The West Wing was a fantastic series that followed the exploits of the White House staff as they went through everything from scandal to re-election to crisis. The internal workings of politics were interesting and funny and terrifying from Season 1 all the way to Season 7. Times have changed in some very big ways since the series finale in 2006, and classic episodes of The West Wing feel like they were set eons ago, which really just means we could probably use some new episodes to think about. Luckily, creator Aaron Sorkin has thoughts about the possibility of the revival. Here's what he has to say:
If I had an idea or a way to do The West Wing today, I would think seriously about doing it. I would want to do it myself because I'm so personally attached to it. Of course, I wouldn't want to do anything to tarnish anyone's memory of the show.
Aaron Sorkin shared his thoughts on a possible West Wing revival in response to a question from his recent AMA session on Reddit. Given the current atmosphere that has folks everywhere closely following political news, a new West Wing could be phenomenally popular due to modern relevance. It could also be a total bust because people are just tired of campaigns, but there's only one way to tell. The show wouldn't necessarily be beholden to reality. Most of the original series revolved around the presidency of the Democratic Jed Bartlet while the Republican George Bush occupied the Oval Office in real life. The West Wing was no less compelling for its departures from current affairs.
It comes as no surprise that Aaron Sorkin would want to handle a West Wing revival himself. Sorkin worked as the showrunner for the first four seasons, and he wrote or co-wrote most of the episodes during his time as head honcho. Really, the shocker would've been if Sorkin said that he's on board for a West Wing revival without wanting significant involvement in the production.
Of course, The West Wing would never have worked without the fabulous cast of characters that made the less dynamic plots worth sitting through. Aaron Sorkin would need to try to capture lightning in a bottle twice with a new White House staff. Even he wouldn't be able to find a way to believably bring C.J., Josh, and Toby back to the West Wing, and it's tough to think about a version of The West Wing without them. The original cast had such a fun chemistry together that I'd be on board for a contrived reunion special or two if it meant getting the gang back together. A new cast would have quite a legacy to live up to in a revival.
Only time will tell if Aaron Sorkin gets the chance to bring a revival of The West Wing to the small screen. Networks large and small have been producing reboots and revivals in recent years; surely NBC could give Sorkin another go at the workings of the White House with a West Wing 2.0. Check out our fall TV premiere schedule to see what you'll be able to watch on the small screen in the not-too-distant future.
