The West Wing 

Inside the lives of staffers in the West Wing of the White House.

Creator:

Aaron Sorkin

Stars:

Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Allison Janney

Top Rated TV #61 | Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 118 wins & 253 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Allison Janney	...	C.J. Cregg 155 episodes, 1999-2006
John Spencer	...	Leo McGarry 155 episodes, 1999-2006
Bradley Whitford	...	Josh Lyman 155 episodes, 1999-2006
Martin Sheen	...	President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet / ... 155 episodes, 1999-2006
Janel Moloney	...	Donna Moss 150 episodes, 1999-2006
Richard Schiff	...	Toby Ziegler 145 episodes, 1999-2006
Dulé Hill	...	Charlie Young 137 episodes, 1999-2006
NiCole Robinson	...	Margaret / ... 106 episodes, 1999-2006
Melissa Fitzgerald	...	Carol Fitzpatrick / ... 102 episodes, 1999-2006
Rob Lowe	...	Sam Seaborn 85 episodes, 1999-2006
Joshua Malina	...	Will Bailey 79 episodes, 2002-2006
Stockard Channing	...	Abbey Bartlet 69 episodes, 1999-2006

Storyline

Presidential advisers get their personal lives hopelessly tangled up with professional duties as they try to conduct the business of running a country. Fictional Democratic President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet suffers no fools, and that policy alienates many. He and his dedicated staffers struggle to balance the needs of the country with the political realities of Washington, D.C., working through two presidential terms that include countless scandals, threats and political scuffles, as well as the race to succeed Bartlet as the leader of the free world.

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Plot Keywords:

white house | politics | ensemble cast | dialogue driven | social commentary | 

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Taglines:

Jimmy Smits goes to Washington.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

NBC [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

West Wing

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles City Hall - 200 North Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

John Wells Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min 60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Oval Office set originally designed by Michael J. Taylor, was constructed for Dave (1993) and then subsequently used for The American President (1995), which was also written by Aaron Sorkin and included Martin Sheen, Joshua Malina, and Anna Deavere Smith in its cast. It was also used during the filming of Contact (1997), when the carpet, made by the original company, had to be replaced for twenty-eight thousand dollars.

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Goofs

President Bartlet's code name, in one of the first episodes, is "Eagle." As he passes the Secret Service the agent says "Eagle has passed." In a episode later that season when Bartlet has collapsed, an agent says "Liberty is down."

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Quotes

[still new to the White House, Josh can't find his desk]
Josh Lyman: I'll just walk around some more and see if I can get into a pick-up meeting.

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Crazy Credits

Episode titles are usually the first thing shown on screen (after recaps). This is one of the only American series to show episode titles before its opening credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Keegan-Michael Key - Jordan Peele/Run River North/Will Calhoun (2016)

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Soundtracks

Cello Suite No. 1 Prelude
(uncredited)
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach

User Reviews

The Best. Period

This is the finest show ever produced for TV. Each episode is a triumph. The casting, the writing, the timing are all second to none. This cast performs miracles.

The secret to this show is that it is, at heart, a comedy, even when tragic things are happening. That gives Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff et al. the room to work. And do they ever.

It works because it is deep, the characters are well-drawn. Early in the first season, CJ gets a root canal and walks around for the rest of the episode with cotton stuffed in her mouth, yelling things like" The Pwesident must be bweefed!" This has to be seen to be believed. It had me literally on the floor, laughing until I feared I would hurt myself. I don't know how many shows have tried cheap stunts like that and they are just that, cheap. On "The West Wing" it works because we know CJ, we know how unlike her, and yet like her, that moment is. And Toby's slow-burn reaction is pitch perfect.

Bravo.