The West Wing (TV Series)

The West Wing (TV Series)

The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set in the West Wing of the White House, where the Oval Office and offices of presidential senior staff are located, during the fictional Democratic administration of Josiah Bartlet (played by Martin Sheen).

The West Wing was produced by Warner Bros. Television. For the first four seasons, there were three executive producers: Aaron Sorkin (lead writer of almost all of the first four seasons), Thomas Schlamme, and John Wells. After Sorkin left the program, John Wells became the sole executive producer.

It first aired on NBC in 1999 and has been broadcast by many networks in several other countries. The series ended its seven-year run on May 14, 2006.

The show received positive reviews from critics, political science professors, and former White House staffers. In total, The West Wing won three Golden Globe Awards and 26 Emmy Awards, including the award for Outstanding Drama Series, which it won four consecutive times from 2000 through 2003. The show's ratings waned in later years following the departure of series creator Sorkin (who wrote or co-wrote 85 of the first 88 episodes) after the fourth season, yet it remained popular among high-income viewers, a key demographic for the show and its advertisers, with around 16 million viewers. In 2013 TV Guide ranked it #7 in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time.