The West Wing is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily 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 (primary director); and John Wells. After Sorkin left the series, Wells assumed the role of head writer, with later executive producers being directors Alex Graves and Christopher Misiano (seasons 6–7), and writers Lawrence O’Donnell Jr. and Peter Noah (season 7).
The series 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 West Wing 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, while the Writers Guild of America ranked it #10 in its 101 Best Written TV Series List.
| Genre | Political drama |
|---|---|
| Created by | Aaron Sorkin |
| Starring | Rob Lowe Alan Alda Stockard Channing Kristin Chenoweth Dulé Hill Allison Janney Moira Kelly Joshua Malina Mary McCormack Janel Moloney Richard Schiff John Spencer Bradley Whitford Jimmy Smits Martin Sheen |
| Composer(s) | W. G. Snuffy Walden |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Originallanguage(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 156[1] (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executiveproducer(s) | Aaron Sorkin John Wells Thomas Schlamme Christopher Misiano Alex Graves Lawrence O’Donnell Jr. Peter Noah |
| Cinematography | Thomas Del Ruth |
| Running time | 42 minutes |
| Productioncompany(s) | John Wells Productions Warner Bros. Television |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | September 22, 1999 – May 14, 2006 |