TV shows about the White House are relatively common these days, but few can compare to the legacy of The West Wing. The brainchild of Aaron Sorkin, the NBC series perfected the walk-and-talk and delivered some of the most compelling political drama ever seen on the small screen. The West Wing's themes continue to resonate to this day, and Sorkin himself recently admitted that he would be interested in exploring the possibility of a revival with This is Us star Sterling K. Brown playing the new president. Sorkin addressed this idea while discussing his directorial debut on Molly's Game and said:
Sterling K. Brown as the president, and there's some kind of jam, an emergency, a very delicate situation involving the threat of war or something, and [President] Bartlett [played by Martin Sheen], long since retired, is consulted in the way that Bill Clinton used to consult with Nixon.
If you're one of the many fans that have wanted to see a West Wing revival for some time, then Aaron Sorkin's recent comments to THR should get you very excited. The series ended in 2006 with President Jed Barlett (Martin Sheen) ushering in the inauguration of the newly elected Democratic President of the United States Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits). Now, with over a decade of space between the old series and the possible revival, The West Wing apparently could return with Bartlett coming out of retirement as an advisor to a new president played by Sterling K. Brown. Where the rest of the cast would fit into the equation is where things get trickier, but Sorkin can figure that part out later.
The West Wing had a long history of echoing real-life events during (and after) its run. It was one of the first shows to acknowledge the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and several significant issues tackled in the first season have gone on to become major political struggles in the 2010s -- such as a Supreme Court vacancy and hate crime legislation. To bring Barlett back as a mentor for the first black president (in the universe of the show) would line up with the MO of the series, and Sorkin himself.
It also seems that Aaron Sorkin's mental wheels have been spinning over the course of the last year. The legendary screenwriter took part in a Reddit AMA session last year and admitted that he had an interest in exploring a possible revival for The West Wing, but he didn't offer any other details aside from that. Now he seems to have a general premise in his head for how to continue this universe, and it sounds like something that could work in connection with the existing seventh season of the show.
We will keep you posted with more updates related to a possible West Wing revival as new details are made available; until then you can catch all of the old episodes on Netflix to get yourself up-to-date on the classic series. As for the modern era of television, you can check out our fall premiere guide and our midseason premiere guide to see what's coming over the next few months, and you can check out our handy cancellation guide to see which shows have sadly left us this year.
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