Mandy Hampton - Departure

Departure

The character appeared only in the first season, and her appearances became sporadic as the episodes progressed. She departed from the show without plot explanation after the first season ended. Series creator Aaron Sorkin said that the character was not working out, and the decision for Moira Kelly's departure from the show was amicable:

"Moira is a terrific actress, but we just weren't the right thing for her. She expressed that she felt the same way, and as a result, story lines hadn't been invested in that character, because we knew that at the end of the year, we'd be shaking hands and parting company."

The ensemble-nature of the cast made it further difficult to focus adequately on the character. When the first season finale, "What Kind of Day Has It Been", featured a cliffhanger ending with an unknown character getting shot, many fans speculated it would be Mandy Hampton due to the character's ongoing departure. The St. Petersburg Times quoted an unnamed West Wing writer as suggesting that actors with two-year contracts are the most likely to have been shot, which the newspaper said suggests it could be Mandy due to her pending departure. However, the newspaper also suggested that could be a red herring since it was not at all clear that Mandy was even present in the scene when the shots were fired. It ultimately turned out to be Josh Lyman who was shot.

Sorkin originally planned to reintroduce Mandy in the second-season episode "The War at Home", as the campaign operator of junior senator and environmentalist Seth Gilette, played by Ed Begley, Jr.. However, the appearance never happened.

The term Mandyville has since been used by fans of The West Wing, referring to a mythical place that characters go to when they disappear without explanation.