One of the Most Awarded Shows in Television History Getting a Reboot

It’s been 25 years since the opening scene of The West Wing saw Sam Seaborn being alerted that his boss, POTUS, had been in an accident. The audience would quickly learn that his boss was the President of the United States.

There is no way that one of the most awarded shows in television history could have predicted what would come in politics. September 11, Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, The Great Recession, the Barack Obama presidency, COVID-19, and Donald Trump.

To celebrate their 25th Anniversary, the cast of The West Wing was invited to the White House to spend some time with real-life President Joe Biden. At a Rose Garden ceremony, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden complimented the cast and crew for creating a show that gave everyone optimism about the political process.

During the ceremony, West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin and West Wing star Martin Sheen, who played fictional President Bartlet, also spoke, however, what Aaron Sorkin said after the ceremony got everyone’s attention.

25 years ago, Aaron Sorkin created this gem and it is still loved today. Thank you for everything, #TheWestWing family ❤️

(you will NEVER be unemployed Mr. Sorkin) pic.twitter.com/bAXUxlGnzs

— no context west wing (@LemonLymancom) September 20, 2024

After his visit to the real West Wing, Sorkin told Variety that his trip inspired him to reboot the Emmy-award-winning show.

I didn’t think about it seriously, frankly, until today… We’ll see what happens when I wake up tomorrow. But, if you’re asking me now, this is how I feel.

I just got a couple of ideas for episodes just walking around the White House. Like, ‘why didn’t we ever do this? Why didn’t we ever do that?

Honouring 25 years of acclaimed political drama #TheWestWing being on our screens, by throwing back to the iconic ‘Game on’ debate. pic.twitter.com/mHhj0qHA7N

— Warner Bros. IRL (@WarnerBrosIRL) September 22, 2024

Bringing back President Bartlet and his staff has some continuity issues, but Josh Lyman, Sam Seaborn, and CJ Cregg could easily return. The show also has some political optimism.

Sorkin said that if he were to bring the show back, it would have to reflect the current political realities and be less optimistic.

There is also the problem of the current election. Sorkin said that if Donald Trump wins the presidency, he doesn’t want the show to “feel like it’s reacting to the daily news.”

Sorkin said:

We couldn’t possibly come up with stories in the room that are crazier than the actual stories that we see. It does need to feel like our world. The worry would be that everything we did on the show would be seen as a rebuttal to the world of Donald Trump.

So, it would be hard, but as Brad Whitford, as Josh Lyman, says in the Season 3 premiere, ’20 Hours in America,’ ‘it’s gonna be hard,’ and Toby says, ‘it’s the hard that makes it good.’

So, he’s saying there’s a chance we could be getting more seasons of one of television’s most-awarded dramas. It’s what we all needed.

What do you think of The West Wing reboot idea?