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The West Wing is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where the Oval Office and offices of presidential senior personnel are located, during the fictitious Democratic administration of President Josiah Bartlet.
Sep 20, 2019 · It made The West Wing a political show via the public service sentiment of a show like ER —characters worked early mornings, late nights, slept in their offices, and came in on the weekends, all ...
- Sonia Saraiya
- Aaron Sorkin Didn’T Want to Do Tv.
- It Was Assembled from The American President leftovers.
- A Bill Clinton Scandal Delayed The West Wing's start.
- NBC Sent Some Strange Early Notes on The Series.
- Bradley Whitford Almost Played Sam Seaborn.
- Donna Moss Was Not Meant to Be One of The Show's Stars.
- CCH Pounder Almost Played C.J. Cregg.
- Eugene Levy Almost Played Toby Ziegler.
- Several Legendary Actors Were Considered For President Bartlet.
- The President Was Originally Supposed to Be A Guest Star.
The seed for The West Wing was planted when screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, fresh off the success of films like A Few Good Men and The American President, was asked to take a meeting with TV producer John Wells, who was still riding high from the success of ER at NBC. Sorkin agreed to the meeting, though he had “never thought of doing television,” and t...
With a deal made, Sorkin then had to go back and begin scripting what would become the pilot of The West Wing, but he wasn’t short on material. Thanks to his work on The American President, Sorkin already had ideas for what his senior staffers at the White House might do that he hadn’t been able to fit into that script. One of them became the first...
Wells took The West Wing to NBC, where he wanted to set the show as part of a deal he’d made with the network after the success of ER. Network executives were hesitant, fearing that no one would watch a show about politicians. While Sorkin was writing the pilot, news broke of President Bill Clinton having an affair with an intern in the White House...
Though NBC agreed to make The West Wing after seeing Sports Night, executives remained nervous about the series in its early stages, and offered up a number of interesting notes that Wells and Sorkin ultimately resisted. Among their suggestions, according to Wells, was that the president on the series should not be a liberal democrat, but rather “a...
It’s hard to think of anyone other than The West Wing’s eventual main cast playing their roles now, but as the casting process for the show began there were a number of different potential actors in mind for key characters, including one actor who was up for two roles. Sorkin had written the role of Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman specifically for...
Janel Moloney originally read for the role of C.J. Cregg during The West Wing audition process. Sorkin knew she wouldn’t get that role, but wanted Moloney to find a way into the pilot somehow, and offered her the role of Donna, Josh Lyman’s assistant, who was initially meant to only have a couple of lines. Moloney was warnedshe shouldn’t expect any...
When it came time to cast White House Press Secretary C.J. Cregg, Sorkin and company found themselves with two talented actresses in mind for the part: Allison Janney was a major contender thanks to her performance in the political comedy Primary Colors, but CCH Pounder—fresh off an Emmy-nominated three-season run on ER—was also up for the role. “C...
When it came time to cast the brilliant but grumpy Communications Director, Toby Ziegler, Sorkin and company again found themselves down to two great actors. One was Richard Schiff, who eventually won the role, and the other was Eugene Levy, best known for his comedy work in films like Best In Show. “[Levy] really gave Richard a run for his money b...
With the key members of the senior staff cast, including John Spencer as White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry, Schlamme began working on rehearsal for The West Wingpilot, but one key piece of the puzzle was missing: The President, who wouldn’t appear in the show until the final scene of the first episode. According to Sorkin, the first actor who ...
When Sheen accepted the role of President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet, he did it thinking he would be a recurring cast member only, appearing in just a handful of episodes each season. Sorkin originally intended to use the President sparingly on the show, keeping the focus on the staff out of fear that having the Leader of the Free World pop up all the ti...
- Martin Sheen was practically an accidental president. The show first offered the nation's top job to Sidney Poitier, and Jason Robards was high on everyone's list, but the 77-year-old was not in good health and would die in 2000.
- Eugene Levy was almost Toby. Can you imagine a communications director with two left feet? The Best in Show star was the runner-up for the role of Toby Ziegler.
- Rob Lowe had to audition, but Moira Kelly didn't. Sorkin was dead-set against Lowe as Sam Seaborn, because he worried that a "movie star" would upset the delicate ensemble he was hoping to put together.
- Elisabeth Moss edged Winnie Cooper for the role of Zoey Bartlet. Wonder Years' Danica McKellar would eventually get the role of Will Bailey's stepsister in season 4.
Sep 18, 2020 · The exhausting news cycles, the petty political bickering, the neverending spree of campaigning and the flood of lies spewing from the thin lips of spiffy white men vying for the role of leader of ...
May 9, 2019 · The West Wing ’s fictional Oval Office was also mostly white and male. It left a lot of Americans out of its vision of liberal politics. The first episode of Primetime, a new Vox podcast hosted ...
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The West Wing: Created by Aaron Sorkin. With Allison Janney, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, Martin Sheen. Inside the lives of staffers in the West Wing of the White House.
