West Wing, the

Arguably the most complete and extensive portrayal of the American presidency in popular culture history, The West Wing (TWW) was a 1-hour dramatic serial program broadcast on the NBC television network from September 22, 1999, until May 14, 2006. A total of 156 episodes of the program aired on NBC, with rerun episodes featured on the Bravo television network. TWW has also been released on DVD in yearly installments and in a final series package in late 2006. The program depicted the inner workings of the administration of President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet, a New Hampshire Democrat.

TWW was created by Aaron Sorkin, a film and television writer who was also the screenwriter for the feature films A Few Good Men (adapted from his Broadway play), Malice, and The American President and who created and wrote the television series Sports Night. Sorkin wrote and was an executive producer for TWW until its fourth season (2003). TWW received many awards, including numerous Emmys, several Screen Actor's Guild honors, and two Peabody Awards for excellence in broadcasting. The recurring cast of TWW included Martin Sheen as President Bartlet, Stockard Channing as First Lady Abigail Bartlet, Gary Cole as Vice President Bob Russell, Dulé Hill as Personal Assistant Charlie Young, Allison Janney as Press Secretary C. J. Cregg, Rob Lowe as Speechwriter Sam Seaborn, Tim Matheson as Vice President John Hoynes, Janel Moloney as Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff Donna Moss, Richard Schiff as Communications Director Toby Ziegler, John Spencer as Chief of Staff Leo McGarry, and Bradley Whitford as Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman. In the show's sixth and seventh seasons, TWW depicted the presidential election campaign for Bartlet's successor that featured candidates Matthew Santos, a Democratic Texas congressman played by Jimmy Smits, and Arnold Vinick, a Republican California senator played by Alan Alda. The show also featured literally hundreds of supporting characters, including members of the president's administration, members of Congress, foreign dignitaries and diplomats, members of the news media, and military leaders.

Originally, TWW was designed as a program about the White House staff, where viewers would come to learn the backstage happenings of a presidential administration. That focus shifted, however, when noted actor Sheen was cast as President Bartlet, and the program evolved into a complex ensemble that blended depictions of the president, his family, his staff, and other domains of political and governmental life in the United States. This administration confronted a series of crises, tackled numerous public policy issues, and dealt with ongoing scandal and intrigue. Among the issues discussed in TWW were drug policy, terrorism, the census, gay rights, women's rights, civil rights and racial tension, child labor, international trade policy, nuclear proliferation, Mideast peace, conflict between India and Pakistan, and abortion. In addition, the program featured three presidential campaigns (Bartlet's initial election campaign, depicted in flashbacks; Bartlet's reelection; and the election of his successor), an assassination attempt on the president's personal assistant that left the president and an aide seriously wounded, a scandal concerning the president's health, and the kidnapping of Bartlet's daughter.

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