Another election year, another West Wing cast reunion in the works
The West Wing cast is teasing something (that Joshua Malina is calling a reboot)
Aux News Wingnut
Every time the American political sphere starts getting, shall we say, upsetting, The West Wing rises in appeal yet again. We all want to live in a world where Washington D.C. looks more like Aaron Sorkin’s hit series and less like Veep, where the president is a benevolent and competent father figure like Martin Sheen. (Or just is Martin Sheen.) The cracks in Sorkin’s shiny idealism of American politics have long been evident, but The West Wing invokes a warm nostalgia for a country that never really existed. Which is why so many fans would like to see the series rebooted.
Those fans are in for… well… something. Mary McCormack, who played Deputy National Security Adviser Kate Harper in the fifth through seventh seasons of the show, posted to Twitter/X on Wednesday, “Calling all #wingnuts ! We have something very exciting in the works! We will be sharing it next week. Stay tuned for the big reveal Jan. 24th. Any guesses?” She tagged cast members Allison B. Janney, Dulé Hill, Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff, Joshua Malina, Melissa Fitzgerald, and Lawrence O’Donnell, as well as Hrishikesh Hirway, the producer of the podcast The West Wing Weekly.
Malina chimed in with the response, “Reeeeeboooooot!” He had teased something similar earlier this month, after it was mistakenly reported that Sheen was attending a fundraiser for the campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “I am relieved that Martin is not backing RFK Jr. as that would likely have affected the reboot negatively. Onward! News soon…” he wrote.
Much as Malina might insist he’s being serious, a full-on West Wing reboot seems unlikely (especially since a source for Deadline said there’s nothing in the works over at Warner Bros. Discovery). A better guess would be that the cast is reuniting again for another podcast, considering McCormack also tagged Hirway. The last episode of the podcast was in October 2020, a cast reunion special to benefit Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote initiative. Now that we’re approaching yet another presidential election, it seems more than likely that the “reboot” Malina refers to could be a reboot of the podcast, to once again encourage civic engagement in the American populace.
If you’re craving a true West Wing revival, you’re not alone. Former Doctor Who and Sherlock showrunner recently said a British version of the show “might be necessary,” citing the cynicism of the United Kingdom’s politicians (per Deadline). It’s not exactly President Bartlett and his senior staff, but maybe there’s still life for The West Wing somewhere out there.
27 Comments
There was a British West Wing. It was called The Thick of It.The show was (is) West Wing filtered through The Office (UK) and Green Wing. Peter Capaldi was brilliant in sort of a (Bizarro) Martin Sheen role.
I made that EXACT point to my wife.Her: “Stephen Moffat says he wants to make a UK-version of The West Wing…”Me: “They did that already with the 12th Doctor, by the guy who created Avenue 5 — it was called The Thick of It.” (note: we loved Avenue 5)
And before that was Yes, Minister (and Yes, Prime Minister).This show was written by both a Conservative and a Labor voter; Hacker’s party is never mentioned. Hell, it got aired in the Soviet Union, because the Soviet government loved that it mocked decadent Western democracies and capitalism, and the Soviet people loved that mirrored what they saw in the Soviet government. That’s a recommendation. And then there’s the Australian version…
“There was a British West Wing. It was called The Thick of It.”
So…you’ve never seen The West Wing?
Thick of It (maybe my favorite Iannucci jam?) is not a WW analog. It’s an exasperated, embittered and, as a result, hilarious look at the absolute cowardice of so many elected officials. That last shot of Malcolm Tucker facing the press and ultimately saying nothing — there are few moments as searing as that in political TV. West Wing, for me, was more of a civics lesson/fantasy football take on government. Both great, both featuring some incredible writing, but very different tones and POVs.
Whippersnappers.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_Minister
The Office has no place among any of those other shows.
It could also be another MAX adaptation like they did before; but Malina’s been joking about a reboot for years, like clockwork, so it’s good we don’t believe that…
“Former Doctor Who and Sherlock showrunner recently said a British version of the show “might be necessary,””
I guess this writer doesn’t have a fucking name?
“We all want to live in a world where Washington D.C. looks more like Aaron Sorkin’s hit series and less like Veep, where the president is a benevolent and competent father figure like Martin Sheen.I don’t think Martin Sheen was in Veep.
He wasn’t, it’s just a clumsy sentence construction. Parentheses for clarity:“…looks more like Aaron Sorkin’s hit series (and less like Veep), where the president is a benevolent…”
Yeah I got it. lol I was pointing that out. Perhaps with too much subtlety (which no one has ever accused me of before lol).
Sir, this is the Internet. No subtletly is permitted.
No, but nitpicking is not just permitted but encouraged, such as me pointing out that you added an extra l to “subtlety.”
You’ll pay for thlis!
One weird thing I noticed is that the adverb form of “subtle” is “subtly” and not “subtley”. Why’d they get rid of the e?
It knows what it did.
The show we really need is The West Wing: Bartlet Presidential Library Gift Shop. A pure workplace comedy with occasional guest stars from the original cast. Dulé Hill reprises his role as Charlie Young, who is the manager. Also starring Nathan Fillion as Chuck, the security guard, and Penny Johnson Jerald as the library director.
That could be a cool show, but I’d be a bit disappointed that Charlie ended up the manager of a library gift shop.
ugh. Fuck all the way off with this. This smirking shitshow is just a sop to failed third way liberalism. fuck all the campaign staffers that were birthed by the show, and the lapsed hippie boomers it caters to. Thanks for nothing. You’ve sold us all out repeatedly. I would say fuck Sorkin too but I don’t think anyone has seen him since he disappeared completely up his own ass a few years ago with The Newsroom.
aren’t you pleasant?
Yes.
You mean, apart from writing four (and directing three) award winning films? Attack him if you like, and he deserves some of it, but “noone has seen him” is demonstrably untrue.
Just how much of a progressive paradise do you think we’d have if not for the show?
Sir, this is a Wendy’s.
Could someone just – for the love of GOD – create a sequel starring Sterling K. Brown and whomever else he likes?!And maybe Idris Elba. And Andrew Scott. And Angela Bassett. Jon Hamm? Phoebe Waller-Bridge? And Charlize Theron!I could go on. 😀
Can this be the year when they FINALLY get this damn show of BLU-RAY!?! What the hell is the hold up?