Will The West Wing Get A Revival? Creator Aaron Sorkin Shares Thoughts On 25th Anniversary
Aaron Sorkin, the creator of the award-winning political drama series The West Wing, recently shared his thoughts on whether he would consider rebooting this iconic series. Sorkin recently visited the White House to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this long-running hit series. At the event, he reflected on its enduring legacy and mentioned that the show’s cast would live on as ‘one of the best’ in television history. Read on further to know more details!
Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing captivated audiences with its sharp writing and star cast performances, led by Martin Sheen as fictional Democratic President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet. The show premiered on NBC on September 22, 1999, quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon, and it ran for seven seasons until 2006.
Sorkin and The West Wing cast members, including Sheen, Richard Schiff, Emily Procter, Melissa Fitzgerald, Dulé Hill, Janel Moloney, and Mary McCormack recently reunited at the White House to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their hit series, where First Lady Jill Biden paid tribute to the creator and actors involved in the show.
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After the ceremony, Sorkin revealed to Variety that he might consider a reboot, stating, “If I had an idea, sure,” and added, “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.”
He further mentioned that while walking around the White House, he came up with a “couple of ideas” for episodes and thought about why they hadn’t explored some topics in the show. Sorkin expressed that he had previously been reluctant to consider a new edition of The West Wing because he was concerned that audiences would miss the original cast too much.
He told the outlet, “I suspect that a new president would have a hard time living up to people’s memories of Martin,” referring to his character of President Jed Bartlet.
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The showrunner added, “But maybe enough time has gone by, and it’s a whole new generation. A generation which, by the way, thanks to streaming, thinks we’re making the show today!”
As per the Guardian, Sorkin expressed during his speech that the series cast will live on as “one of the best in the history of television” and reflected on making the series, noting that they had no political agenda; their goal was to create a good show each week.
He further stated that the “greatest delivery system ever invented for an idea is a story,” noting that from time to time, they hear from someone who was inspired to enter public service because of their show. He emphasized that 25 years ago, none of them could have foreseen or even dared to hope for such an outcome.
Meanwhile, The West Wing is available to stream on Max.
