a 96% approval rating with an average score of 8.4/10 based on 47 reviews, with a critics consensus of: "Practically a screwball comedy with Aaron Sorkin's rat-a-tat dialogue and the ensemble's wonderful chemistry, The West Wing resplendently renders every voter's dearest fantasy: competent politicians with good intentions."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s01|title=The West Wing: Season 1|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=February 22, 2022|archive-date=February 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206134546/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s01|url-status=live}}

The second season has an 88% approval rating with an average score of 10/10 based on 24 reviews, with a critics consensus of: "The West Wing{{'}}s approval rating remains high and the state of its union strong in a sophomore season that puts President Bartlet to the test and brings out the very best in Martin Sheen's performance."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s02|title=The West Wing: Season 2|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=February 22, 2022|archive-date=December 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209213603/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s02|url-status=live}} The third season has a 73% approval rating with an average score of 10/10 based on 15 reviews, with a critics consensus of: "The West Wing still fires off repartee as if sparkling dialogue were mandated by executive order, but this underwhelming third season finds the series' idealism curdling a bit into smug self-satisfaction.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s03|title=The West Wing: Season 3|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=February 22, 2022|archive-date=December 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209184147/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s03|url-status=live}} The fourth season has a 92% approval rating with an average score of 8/10 based on 13 reviews, with a critics consensus of: "The pressure of re-election reinvigorates both the Bartlet administration and The West Wing itself in a comeback season that'll leave viewers rooting for four more years."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s04|title=The West Wing: Season 4|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=February 22, 2022|archive-date=December 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209170939/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s04|url-status=live}}

The fifth season has a 65% approval rating with an average score of 7.9/10 based on 23 reviews, with a critics consensus of: "John Wells admirably tries to maintain the spirit of Aaron Sorkin's vision after succeeding him, but The West Wing{{'}}s fifth season is a decidedly rocky changing of the guard."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s05|title=The West Wing: Season 5|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=February 22, 2022|archive-date=January 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106225754/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s05|url-status=live}} The sixth season has a 64% approval rating with an average score of 9.4/10 based on 14 reviews, with a critics consensus of: "The West Wing is firmly in its lame duck session, a little more cynical and rudderless than before, but the introduction of new presidential hopefuls brings a much-needed promise of fresh blood."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s06|title=The West Wing: Season 6|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=February 22, 2022|archive-date=January 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106225828/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s06|url-status=live}} The seventh season has a 95% approval rating with an average score of 8.5/10 based on 20 reviews, with a critics consensus of: "Bidding a fond farewell to the Bartlet administration, The West Wing regains its idealistic thrill with a sweetly amicable presidential election in this strong final season."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s07|title=The West Wing: Season 7|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=February 22, 2022|archive-date=January 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106225856/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-west-wing/s07|url-status=live}}

In 2023, Rotten Tomatoes critics ranked it at number 20 in a ranking of the "Best TV Shows of the Last 25 Years."{{Cite web |title=Critics Pick the Best TV Shows of the Last 25 Years |url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/rt25-critics-top-tv-shows-of-the-last-25-years-2/ |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |language=en-US}}

In 2001, Aaron Sorkin began responding in online posts to critical recaps and fan posts on the pre-cursor to the website Television Without Pity, an experience critics saw as inspiration for the "LemonLyman.com" storyline in the third season episode "The U.S. Poet Laureate."{{Cite news |last=Holmes |first=Linda |date=March 31, 2014 |title=10 Absolutely True Stories About Writing For Television Without Pity |url=https://www.npr.org/2014/03/31/297338377/10-absolutely-true-stories-about-writing-for-television-without-pity |access-date=February 15, 2025 |work=NPR |language=en}}{{Cite web |date= |title=Paltrow's love-hate relationship? |url=http://www.msnbc.com/avantgo/696741.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040510044036/http://www.msnbc.com/avantgo/696741.htm |archive-date=May 10, 2004 |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=MSNBC}}{{Cite web |date=July 4, 2001 |title=Aaron Sorkin Defends Himself on Fan Board |url=http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1%2C1002%2C271%7C69028%7C1%7C%2C00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009215240/http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271%7C69028%7C1%7C,00.html |archive-date=October 9, 2007 |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=Zap2it}}{{Cite web |last=Newscat |date=February 15, 2006 |title=The long back story of Aaron Sorkin, West Wing, Televisionwithoutpity and the "U.S. Poet Laureate" episode |url=https://bitchkittie.blogspot.com/2006/02/long-back-story-of-aaron-sorkin-west.html |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=Newscat}}{{Cite web |date=July 3, 2001 |title=Aaron Sorkin's mysterious posting habit. |url=https://www.kausfiles.com/archive/index.07.03.01.html |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=Kausfiles}}{{Cite web |date=March 27, 2002 |title=The West Wing » Recaps & Extras » Season 3 Episode 17 |url=http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/story.cgi?show=4&story=3118 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020806151355/http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/story.cgi?show=4&story=3118 |archive-date=August 6, 2002 |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=Television Without Pity}}{{Cite news |last=Sella |first=Marshall |date=October 20, 2002 |title=The Remote Controllers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/20/magazine/the-remote-controllers.html |access-date=February 15, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Nussbaum |first=Emily |date=April 4, 2002 |title=Confessions of a Spoiler Whore |url=https://slate.com/culture/2002/04/the-pleasures-of-participatory-tv.html |access-date=February 15, 2025 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}

In marking the show's anniversary in 2024, Vulture ranked all episodes of the series, with the season 2 finale "Two Cathedrals" taking the top spot of 150 episodes.{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Matthew |date=September 23, 2024 |title=All 150 Episodes of The West Wing, Ranked |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/all-150-episodes-of-the-west-wing-ranked.html |access-date=February 14, 2025 |website=Vulture |language=en}} The same episode was also ranked as the best episode of the series by The Daily Beast, TV Insider, Screen Rant and Paste.{{Cite web |date=October 30, 2024 |title=Every Episode of 'The West Wing,' Ranked Worst to Best |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-west-wing-every-episode-ranked-worst-to-best/ |access-date=February 15, 2025 |first=Jack |last=Francis |website=The Daily Beast |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Clarendon |first=Dan |date=September 21, 2024 |title=10 Best Episodes of 'The West Wing,' Ranked |url=https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/the-west-wing-best-episodes/#10 |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=TV Insider |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Tom |date=December 9, 2024 |title=10 Best Episodes Of The West Wing |url=https://screenrant.com/best-the-west-wing-episodes/ |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=Screen Rant |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=The 20 Best Episodes of The West Wing |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/the-20-best-episodes-of-the-west-wing |date=May 15, 2016 |access-date=February 15, 2025 |first=Jennifer |last=Allen |website=Paste Magazine |language=en-US}} The Ringer also named the episode at number 12 in a ranking of the "100 Best TV Episodes of the Century."{{Cite web |title=The Ringer's 100 Best TV Episodes of The Century |url=https://besttv.theringer.com:443/?episode=12 |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=The Ringer |language=en-US}} Variety ranked the same episode as number one of the top 25 episodes, and ranked the show as number 25 in a ranking of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time."{{Cite web |last=Ingram |first=Hunter |date=September 22, 2024 |title='The West Wing' 25 Best Episodes, Ranked From Great to Perfect |url=https://variety.com/lists/west-wing-best-episodes-ranked/two-cathedrals/ |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |first1=Daniel |last1=D'Addario |first2=Kate |last2=Aurthur |first3=Clayton |last3=Davis |first4=Selome |last4=Hailu |first5=Alison |last5=Herman |first6=Emily |last6=Longeretta |first7=Jennifer |last7=Maas |first8=Joe |last8=Otterson |first9=Michael |last9=Schneider |first10=Jazz |last10=Tangcay |first11=Aramide |last11=Tinubu |first12=Adam |last12=B. Vary |date=December 20, 2023 |title=The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time |url=https://variety.com/lists/greatest-tv-shows-of-all-time/the-west-wing-3/ |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} Gold Derby ranked season 2 episode "Noël" as the top episode in its ranking of the show's 20 greatest episodes.{{Cite web |last1=Laws |first1=Zach |last2=Beachum |first2=Chris |date=September 22, 2024 |title='The West Wing': 20 greatest episodes ranked worst to best |url=https://www.goldderby.com/gallery/the-west-wing-20-greatest-episodes-ranked-worst-to-best/noel/ |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=Gold Derby |language=en-US}} The show was ranked at number eleven in a listing of Hollywood's 100 favorite TV shows from The Hollywood Reporter and a listing of the 50 top TV dramas from The Guardian, and at number 46 in a Rolling Stone ranking of the "Best TV Shows of all Time."{{Cite web |date=September 16, 2015 |title=Hollywood's 100 Favorite TV Shows |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/best-tv-shows-ever-top-819499/the-west-wing/ |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}{{Cite magazine |last=Sepinwall |first=Alan |date=September 26, 2022 |title=The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-lists/best-tv-shows-of-all-time-1234598313/the-west-wing-2-1234599033/ |access-date=February 15, 2025 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last1=Lawson |first1=Mark |last2=Vine |first2=Richard |last3=Dent |first3=Grace |last4=Mangan |first4=Lucy |last5=Dempster |first5=Sarah |last6=Wollaston |first6=Sam |date=2010-01-12 |title=The top 50 TV dramas of all time: 11-20 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/jan/12/50-best-tv-drama-west-wing |access-date=2025-03-15 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} The evolution of the relationship between Josh and Donna has been noted as a typical long-running TV "will they/won't they" romantic relationship.{{Cite web |title=Who's the boss?: How the workplace will-they/won't-they became a TV staple |url=https://www.avclub.com/how-the-workplace-will-they-wont-they-became-a-tv-staple |date=February 14, 2025 |access-date=February 14, 2025 |first=LaToya |last=Ferguson |website=The A.V. Club |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=March 8, 2023 |title=TV's 60 Longest-Awaited First Kisses From NCIS, Arrow, Abbott Elementary, JAG, X-Files, Big Bang and More Shows |url=https://tvline.com/lists/tv-longest-awaited-first-kisses-most-episodes/ |access-date=February 14, 2025 |website=TVLine |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |date=February 27, 2018 |title=Lovestruck hero or creepy harasser? Suddenly we're seeing our favorite rom-coms in a new light |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lovestruck-hero-or-creepy-harasser-suddenly-were-seeing-our-favorite-rom-coms-in-a-new-light/2018/02/27/1d3d85d2-06a8-11e8-94e8-e8b8600ade23_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227211906/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lovestruck-hero-or-creepy-harasser-suddenly-were-seeing-our-favorite-rom-coms-in-a-new-light/2018/02/27/1d3d85d2-06a8-11e8-94e8-e8b8600ade23_story.html |archive-date=February 27, 2018 |access-date=February 14, 2025 |first=Monica |last=Hesse |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{Cite web |title=10 episodes that show The West Wing was drama first, politics second |url=https://www.avclub.com/10-episodes-that-show-the-west-wing-was-drama-first-po-1798268764 |first=Sonia |last=Saraiya |date=May 21, 2014 |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=The A.V. Club |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=How 'The West Wing' star Janel Moloney built her character Donna Moss 'from scratch' |url=https://ew.com/tv/the-west-wing-reunion-janel-moloney-donna-moss/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=EW.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |author=Frazier Moore |agency=Associated Press |date=2001-02-12 |title=WEST WING' KEEPS LOVE AWAITING ITS TURN\ JOSH AND DONNA FIGHT FATE AND EACH OTHER IN NBC'S WHITE HOUSE DRAMA. |url=https://greensboro.com/article_46488f28-3073-5745-b6ff-c6a60eac11f3.html |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=Greensboro News and Record |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2006-05-17 |title=Fearless Leaders |url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/fearless-leaders-34080/ |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=www.backstage.com |language=en}}

{{Television ratings graph |no_graph=y

| title = The West Wing

| country = U.S.

| color1 = #0047E1

| color2 = #6C552E

| color3 = #1A3E3A

| color4 = #115373

| color5 = #764E4E

| color6 = #BFBFBF

| color7 = #000000

| width = 1255

|-

| 16.91

| 13.71

| 14.41

| 12.32

| 12.41

| 13.37

| 13.66

| 12.92

| 12.37

| 14.23

| 13.65

| 13.96

| 14.92

| 14.18

| 13.48

| 12.41

| 15.76

| 14.24

| 13.97

| 12.89

| 14.33

| 13.30

|-

| 25.05

| 25.05

| 16.80

| 17.11

| 18.47

| 18.48

| 18.47

| 17.48

| 18.99

| 12.23

| 17.65

| 18.02

| 18.19

| 18.39

| 16.43

| 18.08

| 17.16

| 16.56

| 16.77

| 16.61

| 17.01

| 20.72

|-

| 23.65

| 20.79

| 21.47

| 17.78

| 19.48

| 19.89

| 16.73

| 20.86

| 18.40

| 18.38

| 19.05

| 19.12

| 18.14

| 16.36

| 19.49

| 16.95

| 17.26

| 17.40

| 17.26

| 15.54

| 16.64

|-

| 18.16

| 18.16

| 16.70

| 15.99

| 15.90

| 15.73

| 16.22

| 15.78

| 15.03

| 14.28

| 15.39

| 13.96

| 14.45

| 13.03

| 13.59

| 12.23

| 14.01

| 11.70

| 12.72

| 13.65

| 13.18

| 13.37

| 13.79

|-

| 18.32

| 16.32

| 13.43

| 12.06

| 13.12

| 12.48

| 12.42

| 13.49

| 12.77

| 13.28

| 11.86

| 10.84

| 11.64

| 11.43

| 11.21

| 11.42

| 10.76

| 10.95

| 11.10

| 11.94

| 10.76

| 11.03

|-

| 12.27

| 12.07

| 13.82

| 15.26

| 12.41

| 11.76

| 13.28

| 12.33

| 12.53

| 11.74

| 11.88

| 10.92

| 10.69

| 9.62

| 10.17

| 9.93

| 10.66

| 10.10

| 9.75

| 8.96

| 9.88

| 11.62

|-

| 8.90

| 7.66

| 7.95

| 8.15

| 7.85

| 8.51

| 9.58

| 7.26

| 8.13

| 11.74

| 6.36

| 7.71

| 7.02

| 8.07

| 7.90

| 7.27

| 8.39

| 8.29

| 8.42

| 8.34

| 7.99

| 10.11

}}

The West Wing often featured extensive discussion of current or recent political issues. After the real-world election of Republican President George W. Bush in 2000, many wondered whether the liberal show could retain its relevance and topicality. However, by exploring many of the same issues facing the Bush administration from a Democratic point of view, the show continued to appeal to a broad audience of both Democrats and Republicans.{{cite magazine |last1=Poniewozik |first1=James |title=The West Wing at 15: Walking, Talking — And Preaching |url=https://time.com/3446387/west-wing-review-anniversary/ |magazine=Time |date=October 3, 2014 |access-date=August 17, 2016 |archive-date=September 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910181446/http://time.com/3446387/west-wing-review-anniversary/ |url-status=live }}

In the second-season episode "The Midterms", President Bartlet admonishes fictional radio host Dr. Jenna Jacobs for her views regarding homosexuality at a private gathering at the White House. Dr. Jacobs is a caricature of radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who strongly disapproves of homosexuality. Many of the President's biblical references in his comments to Dr. Jacobs appear to have come from an open letter to Dr. Schlessinger, circulated online in early May 2000.{{cite web |first=Barbara |last=Mikkelson |url=http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/drlaura.asp |title=Letter to Dr. Laura |website=Snopes.com |date=March 9, 2004 |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-date=May 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514214252/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/letter-to-dr-laura/ |url-status=live }} A few episodes later in that season, a blackboard in Josh Lyman's office had a reference to Bill de Blasio, known at the time as the campaign manager for Hillary Clinton's senatorial candidacy.{{Cite web |date=April 16, 2001 |title=Clinton West Winger Bill De Blasio Runs Midlife-Crisis Council Race |url=https://observer.com/2001/04/clinton-west-winger-bill-de-blasio-runs-midlifecrisis-council-race/ |access-date=February 5, 2025 |first=Josh |last=Benson |website=Observer |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=November 3, 2000 |title=I'm Ratting Out 'The Sopranos' |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2000/11/03/im-ratting-out-the-sopranos/ |access-date=February 5, 2025 |website=New York Daily News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=nycelects |date=September 30, 2013 |title=From The Archives: The 'Call B. De Blasio' Cameo on "The West Wing" |url=https://nycelects.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/from-the-archives-the-call-b-de-blasio-cameo-on-the-west-wing/ |access-date=February 5, 2025 |website=NYCELECTS |language=en}}

The Bartlet administration experiences a scandal during the second and third seasons that has been compared to the Monica Lewinsky affair.{{cite news |first=Alan |last=Sepinwall |title=Exit poll: West Wing is sinking. Why? |website=NJ.com |date=November 6, 2002}} President Bartlet has known that he has relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) since 1992. The scandal centers on President Bartlet's nondisclosure of his illness to the electorate during the election. He is investigated by an opposition Congress for defrauding the public and eventually accepts congressional censure. Multiple sclerosis advocacy groups praised the show for its accurate portrayal of the symptoms of MS and stressing that it is not fatal. The National MS Society commented:{{cite web |first=Gail |last=Kerr |url=http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/news/Dec2001/WestWingAidsMSAwareness.html |title=West Wing aids MS awareness |work=The Tennessean |date=December 24, 2001 |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-date=February 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217031855/http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/news/Dec2001/WestWingAidsMSAwareness.html |url-status=live }}

{{blockquote|For the first time on national television or even in film, the public encountered a lead character with both an MS diagnosis and the hope for a continued productive life. Because [The] West Wing is a fictional drama and not a medical documentary, writers could have greatly distorted MS facts to further their storyline [but did not].| Gail Kerr | National MS Society}}

Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, the start of the third season was postponed for a week, as were most American television premieres that year.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/15/us/after-the-attacks-television-viewers-again-return-to-traditional-networks.html |title=After The Attacks: Television; Viewers Again Return To Traditional Networks |first1=Bill |last1=Carter |first2=Jim |last2=Rutenberg |date=September 15, 2001 |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 4, 2013 |archive-date=May 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527162627/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/15/us/after-the-attacks-television-viewers-again-return-to-traditional-networks.html |url-status=live }} A script for a special episode was quickly written and began filming on September 21. The episode "Isaac and Ishmael" aired on October 3 and addresses the sobering reality of terrorism in America and the wider world, albeit with no specific reference to September 11. While "Isaac and Ishmael" received mixed critical reviews,{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,178042,00.html |title='West Wing': Terrorism 101 |last=Poniewozik |first=James |date=October 4, 2001 |magazine=Time |access-date=September 18, 2010 |archive-date=October 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014203053/http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,178042,00.html |url-status=live }} it illustrated the show's flexibility in addressing current events. The cast of the show state during the opening of the episode that it is not part of The West Wing continuity.

File:Westwing actingpresident.jpg Glen Allen Walken (John Goodman) become Acting President when Zoey Bartlet is kidnapped.]]

While the September 11 attacks are not referred to in The West Wing continuity, the country enters into a variation of the War on Terrorism. Al Qaeda, mentioned briefly by Nancy McNally in the beginning of Season 2, plays no role in the longer terrorism story arcs of Seasons 3, 4 and 5. It is only mentioned again in Seasons 6 and 7. The stand-in used instead is the fictional Bahji terror group who first plots to blow up the Golden Gate Bridge. In response, the President orders the assassination of foreign leader Abdul ibn Shareef, one of Bahji's primary backers. This storyline has similarities to the real-world US invasion of Afghanistan as well as US relations with Saudi Arabia since it brings the Middle East to the forefront of US foreign relations and elevates terrorism as a serious threat.

In a 2001 episode, Sam Seaborn discusses arguments in favor of abolishing the penny.{{Cite web |last=Maruf |first=Ramishah |date=January 24, 2025 |title=Elon Musk's DOGE is coming for the penny |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/24/business/elon-musk-doge-penny/index.html |access-date=February 22, 2025 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Blatt |first=Ben |date=February 19, 2025 |title=So, You Want to Get Rid of the Penny. Do You Have a Plan for the Nickel? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/upshot/penny-trump-nickel-elimination.html |access-date=February 22, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbrGR0Ac0Gc |title=A Penny for Sam's Thoughts {{!}} The West Wing |date=June 28, 2024 |last=The West Wing |access-date=February 22, 2025 |via=YouTube}}

In the middle of the fourth season, Bartlet's White House is confronted with genocide in the fictional African country of Equatorial Kundu, which was compared to the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The result is new foreign policy doctrine for the Bartlet administration and military intervention to stop the violence, which come after much hesitation and reluctance to call the conflict a genocide. In reality, the Clinton administration did not intervene in Rwanda.{{cite web |first=Diane |last=Wild |title=The West Wing: The Complete Fourth Season |url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/printer/westwingseason4.php |publisher=DVD Verdict |date=June 1, 2005 |access-date=April 3, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014649/http://www.dvdverdict.com/printer/westwingseason4.php |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}

In 2004, then New York Senator Hillary Clinton and then New York Rep. John M. McHugh wrote a letter addressed to Josh Lyman criticizing him after he had suggested the closure of a Fort Drum base in upstate New York on the fifth season episode "Full Disclosure", but also thanking his colleague for trying to "save Social Security" in a previous episode.{{Cite web |date=February 27, 2004 |title=2 from N.Y. take fake aide to task |url=https://www.deseret.com/2004/2/27/19814563/2-from-n-y-take-fake-aide-to-task/ |access-date=January 28, 2025 |agency=Associated Press |website=Deseret News |language=en}} Richard Schiff also recalled receiving a letter from Hillary Clinton after that earlier episode outlining all the ways the Social Security plan Toby Ziegler was advocating for in the episode wouldn't work.{{Cite web |last=Writer |first=Alexandra Villarreal |date=July 27, 2016 |title=Richard Schiff of 'West Wing': TV as the image of government |url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/20160728_Richard_Schiff_of__West_Wing___TV_as_the_image_of_government.html |access-date=January 28, 2025 |website=The Philadelphia Inquirer |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Hunsaker |first=Andy |date=October 13, 2020 |title=Richard Schiff Reveals Hillary Clinton Wrote Fan Mail to The West Wing |url=https://www.primetimer.com/quickhits/richard-schiff-reveals-hillary-clinton-wrote-fan-mail-to-the-west-wing |access-date=January 28, 2025 |website=Primetimer |language=en}}

In the sixth and seventh seasons, The West Wing explores a leak of top-secret information by a senior staffer at the White House. This leak has been compared to events surrounding the Valerie Plame affair.{{cite web |first=Consuela |last=Clabby |url=http://www.smrt-tv.com/v2-04/feature_westwing.html |title=Leaky Politics: The West Wing versus The Bush Administration |publisher=SMRT-TV |date=October 31, 2005 |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-date=February 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206014745/http://www.smrt-tv.com/v2-04/feature_westwing.html |url-status=live }} In the storyline, the International Space Station is damaged and can no longer produce oxygen for the astronauts to breathe. With no other methods of rescue available, the President is reminded of the existence of a top-secret military space shuttle. Following the President's inaction, the shuttle story is leaked to a White House reporter, Greg Brock (analogous to Judith Miller), who prints the story in The New York Times. Brock will not reveal his source and goes to jail for failing to do so, as did Miller. In order to stop the investigation, in which authorities suspect Chief of Staff C.J. Cregg, Toby Ziegler admits to leaking the information, and the President is forced to dismiss him. In comparison, the Plame affair resulted in the arrest and conviction of "Scooter" Libby, the Vice President's chief of staff. However, Libby was convicted of perjury in testimony to a grand jury. No one was convicted for "blowing the cover" of Plame. (Richard Armitage, an official in the Bush State Department, acknowledged leaking information about Plame to reporters but was never charged with a crime.) Libby's two-and-a-half-year prison sentence was later commuted by President Bush, though the other facet of his sentence ($250,000 fine) stood until his 2018 pardon by President Donald Trump and was duly paid. In the series finale, President Bartlet, as his last official act, pardons Ziegler.

Other issues explored in The West Wing include:

• North Korean and Iranian nuclear ambitions
• Strained relations and a state of brinkmanship between India and Pakistan
• Legislation of the Central American Free Trade Agreement
• The formation of the Minuteman Project
• Peacemaking and terrorism in Israel and Palestine
• The genocide in Darfur, Sudan
• AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa
• The Northern Ireland peace process
• The War on Drugs and conflict in Colombia
• Controversy over Intelligent design in schools
• Brinkmanship and potential conflict between the People's Republic of China and Republic of China over Taiwan's political status
• A federal government shutdown
• The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act
• Anthrax attacks against the Bush administration
• Federal funding for the arts
• Peak oil and the consequences of a decline in global oil production
• Federal subsidies for ethanol fuel given to corn growers
• Student loan forgiveness for teachers
• Invoking the 25th Amendment for an Acting President while the President is preoccupied with personal problems

All contemporary domestic government officials in The West Wing universe are fictional. President Bartlet has made three appointments to the fictional Supreme Court and maintains a full cabinet, although not all names and terms of the members are revealed. Some cabinet members, such as the Secretary of Defense, appear more often than others. Many other government officials, such as mayors, governors, judges, representatives, and senators, are mentioned and seen as well.{{cite web |last1=Sims |first1=David |title=A Definitive Ranking of Every Character on The West Wing |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/09/a-definitive-ranking-of-every-character-on-the-west-wing/380098/ |work=The Atlantic |date=September 12, 2014 |access-date=August 18, 2016 |archive-date=August 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817162553/http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/09/a-definitive-ranking-of-every-character-on-the-west-wing/380098/ |url-status=live }}

Fictional locations inside the United States are created to loosely represent certain places:

San Andreo is a fictional California city. It is located near San Diego, has a population of 42,000 and is the location of the San Andreo Nuclear Generating Station. The fictional station was based on the real-life San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Diego County.

A near meltdown at the nuclear plant becomes the focus of an October surprise for Republican nominee Senator Arnold Vinick during the 2006 presidential election, due to Vinick's strong pro-nuclear stance and revelations of his active lobbying for the construction of the plant. This is seen to be a key factor in Vinick's narrow defeat in the election by Democratic nominee Congressman Matt Santos.

Hartsfield's Landing is a fictional town in New Hampshire. It is stated to be a very small community of only 63 people, of whom 42 are registered voters, that votes at one minute past midnight on the day of the New Hampshire primary, hours before the rest of the state, and has accurately predicted the winner of every presidential election since William Howard Taft in 1908. It is based on three real-life New Hampshire communities, one of which is Hart's Location, which indeed vote before the rest of the state during the primaries.{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2016/02/08/466073545/3-tiny-new-hampshire-towns-vote-at-midnight-do-they-predict-anything |title=3 Tiny New Hampshire Towns Voted at Midnight. Do They Predict Anything? |website=NPR |date=February 8, 2016 |access-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-date=November 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106174744/https://www.npr.org/2016/02/08/466073545/3-tiny-new-hampshire-towns-vote-at-midnight-do-they-predict-anything |url-status=live |last1=Firozi |first1=Paulina }}

Kennison State is a fictional university in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, used as the setting of a bombing in the beginning of the fourth season.

While several real-world leaders exist in the show's universe, most foreign countries depicted or referred to on the show have fictional rulers. Real people mentioned on The West Wing include Muammar Gaddafi, Yasser Arafat, Fidel Castro, Queen Elizabeth II, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Thabo Mbeki, and Osama bin Laden.

Entire countries are invented as composite pictures that epitomize many of the problems that plague real nations in certain areas of the world:

• Qumar is a fictional, oil-rich, powerful, Middle Eastern state. A former British protectorate now ruled by a sultan and his family, it hosts a major US airbase and is frequently a source of trouble for the Bartlet administration. The nation is first introduced in the third season as a close ally of the United States but is criticized for its harsh treatment of women. After the September 11 attacks, it became a major venue for the show's terrorism subplots, including one where convincing evidence is discovered that Qumari Defense Minister Shareef is planning terrorist acts against U.S. infrastructure, including a failed conspiracy to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge, and President Bartlet authorizes his assassination by a covert operations team. Geographically, as it is depicted on maps, it roughly corresponds to the Hormozgan Province of Iran.
• Equatorial Kundu is a fictional African nation introduced early in the second season as one blighted by a rife AIDS epidemic, a coup d'état, and an ensuing civil war, resembling the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Its location, when depicted on maps, is roughly that of Equatorial Guinea. President Bartlet launches a military intervention in Equatorial Kundu during the fourth season in order to put an end to ethnic cleansing. Equatorial Kundu is also used during the third season of Sorkin's later television series The Newsroom.{{cite news |url=http://tvline.com/2014/11/09/the-newsroom-boston-marathon-bombing-season-3-premiere/ |title=Newsroom Premiere Recap: Boston, Bridesmaids and ACN's Brutal Future |work=TVLine |first=Kimberly |last=Roots |date=November 9, 2014 |access-date=December 18, 2014 |archive-date=December 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207062257/http://tvline.com/2014/11/09/the-newsroom-boston-marathon-bombing-season-3-premiere/ |url-status=live }}

The West Wing universe diverges from history after Richard Nixon's presidency, although there is occasional overlap; for instance, in the second episode of the series' second season "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen" Toby Ziegler speaks to a Secret Service agent outside a building named for Ronald Reagan, although this may have just been a production oversight. Fictional Presidents who are shown to have served between Nixon and Bartlet include one-term Democrat D. Wire Newman (James Cromwell) and two-term Republican Owen Lassiter.

Leo McGarry is mentioned as being Labor Secretary in the administration that was in office in 1993 and 1995. In the first season, an outgoing Supreme Court Justice tells Bartlet that he had been wanting to retire for five years but waited "for a Democrat" because he did not want a Republican president to replace him with a conservative justice (the Justice then snidely tells President Bartlet, "Instead, I got you."). The season 4 episode "Debate Camp" features a flashback to the days just before Bartlet's inauguration, as Donna Moss meets with her Republican predecessor, Jeff Johnson. In season six Leo says that the Republicans have been "out of power for eight years", and Republicans at their convention say "eight (years) is enough".

The passage of time on the show relative to that of the real world is somewhat ambiguous when marked by events of shorter duration (such as votes and campaigns). Sorkin noted in a DVD commentary track for the second-season episode "18th and Potomac" that he tried to avoid tying The West Wing to a specific period of time. Despite this, real years are occasionally mentioned, usually in the context of elections and President Bartlet's two-term administration.

The show's presidential elections are held in 2002 and 2006, which are the years of the midterm elections in reality (these dates come from the fact that in the season 2 episode "17 People", Toby mentions 2002 as the year of the President's reelection campaign). The election time line on The West Wing matches up with that of the real world until early in the sixth season, when it appears that a year is lost. For example, the filing deadline for the New Hampshire primary, which would normally fall in January 2006, appears in an episode airing in January 2005.

In an interview, John Wells stated that the series began one and a half years into Bartlet's first term and that the election to replace Bartlet was being held at the correct time.{{cite web |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2004-10-13-west-wing_x.htm |title='West Wing' eyes successor for Bartlet |work=USA Today |date=October 13, 2004 |access-date=November 4, 2013 |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105002413/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2004-10-13-west-wing_x.htm |url-status=live }} However, the season 1 episode "He Shall from Time to Time" shows the preparations for Bartlet's first regular State of the Union address, which would occur one year into his presidency. In the Season 1 episode "Let Bartlet Be Bartlet", Josh Lyman asks Toby Ziegler, "Our second year isn't going much better than our first year, is it?"

In the season 5 episode "Access", it is mentioned that the Casey Creek crisis occurred during Bartlet's first term and got his presidency off to a calamitous start, and network footage of the crisis carries the date of November 2001.

Bartlet's first campaign for president is never significantly explored in the series. Bartlet is stated to have won the election with 48% of the popular vote, 48 million votes, and a 303–235 margin in the Electoral College. Of three debates between Bartlet and his Republican opponent, it is mentioned that Bartlet won the third and final debate, held eight days before election day in St. Louis, Missouri. Josh Lyman says that in the days prior to the election, "Bartlet punched through a few walls" since the result seemed too close to call before the result broke his way. Leo McGarry says the same thing in "Bartlet for America" when he says, "It was eight days to go, and we were too close to call".

The campaign for the Democratic nomination is extensively addressed. In the episodes "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part I", "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part II", and "Bartlet for America", flashbacks are used to show Bartlet defeating Texas Senator John Hoynes (Tim Matheson) and Washington Senator William Wiley for the Democratic nomination and later choosing Hoynes as his running mate. The flashbacks also show Leo McGarry persuading Bartlet, then Governor of New Hampshire, to run for president.

The West Wing{{'s}} 2002 presidential election pits Bartlet and Vice President John Hoynes against Florida Governor Robert Ritchie (James Brolin) and his running mate, Jeff Heston. Bartlet faces no known opposition for renomination, though Minnesota Democratic Senator Howard Stackhouse launches a brief independent campaign for the presidency. Ritchie, not originally expected to contend for the nomination, emerges from a field of seven other Republican candidates by appealing to the party's conservative base with simple, "homey" sound bites.

Bartlet's staff contemplates replacing Vice President John Hoynes on the ticket with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Percy Fitzwallace (John Amos), among others. After it is clear that Ritchie will be the Republican nominee, Bartlet dismisses the idea, declaring that he wants Hoynes in the number two spot because of "four words," which he writes down and hands to Hoynes and McGarry to read: "Because I could die."

Throughout the season, it is anticipated that the race will be close, but a stellar performance by Bartlet in the sole debate between the candidates helps give him a landslide victory in both the popular vote and the electoral vote.

A speed-up in The West Wing{{'s}} timeline, in part due to the expiration of many cast members' contracts and a desire to continue the program with lower production costs, resulted in the omission of the 2004 midterm elections and an election during the seventh season. The sixth season extensively details the Democratic and Republican primaries. The seventh season covers the lead-up to the general election, the election, and the transition to a new administration. The timeline slows down to concentrate on the general election race. The election, normally held in November, takes place across two episodes originally broadcast on April 2 and 9, 2006.

Congressman Matt Santos (D-TX) (Jimmy Smits) is nominated on the fourth ballot at the Democratic National Convention, during the sixth-season finale. Santos, having planned to leave Congress before being recruited to run for the presidency by Josh Lyman, polls in the low single digits in the Iowa caucus. He is virtually out of the running in the New Hampshire primary before a last-ditch live television commercial vaults him to a third-place finish with 19% of the vote. Josh Lyman, Santos's campaign manager, convinces Leo McGarry to become Santos's running mate.

Senator Arnold Vinick (R-CA) (Alan Alda) secures the Republican nomination, defeating Rep. Glen Allen Walken (R-MO) (John Goodman) (who had served briefly as Acting President during Bartlet's recusal during the Zoey Bartlet kidnapping crisis in Season 4) and the Reverend Don Butler (Don S. Davis), among others. Initially, Vinick wants Butler to become his running mate. However, Butler does not want to be considered because of Vinick's stance on abortion. Instead, West Virginia Governor Ray Sullivan (Brett Cullen) is chosen as Vinick's running mate. Vinick is portrayed throughout the sixth season as virtually unbeatable because of his popularity in California, a typically Democratic state, his moderate views, and his wide crossover appeal. Vinick, however, faces difficulty with the anti-abortion members of his party as an abortion rights candidate, and criticism for his support of nuclear power following a serious accident at a Californian nuclear power station.

On the evening of the election, Leo McGarry suffers a massive heart attack and is pronounced dead at the hospital, with the polls still open on the West Coast. The Santos campaign releases the information immediately, while Arnold Vinick refuses to use Leo's death as a "stepstool" to the presidency. Santos emerges as the winner in his home state of Texas, while Vinick wins his home state of California. The election comes down to Nevada, where both candidates need a victory to secure the presidency. Vinick tells his staff repeatedly that he will not allow his campaign to demand a recount of the votes if Santos is declared the winner. Josh Lyman gives Santos the same advice, although the Santos campaign sends a team of lawyers down to Nevada. Santos is pronounced the winner of the election, having won Nevada by 30,000 votes, with an electoral vote margin of 272–266.

According to executive producer Lawrence O'Donnell, Jr., the writers originally intended for Vinick to win the election. However, the death of Spencer forced him and his colleagues to consider the emotional strain that would result from having Santos lose both his running mate and the election. It was eventually decided by John Wells that the last episodes would be rescripted.{{cite web |first=Jacques |last=Steinberg |date=April 10, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/10/arts/television/10wing.html |title='West Wing' Writers' Novel Way of Picking the President |work=The New York Times |access-date=April 10, 2006 |archive-date=June 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604145435/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/10/arts/television/10wing.html |url-status=live }} Other statements from John Wells, however, have contradicted O'Donnell's claims about a previously planned Vinick victory. The script showing Santos winning was written long before the death of John Spencer. In 2008, O'Donnell stated to camera, "We actually planned at the outset for Jimmy Smits to win, that was our .. just .. plan of how this was all going to work, but the Vinick character came on so strong in the show, and was so effective, it became a real contest ... and it became a real contest in the West Wing writer's room."{{cite AV media |people=Jonathan Freedland |date=September 2008 |publisher=BBC Four |title=President Hollywood |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00djm6q}}

Similarities between the fictional 2006 election and the real-life 2008 United States presidential election have been noted in the media:

• The Democratic candidate is a young ethnic minority representing a populous state: Matthew Santos of Texas on the show, Barack Obama of Illinois in real life.
• He has a grueling but successful primary campaign against a more experienced candidate: Bob Russell on the show, Hillary Clinton in real life.
• A third candidate from a Southern state has been damaged by claims of infidelity: John Hoynes of Texas on the show, John Edwards of North Carolina in real life.
• The Democratic nominee chooses an experienced Washington insider as his running mate: Leo McGarry on the show, Joe Biden in real life.
• The Republican contest is determined early in the primary season with an aging "maverick" senator of a western state being the nominee: Arnold Vinick of California on the show, John McCain of Arizona in real life.
• The nominee defeats a staunchly anti-abortion opponent with pastoral experience, among others: Reverend Don Butler on the show, Mike Huckabee in real life.
• He then chooses a younger, socially conservative running mate in the midst of their first term as governor of a sparsely populated, resource-rich state: Ray Sullivan of West Virginia on the show, Sarah Palin of Alaska in real life.{{cite news |last=Bayley |first=Matthew |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/3554976/Barack-Obama-stars-in-the-West-Wing.html |title=Barack Obama stars in the West Wing? |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=February 14, 2008 |access-date=November 11, 2009 |archive-date=May 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507031048/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/3554976/Barack-Obama-stars-in-the-West-Wing.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Simmons |first=Jamal |title=In Presidential Campaign, Life Imitates TV |work=Politico |date=February 20, 2008 |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8567.html |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-date=November 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114151445/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8567.html |url-status=live }}

According to David Remnick's biography of Obama, The Bridge, when writer and former White House aide Eli Attie was tasked with fleshing out the first major Santos storylines, he looked to then-U.S. Senator Obama as a model. Attie called David Axelrod, with whom he had worked in politics, "and grilled him about Obama."{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0410/Imagining_Obama_on_The_West_Wing.html |title=Imagining Obama on 'The West Wing' |work=Politico |first=Ben |last=Smith |date=April 5, 2010 |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-date=June 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140614032728/http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0410/Imagining_Obama_on_The_West_Wing.html |url-status=live }} While Attie says that he "drew inspiration from [Obama] in drawing [the Santos] character,"{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/21/barackobama.uselections2008 |title=From West Wing to the real thing |work=The Guardian |access-date=November 11, 2009 |first=Jonathan |last=Freedland |date=February 21, 2008 |archive-date=September 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901181557/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/21/barackobama.uselections2008 |url-status=live }} actor Jimmy Smits also says that Obama "was one of the people that I looked to draw upon" for his portrayal of the character.{{cite news |last=Ballard |first=Janette |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7616333.stm |title=Haven't we seen this election before? |work=BBC News Online |date=September 15, 2008 |access-date=November 11, 2009 |archive-date=February 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206162616/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7616333.stm |url-status=live }} Writer and producer Lawrence O'Donnell says that he partly modeled Vinick after McCain.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/arts/television/30wing.html |work=The New York Times |title=Following the Script: Obama, McCain and 'The West Wing' |first=Brian |last=Stelter |date=October 30, 2008 |access-date=March 28, 2010 |archive-date=October 30, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030170529/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/arts/television/30wing.html |url-status=live }} Obama's former Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, is said to be the basis of the Josh Lyman character, who becomes Santos's Chief of Staff.{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/rahm-emanuels-commitment-to-family-and-country-is-weighed-up-after-white-house-offer-cfqtvhqslxr |title=Rahm Emanuel's commitment to family and country is weighed up after White House offer |first=Tom |last=Baldwin |work=The Times |date=November 7, 2008 |access-date=September 21, 2011 |archive-date=December 19, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219082209/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/americas/article1890406.ece |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6207491 |title=Rahm Emanuel Tackles the White House |last=Martin |first=Rachel |date=November 7, 2008 |publisher=ABC News |access-date=November 22, 2008 |archive-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110211452/http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6207491 |url-status=live }} However, O'Donnell denied this claim.{{cite episode |title=Politically Direct |url=http://airamerica.com/ondemand/play/90125.mp3 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090203025034/http://airamerica.com/ondemand/play/90125.mp3 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 3, 2009 |series=Politically Direct with David Bender |series-link=Politically Direct |credits=David Bender, Host. Lawrence O'Donnell, Guest. |network=Air America Radio |airdate=November 9, 2008 |minutes=14:17}} Ahead of the inauguration, a fan posted a video mash-up of The West Wing opening credits with Obama administration officials on YouTube that was featured on HLN's program Showbiz Tonight.{{cite web |url=https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/sbt/date/2009-01-16/segment/01 |title=Miracle on the Hudson; Outrage on Obama Magazine Cover; Ellen DeGeneres Finally Gets Her Man; Robert Redford's Final Words for Bush |website=CNN |date=January 16, 2009 |access-date=September 15, 2024}}{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp6xUuMh5rA |title=West Wing Titles - Barack Obama (The Real West Wing), Year 1 |via=YouTube |date=December 30, 2008 |access-date=September 16, 2024}}

As the series sunsets with Bartlet's final year in office, little is revealed about Matt Santos's presidency, with the last few episodes mainly focusing on the Santos team's transition into the White House. Santos chooses Josh Lyman as Chief of Staff, who in turn calls on former colleague Sam Seaborn to be Deputy Chief of Staff. Seeking experienced cabinet members, Santos taps Arnold Vinick as Secretary of State, believing the senior statesman to be one of the best strategists available and respected by foreign leaders.

Vinick is at first highly skeptical of Santos' offer, and initially rejects it, but is convinced to accept after a more extensive discussion with Santos leaves him satisfied their foreign policy philosophies will be compatible.

Santos eventually decides on Eric Baker, the Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania and at one point the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, as his choice to replace Leo McGarry for vice president, and submits his name to Congress under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. While the show ends before he can be confirmed, it is implied he will likely face little opposition from Republicans due to the backing of Secretary of State Vinick.

President Bartlet's final act as President of the United States is pardoning Toby Ziegler, who had violated federal law by leaking classified information about a military Space Shuttle. The series ends with Bartlet returning to New Hampshire. Having said his goodbyes to his closest staff, former President Bartlet tells President Santos, "Make me proud, Mr. President," to which Santos responds, "I'll do my best, Mr. President."

The show previously reaired on Bravo in the US beginning in 2003 and was previously available on Netflix beginning in 2013.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2003/tv/news/wing-flies-for-bravo-1117890816/ |title='Wing' flies for Bravo |website=Variety |first=John |last=Dempsey |date=August 12, 2003 |access-date=September 4, 2024}}{{Cite web |last=Lieberman |first=David |date=January 7, 2013 |title=Warner Bros Agrees To License Eight TV Series To Netflix |url=https://deadline.com/2013/01/warner-bros-television-netflix-licensing-398003/ |access-date=January 5, 2025 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}} Cable channel TNT reaired episodes of the show in 2020 ahead of the US election and the show's launch on HBO Max in December 2020.{{cite web |url=https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/tnt-north-america/tnts-friday-west-wing-marathons-galvanize-voters-throughout-october |title=TNT's Friday West Wing Marathons Galvanize Voters Throughout October |website=Warner Bros. Discovery |date=October 8, 2020 |access-date=September 4, 2024}}{{Cite magazine |title='The West Wing' is walking and talking its way from Netflix to HBO Max |url=https://ew.com/tv/2019/10/15/the-west-wing-hbo-max/ |first=Nick |last=Romano |date=October 15, 2019 |access-date=January 5, 2025 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Breaking News - HBO Max Highlights - December 2020 |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2020/11/25/hbo-max-highlights-december-2020-485102/20201125warnermedia01/ |date=November 25, 2020 |access-date=January 5, 2025 |website=The Futon Critic}} In 2022, HLN aired a marathon of the show over the Thanksgiving holiday.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2022/11/the-west-wing-hln-cnn-thanksgiving-1235178049/ |title=HLN Plans Thanksgiving Weekend Marathon Of 'The West Wing' |website=Deadline |first=Ted |last=Johnson |date=November 21, 2022 |access-date=September 4, 2024}} After the show was removed from the Max streaming service in the US in December 2024, the series appeared on the top of the rankings for show purchases on iTunes in January 2025.{{Cite web |last=Franken |first=Claire |date=January 5, 2025 |title=The West Wing Has Left Max — Here's How You Can Still Watch the Political Drama Online |url=https://tvline.com/features/where-to-watch-the-west-wing-online-free-streaming-1235395471/ |access-date=January 5, 2025 |website=TVLine |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=TOP 10 on iTunes in the United States on January 4, 2025 |url=https://flixpatrol.com/top10/itunes/united-states/2025-01-04/ |access-date=January 5, 2025 |website=FlixPatrol |language=en}} It later returned to streaming on Max a week later on January 8, 2025, after leadership at the platform reportedly had been unaware that it had been flagged for removal.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2025/01/the-west-wing-drops-from-max-will-return-wednesday-1236250580/ |title='The West Wing' Mysteriously Drops From Max, But Will Return Wednesday |website=Deadline |first=Lynette |last=Rice |date=January 7, 2025 |access-date=January 9, 2025}} Journalist Oliver Darcy had attributed the removal to an "ROI evaluation" in his newsletter and had written that "it’s a little embarrassing that Warner Bros. Discovery can’t apparently afford to keep its own show (Warner Bros. Television produced the program) on its own streamer."{{Cite web |date=January 7, 2025 |title=The West Wing to Return to Max After Briefly Being Pulled from Streaming [UPDATED] |url=https://consequence.net/2025/01/the-west-wing-no-longer-streaming-max/ |access-date=January 13, 2025 |first=Liz Shannon |last=Miller |website=Consequence |language=en}} Fans of the show also took credit on social media for its restoration after having expressed their dissatisfaction.{{Cite web |last=Venable |first=Heidi |date=January 9, 2025 |title=After The West Wing Mysteriously Disappeared From Max And Then Returned, Fans Have Been Posting The Funniest Reactions |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/after-the-west-wing-mysteriously-disappeared-from-max-returned-fans-posting-funniest-reactions |access-date=January 13, 2025 |website=CinemaBlend |language=en}} The show reached the top 10 most viewed TV series list on Max the week it was restored and the following days.{{Cite web |title=The TV Ratings Guide: What's Trending on Streaming: Daily Trending Lists for Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+ and Max from January 5-January 11 |url=http://www.thetvratingsguide.com/2025/01/whats-trending-on-streaming-daily_11.html |first=Rebecca |last=Bunch |date=January 11, 2025 |access-date=January 13, 2025 |website=The TV Ratings Guide}}{{Cite web |title=The TV Ratings Guide: What's Trending on Streaming: Daily Trending Lists for Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+ and Max from January 12-January 18 |url=http://www.thetvratingsguide.com/2025/01/whats-trending-on-streaming-daily_18.html |first=Rebecca |last=Bunch |date=January 18, 2025 |access-date=January 19, 2025 |website=The TV Ratings Guide}}

In the UK, the show originally aired on Sky One in 2000 before subsequently airing on Channel 4, E4 and More4.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/feb/21/broadcasting |title=Channel 4 streamlines West Wing schedule |website=The Guardian |first=Jason |last=Deans |date=February 21, 2006 |access-date=September 4, 2024}} The show has also been made available on Channel 4's streaming service and on Amazon Prime Video's Freevee platform in the UK.{{Cite web |last=Kemp |first=Ella |date=October 20, 2020 |title=Every episode of 'The West Wing' is coming to All4 |url=https://www.nme.com/news/tv/the-west-wing-streaming-all-4-2792568 |access-date=February 11, 2025 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}{{Cite news |last=Heritage |first=Stuart |date=October 21, 2020 |title=Vote Bartlet: The 10 best episodes of The West Wing |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/oct/21/10-best-episodes-of-the-west-wing-all-4 |access-date=February 15, 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{cite web |url=https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-west-wing |title=Watch The West Wing |website=Channel 4 |access-date=February 11, 2025}}{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Benji |date=November 11, 2022 |title=A triumphant return to scheduled (and free) television – welcome to FAST TV |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/will-fast-tv-streaming-services-freevee-tubi-roku-overtake-netflix/ |access-date=February 11, 2025 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}

The 2005 German series Kanzleramt on public broadcaster ZDF drew comparisons with The West Wing.{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/germany-s-west-wing-paints-a-rosy-picture-of-schr-atilde-para-der-s-problems-5350199.html |title=Germany's 'West Wing' paints a rosy picture of Schröder's problem |website=The Independent |first=Tony |last=Paterson |date=March 25, 2005 |access-date=September 15, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/gesellschaft/zdf-serie-das-kanzleramt-ein-schroeder-zum-knuddeln-a-347906.html |title=ZDF-Serie "Das Kanzleramt" |website=Der Spiegel |first=Lutz |last=Kinkel |language=German |date=March 23, 2005 |access-date=September 15, 2024}} The original did not air in Germany until 2008 to 2012 on the pay television channel Fox.{{cite web |url=https://www.wunschliste.de/serie/the-west-wing |title=The West Wing |website=TV Wunschliste |access-date=September 15, 2024}}

The series is available on DVD, with a complete series set released in 2006. Season 1 is in the original 4:3 format while Season 2 onward are presented as anamorphic widescreen. The Season 1 through 6 DVD releases include episode audio commentaries from cast members, writers and directors.{{cite web |url=https://tvacdb.sandboxen.com/series/west-wing |title=The West Wing |website=TV Audio Commentary Database |access-date=September 24, 2024}}

In 2010, the series was released in high-definition for the first time on streaming platforms Amazon Video and iTunes, with the first two seasons remastered in 16:9 to match the aspect ratio and resolution change in the third season.{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2010/11/05/all-seven-seasons-of-the-west-wing-finally-available-in-hd-bu/ |title=All seven seasons of The West Wing finally available in HD... but only online |website=Engadget |first=Richard |last=Lawler |date=November 5, 2010 |access-date=June 22, 2018 |archive-date=June 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622164740/https://www.engadget.com/2010/11/05/all-seven-seasons-of-the-west-wing-finally-available-in-hd-bu/ |url-status=live }}NBC press release, "July 19, 2001 – NBC next season will broadcast its popular, critically acclaimed and Emmy Award-winning "The West Wing" (Wednesdays, 9–10 p.m. ET) in a special format – "Presented in Wide Screen" – just as the network has done with television's top-rated drama, "ER," last season." The complete series was released on Blu-ray on October 1, 2024.{{cite web |url=https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=34988 |title=The West Wing: The Complete Series Blu-ray |website=Blu-ray.com |date=August 9, 2024 |access-date=September 4, 2024}}

Several books have been published about The West Wing. One of the first, in 2001, was Paul C. Challe's Inside the West Wing: An Unauthorized Look at Television's Smartest Show.{{cite book |last1=Challen |first1=Paul C. |title=Inside the West Wing: An Unauthorized Look at Television's Smartest Show |date=October 1, 2001 |publisher=ECW Press |isbn=978-1550224689 |pages=200}} In 2002, Newmarket Press published The West Wing Script Book, which included episode scripts from Aaron Sorkin from the first two seasons,{{cite book |last1=Sorkin |first1=Aaron |title=The West Wing Script Book |date=June 3, 2002 |publisher=Newmarket Press |isbn=978-1557044990 |pages=406}}{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/westwingscriptbo0000sork |title=The West Wing: Script Book |isbn=978-1-55704-499-0 |access-date=September 19, 2024 |last1=Sorkin |first1=Aaron |date=2002 |publisher=Newmarket Press }} and in 2003 released a second book featuring shooting scripts from seasons 3 and 4.{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/westwingseasons30000sork |title=The West Wing: Seasons 3 & 4: The Shooting Scripts |website=Internet Archive |access-date=September 19, 2024}} Also in 2002, Ian Jackman wrote The West Wing (The Official Companion).{{cite book |last1=Jackman |first1=Ian |last2=Ruditis |first2=Paul |title=The West Wing (The Official Companion) |date=January 8, 2002 |publisher=Pocket |isbn=978-0743437400 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780743437394/page/342 342] |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780743437394/page/342}} Analytical books about the series include Peter Rollins' The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama (2003),{{cite book |last1=Rollins |first1=Peter |title=The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama |date=April 1, 2003 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=978-0815630319 |pages=272}} The Prime-Time Presidency: The West Wing and U.S. Nationalism by Trevor Parry-Giles and Shawn J. Parry-Giles (2006),{{cite book |last1=Parry-Giles |first1=Trevor |last2=Parry-Giles |first2=Shawn J. |title=The Prime-Time Presidency: The West Wing and U.S. Nationalism |date=March 13, 2006 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0252073120 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/primetimepreside0000parr/page/248 248] |url=https://archive.org/details/primetimepreside0000parr/page/248}} The West Wing (TV Milestones Series) by Janet McCabe (2012),{{cite book |last1=McCabe |first1=Janet |title=The West Wing (TV Milestones Series) |date=December 3, 2012 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0814334362 |ref=144}} Claire Handscombe's Walk with Us: How the West Wing Changed Our Lives (2016),{{cite book |last1=Handscombe |first1=Claire |title=Walk with Us: How the West Wing Changed Our Lives |date=May 14, 2016 |publisher=CH Books |isbn=978-0997552317}} and David W. Greybeal's Faith in The West Wing: The Portrayal of Religion in a Primetime Presidency (2023).{{Cite book |last=Graybeal |first=David W. |title=Faith in The West Wing: The Portrayal of Religion in a Primetime Presidency |publisher=Wipf and Stock |date=January 10, 2023 |isbn=978-1666748574 |location=Eugene, Oregon}}

Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack, who portrayed Carol Fitzpatrick and Kate Harper, respectively, co-wrote What's Next: A Backstage Pass to The West Wing, Its Cast and Crew, and Its Enduring Legacy of Service. It was released on August 13, 2024. The book includes behind-the-scenes stories, photos, anecdotes from episodes of the show, and analysis of the show's legacy.{{Cite web |title=What's Next by Melissa Fitzgerald, Mary McCormack |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/669218/whats-next-by-melissa-fitzgerald-and-mary-mccormack-foreword-by-aaron-sorkin-introduction-by-allison-janney/ |access-date=August 29, 2024 |website=Penguin Random House}}{{Cite web |title='West Wing' alums give 'backstage pass' to beloved drama in new book |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/4801129-west-wing-aaron-sorkin-nbc-wingnuts-buttigieg-obama/ |date=July 31, 2024 |access-date=August 29, 2024 |first=Judy |last=Kurtz |website=The Hill}} They were interviewed together by their colleague when they appeared with Martin Sheen on MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell in August 2024 and on The View in September 2024.{{Cite web |title=Lawrence's reunion with 'West Wing' memoir authors Melissa Fitzgerald & Mary McCormack |url=https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-s-reunion-with-west-wing-memoir-authors-melissa-fitzgerald-mary-mccormack-218206789839 |date=August 28, 2024 |access-date=August 29, 2024 |website=MSNBC}}{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/theview/video/west-wing-cast-members-reunite-view-new-book-114192060 |title='The West Wing' cast members reunite on 'The View' with new book |website=ABC News |date=September 26, 2024 |access-date=September 28, 2024}} Fitzgerald and McCormack also participated with Sorkin and various cast members in several events tied to the book's release and the show's 25th anniversary hosted by the Skirball Cultural Center,{{cite web |url=https://thewestwingweekly.com/episodes/021 |title=0.21: Celebrating the new West Wing book "What's Next?" (live with Mary McCormack, Melissa Fitzgerald, Aaron Sorkin, and more) |website=The West Wing Weekly |date=August 21, 2024 |access-date=September 16, 2024}} Warner Bros.,{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/emily-in-paris-alien-romulus-red-carpet-events-1235972315/ |title='Emily in Paris' Arrives in L.A., 'Alien' Returns With 'Romulus' and This Week's Best Events |website=The Hollywood Reporter |first=Kirsten |last=Chuba |date=August 16, 2024 |access-date=September 16, 2024}} and Sixth & I Historic Synagogue.{{cite web |url=https://www.sixthandi.org/event/melissa-fitzgerald-and-mary-mccormack/ |title=Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack |publisher=Sixth & I Historic Synagogue |date=August 17, 2024 |access-date=September 16, 2024}}{{cite podcast |url=https://luminarypodcasts.com/listen/sixth-&-i-live/sixth-&-i-live/melissa-fitzgerald-and-mary-mccormack-with-martin-sheen-and-richard-schiff-in-conversation-with-kevin-walling/3f2d4d4e-892e-4446-8beb-c9279e8d33b1 |title=Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack with Martin Sheen and Richard Schiff, in Conversation with Kevin Walling |work=Sixth & I LIVE |date=August 30, 2024 |access-date=September 17, 2024}} While in Washington, D.C. as part of the promotional events, McCormack, Fitzgerald and Sheen visited the White House, where Sheen had the opportunity to briefly greet President Joe Biden.{{cite web |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/4829959-martin-sheen-joe-biden-white-house/ |title='West Wing' star Martin Sheen visits the White House |website=The Hill |first=Rashad |last=Simmons |date=August 15, 2024 |access-date=September 16, 2024}}

In 2025, Janel Moloney started a newsletter about her memories of being on the show.{{Cite web |last=Moloney |first=Janel |title=Janel's Substack |url=https://janelmoloney.substack.com/ |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=Substack |language=en}}

In 2010, Twitter accounts for many of the primary characters on The West Wing began to appear, including accounts for President Bartlet, Josh Lyman, Leo McGarry, Matt Santos and Mrs. Landingham. Tweets from the fictional characters have been featured on The Rachel Maddow Show,{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna40588226 |title='The Rachel Maddow Show' for Wednesday, December 8th, 2010 |publisher=NBC News |date=December 9, 2010 |access-date=April 29, 2012 |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105004203/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/40588226/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/t/rachel-maddow-show-wednesday-december-th/#.Un_omI2mQvp |url-status=live }} CNN{{cite web |url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/10/cnns-gut-check-for-april-10-2012/ |title=CNN's Gut Check for April 10, 2012 |publisher=CNN |date=April 10, 2012 |access-date=April 29, 2012 |archive-date=April 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426042727/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/10/cnns-gut-check-for-april-10-2012/ |url-status=dead }} and questions from the fictional accounts have been answered by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs during a White House Press Conference{{cite web |first=Elise |last=Viebeck |date=December 7, 2010 |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/76887-white-house-takes-twitter-question-from-ghost-of-fictional-character/ |title=White House takes Twitter question from ghost of fictional character |work=The Hill |access-date=April 29, 2012 |archive-date=March 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320051511/http://thehill.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/132417-white-house-takes-twitter-question-from-ghost-of-fictional-character |url-status=live }} and from Vice President Joe Biden during a Twitter Town Hall.{{cite web |first=Alicia M. |last=Cohn |date=January 26, 2012 |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/104105-biden-answers-question-from-fictional-west-wing-character/ |title=Biden answers question from fictional 'West Wing' character |work=The Hill |access-date=April 29, 2012 |archive-date=March 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302151719/http://thehill.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/206855-biden-answers-question-from-fictional-west-wing-character |url-status=live }} The success of The West Wing accounts has resulted in several copycats, including accounts from several minor or obscure West Wing characters, including Gail, the fish in C.J.'s office.{{cite magazine |first=Jenn |last=Grabenstetter |date=January 11, 2012 |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/29714/11-outrageously-obscure-west-wing-characters-who-resurfaced-twitter |title=11 Outrageously Obscure 'West Wing' Characters Who Resurfaced on Twitter |magazine=Mental Floss |access-date=April 29, 2012 |archive-date=March 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320053633/http://mentalfloss.com/article/29714/11-outrageously-obscure-west-wing-characters-who-resurfaced-twitter |url-status=live }}

In March 2016, The West Wing Weekly podcast hosted by Hrishikesh Hirway and Joshua Malina began. Each episode of the podcast discusses an episode of The West Wing and has featured various cast and crew members from the series, including several live tapings with an audience.{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2016/03/20/471034192/the-west-wing-weekly-podcast-promises-to-break-down-every-episode |title='The West Wing Weekly' Podcast Promises To Break Down Every Episode |publisher=NPR |date=March 20, 2016 |access-date=December 18, 2017 |archive-date=December 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205143530/https://www.npr.org/2016/03/20/471034192/the-west-wing-weekly-podcast-promises-to-break-down-every-episode |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Episode Index |url=https://thewestwingweekly.com/index |access-date=February 1, 2025 |website=The West Wing Weekly |language=en-US}}

On March 25, 2019, screenwriters Josh Olson (Oscar-nominated for A History of Violence) and Dave Anthony launched The West Wing Thing, on which the hosts "watch and then discuss" an episode of the series, analyzing and critiquing the show itself as well as its relationship to real-life American politics, both at the time it originally aired and in the present day.{{cite web |url=https://allthingscomedy.com/podcast/west-wing-thing |title=The West Wing Thing |website=All Things Comedy |access-date=July 25, 2019 |archive-date=July 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724232956/https://allthingscomedy.com/podcast/west-wing-thing |url-status=live }}

A major fan convention, "West Wing Weekend" took place in September 28–30, 2018, at the Marriott Hotel in Bethesda, Maryland. The convention featured guest appearances from some members of the series' cast, as well as a number of panels, fan-based programming, and special events. A Kickstarter campaign for the convention was started on January 4, 2018, to raise $10,000, and it was fully funded within two days.{{cite web |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/television/2018/02/14/west-wing-fans-really-miss-their-fictional-white-house/OwXR7kMqwHFlHCkvvLFkPJ/story.html |title='West Wing' fans really miss their fictional White House |website=The Boston Globe |first=Matthew |last=Gilbert |date=February 14, 2018 |access-date=March 2, 2018 |archive-date=March 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303050447/https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/television/2018/02/14/west-wing-fans-really-miss-their-fictional-white-house/OwXR7kMqwHFlHCkvvLFkPJ/story.html |url-status=live }}

Many venues, including Funny or Die, Mad TV, 30 Rock, and the Late Night with Seth Meyers have parodied the walk-and-talk cliche of the show, including the "ping-pong" dialogue, in which one character would speak barely a word before the other said another, and then repeated back and forth.{{cite web |url=https://www.salon.com/2014/11/14/a_walk_and_talk_down_memory_lane_the_art_of_the_sorkin_parody/ |title=The art of the Aaron Sorkin parody: A brief history of our obsession with spoofing Hollywood's most spoof-able writer |website=Salon |first=Anna |last=Silman |date=November 14, 2014 |access-date=March 2, 2018 |archive-date=March 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303054921/https://www.salon.com/2014/11/14/a_walk_and_talk_down_memory_lane_the_art_of_the_sorkin_parody/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.indiewire.com/2012/05/watch-west-wing-cast-reunites-to-spoof-the-walk-and-talk-on-funny-or-die-47724/ |title=Watch: 'West Wing' Cast Reunites to Spoof the Walk and Talk on Funny or Die |website=IndieWire |first=Alison |last=Wilmore |date=May 1, 2012 |access-date=March 2, 2018 |archive-date=March 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303050335/http://www.indiewire.com/2012/05/watch-west-wing-cast-reunites-to-spoof-the-walk-and-talk-on-funny-or-die-47724/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://nerdist.com/seth-meyers-aaron-sorkin-parody-sketch-out-sorkins-all-the-other-sorkin-sketches/ |title=Seth Meyers' Aaron Sorkin Parody Sketch Out-Sorkins All the Other Sorkin Sketches |website=Nerdist |first=Alicia |last=Lutes |date=November 15, 2014 |access-date=March 2, 2018 |archive-date=March 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303105843/https://nerdist.com/seth-meyers-aaron-sorkin-parody-sketch-out-sorkins-all-the-other-sorkin-sketches/ |url-status=live }} In 2000, West Wing cast members participated in a parody as part of the White House Correspondents' dinner as is recorded in archive footage from the Clinton Presidential Library.{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/04/28/golden-age-white-house-correspondents-dinner-yes-there-was-one/ |title=The golden age of the White House correspondents' dinner (yes, there was one) |newspaper=The Washington Post |first1=Amy |last1=Argetsinger |first2=Roxanne |last2=Roberts |date=April 28, 2023 |access-date=September 15, 2024}}{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsxgsofXiEg |title=2000 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner |date=April 29, 2000 |access-date=September 15, 2024 |via=Clinton Presidential Library via Youtube}}

Allison Janney performed in a parody of The West Wing in a 2016 episode of her sitcom Mom, titled "Pure Evil and a Free Piece of Cheesecake". Janney's character, Bonnie Plunkett fantasizes about becoming the President of the United States while doing a walk-and-talk scene with her White House chief of staff played by Richard Schiff.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/mom-west-wing-reunion-allison-janney-richard-schiff-1201763856/ |title='Mom' Stages 'West Wing' Reunion |website=Variety |first=Debra |last=Birnbaum |date=May 5, 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020070914/https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/mom-west-wing-reunion-allison-janney-richard-schiff-1201763856/ }}

{{anchor|Bridget Mary McCormack campaign video}}

During the 2012 campaign season, most of the cast—including Mary McCormack as Kate Harper—appeared in a video paid for by the campaign to elect McCormack's sister Bridget Mary McCormack to a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court. Gently parodying the television series, the characters earnestly discuss the fact that voters often fail to vote in the non-partisan section of their ballots, which in this case would include court candidates such as Bridget McCormack, whose qualifications they praise. Although she is referred to as the sister of actress Mary McCormack, the characters do not recognize the name, except for Harper who finds it vaguely familiar.{{Cite web |title='West Wing' Reunion Doubles as Campaign Ad for Judicial Candidate |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/west-wing-reunion-doubles-campaign-ad-judicial-candidate/323400/ |last=Bennett |first=Dashiell |date=September 20, 2012 |website=The Atlantic |language=en-US |access-date=May 17, 2020 |archive-date=December 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212070000/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/west-wing-reunion-doubles-campaign-ad-judicial-candidate/323400/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news|title=How Michigan judicial candidate Bridget Mary McCormack got 'The West Wing' cast for her campaign video|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 20, 2012|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/how-michigan-judicial-candidate-bridget-mary-mccormack-got-the-west-wing-cast-for-her-campaign-video/2012/09/20/a2d53326-0347-11e2-91e7-2962c74e7738_blog.html|access-date=January 15, 2018|archive-date=January 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116140702/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/how-michigan-judicial-candidate-bridget-mary-mccormack-got-the-west-wing-cast-for-her-campaign-video/2012/09/20/a2d53326-0347-11e2-91e7-2962c74e7738_blog.html|url-status=live}} Bridget McCormack was subsequently elected.

{{anchor|A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote}}

{{main|A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote}}

In August 2020, it was announced that cast members Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford and Janel Moloney would reprise their roles for a stage version of the episode "Hartsfield's Landing". The episode was intended to raise awareness and support for When We All Vote, a nonprofit organization founded to increase participation in United States elections by Michelle Obama, Lin-Manuel Miranda and others.{{cite web|last=Iannucci|first=Rebecca|date=August 25, 2020|title=The West Wing: Original Cast to Reunite for Staged Version of Season 3 Episode|url=https://tvline.com/2020/08/25/the-west-wing-reunion-original-cast-stage-version-hbo-max/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901164433/https://tvline.com/2020/08/25/the-west-wing-reunion-original-cast-stage-version-hbo-max/|archive-date=September 1, 2020|access-date=August 25, 2020|website=TVLine}}{{cite web|title=About Us|url=https://www.whenweallvote.org/about-us/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018001258/https://www.whenweallvote.org/about-us/|archive-date=October 18, 2020|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=When We All Vote}} Production began in early October 2020 at Los Angeles' Orpheum Theatre and premiered on October 15 on HBO Max.{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Katherine|date=October 28, 2020|title=HBO Max's The West Wing Will Now Stream Free Without a Subscription|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/the-west-wing/free-west-wing-special-hbo-max/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031102244/https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/the-west-wing/free-west-wing-special-hbo-max/|archive-date=October 31, 2020|access-date=October 28, 2020|website=Paste Magazine}} In connection with the special, the cast were featured on the cover of Entertainment Weekly,{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/tv/tv-reunions/west-wing-cast-reunion/ |title=The West Wing cast has reunited and wants you... to vote |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |first=JD |last=Heyman |date=August 25, 2020 |access-date=September 18, 2024}} which also released a separate election year collector's edition looking back at the show.{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/tv/the-west-wing-collectors-edition/ |title=EW celebrates The West Wing with special collector's edition |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |first=Sydney |last=Bucksbaum |date=September 11, 2020 |access-date=September 18, 2024}} They also appeared together on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDKpq0ditcE |title=The Most Epic Drama To Ever Occupy The White House - The West Wing Cast Takes Over A Late Show |work=The Late Show with Stephen Colbert |via=YouTube |date=October 10, 2020 |access-date=September 18, 2024}}

{{NoteFoot}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Wikiquote|The West Wing}}

{{Spoken Wikipedia|The West Wing (television).ogg|date=December 23, 2008}}

• {{IMDb title|0200276}}
• {{Rotten Tomatoes|tv/the-west-wing}}
• {{epguides|WestWing}}
• [http://westwing.bewarne.com/ The West Wing Continuity Guide]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060424155549/http://www.nbc.com/The_West_Wing/ Archived official NBC site]

{{The West Wing|state=expanded}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for The West Wing

|list =

{{EmmyAward DramaSeries 1976-2000}}

{{GoldenGlobeTVDrama 1990-2009}}

{{Producers Guild of America Award for Best Episodic Drama}}

{{Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series}}

{{Satellite Award Best Drama Television Series}}

{{ScreenActorsGuildAwards EnsembleTVDrama}}

{{TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama}}

{{TCA Award for Outstanding New Program}}

{{TCA Award for Program of the Year}}

{{TCA Heritage Award}}

{{WritersGuildofAmericaEpisodicDramaScreenplay}}

}}

{{Aaron Sorkin}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:West Wing}}

Category:1990s American drama television series

Category:1990s American legal television series

Category:1990s American political television series

Category:1990s American workplace drama television series

Category:1999 American television series debuts

Category:2000s American drama television series

Category:2000s American legal television series

Category:2000s American political television series

Category:2000s American workplace drama television series

Category:2006 American television series endings

Category:Alternate history television series

Category:American political drama television series

Category:Articles containing video clips

Category:Best Drama Series Golden Globe winners

Category:American English-language television shows

Category:Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners

Category:Peabody Award–winning television programs

Category:Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series winners

Category:Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series

Category:Serial drama television series

Category:Television series about presidents of the United States

Category:Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios

Category:Television series created by Aaron Sorkin

Category:Television shows filmed in Los Angeles

Category:Television shows set in Washington, D.C.

Category:Works set in the White House

Category:NBC television dramas