The television series The West Wing is a political drama series which was originally broadcast on NBC.
During its seven seasons the ensemble cast of stars, recurring stars, and guest stars earned 157 acting nominations (often competing in the same category against other members of the cast) across a variety of award-granting organizations, earning 30 awards. Many actors noted for work in sitcoms appeared in dramatic roles on The West Wing, including John Goodman, Alan Alda, John Larroquette, Christopher Lloyd, Ed O'Neill, Matthew Perry, Patricia Richardson, Lily Tomlin, Wayne Wilderson, and Daniel von Bargen.
Character | Portrayed by | Seasons | Reunion Special | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |||
Sam Seaborn | Rob Lowe | Main | R | Main | |||||
Mandy Hampton | Moira Kelly | Main | |||||||
C. J. Cregg | Allison Janney | Main | |||||||
Toby Ziegler | Richard Schiff | Main | |||||||
Leo McGarry | John Spencer | Main | |||||||
Sterling K. Brown | Main | ||||||||
Josh Lyman | Bradley Whitford | Main | |||||||
Josiah Bartlet | Martin Sheen | Main | |||||||
Charlie Young | Dulé Hill | Main | |||||||
Donna Moss | Janel Moloney | R | Main | ||||||
Abbey Bartlet | Stockard Channing | Recurring | Main | ||||||
Will Bailey | Joshua Malina | Main | |||||||
Kate Harper | Mary McCormack | R | Main | ||||||
Matt Santos | Jimmy Smits | Main | |||||||
Arnold Vinick | Alan Alda | Main | |||||||
Annabeth Schott | Kristin Chenoweth | R | Main |
Character | Actor | Titles |
---|---|---|
Josiah "Jed" Bartlet | Martin Sheen | President of the United States (season 1–7) Former Governor of New Hampshire Former U. S. Representative from New Hampshire Nobel laureate in Economics |
Joshua "Josh" Lyman | Bradley Whitford | White House Deputy Chief of Staff (season 1–6) Campaign Manager for Santos–McGarry Campaign (Seasons 6–7) White House Chief of Staff (season 7) |
Leo Thomas McGarry | John Spencer | White House Chief of Staff (Seasons 1–6) Special Counselor to the President (season 6) Democratic vice-presidential nominee (season 6–7) Vice President–elect of the United States (season 7) Former Secretary of Labor Vietnam War veteran |
Claudia Jean "C.J." Cregg | Allison Janney | White House Press Secretary (Seasons 1–6) White House Chief of Staff (Seasons 6–7) |
Charles "Charlie" Young | Dulé Hill | Personal Aide to the President (Seasons 1–6) Deputy Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff (Seasons 6–7) |
Donnatella "Donna" Moss | Janel Moloney | Senior Assistant to White House Deputy Chief of Staff (Seasons 1–6) Media Specialist and Campaign Spokesperson for Bob Russell (season 6) Deputy Press Secretary for Santos–McGarry Campaign (season 7) Chief of Staff to the First Lady (season 7) |
Tobias Zachary "Toby" Ziegler | Richard Schiff | White House Communications Director (Seasons 1–7) |
Samuel Norman "Sam" Seaborn | Rob Lowe | White House Deputy Communications Director (Seasons 1–4) Candidate for California 47th congressional district (season 4) White House Deputy Chief of Staff (season 7) |
William "Will" Bailey | Joshua Malina | White House Deputy Communications Director (Seasons 4–5) Chief of Staff to Vice-president Bob Russell (Seasons 5–7) White House Communications Director (season 7) Congressman from the Oregon 4th congressional district (season 7) |
Annabeth Schott | Kristin Chenoweth | Deputy Press Secretary for Media Relations (season 6) Campaign Staffer for Santos–McGarry Campaign (season 7) Press Secretary to the First Lady (season 7) |
The West Wing is an American 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 personnel are located, during the fictional two-term Democratic administration of President Josiah Bartlet.
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character from the American television serial drama The West Wing created by Aaron Sorkin and portrayed by actor Martin Sheen. The role earned Sheen a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 2001, as well as two SAG Awards.
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character of the NBC political drama series The West Wing, portrayed by American actor John Spencer.
Samuel Norman Seaborn is a fictional character played by Rob Lowe on the television serial drama The West Wing. From the beginning of the series in 1999 until the middle of the fourth season in 2003, he is deputy White House Communications Director in the administration of President Josiah Bartlet played by Martin Sheen. The character departed from subsequent seasons after Lowe decided to leave the series, although he returned for several episodes in the final season when he became Deputy Chief of Staff to the new president portrayed by Jimmy Smits.
Joshua Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama series The West Wing. The role earned Whitford the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2001. For most of the series, he is White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Political Advisor in the Josiah Bartlet administration.
Tobias "Toby" ZacharyZiegler was a fictional character in the television serial drama The West Wing, played by Richard Schiff. The role of Toby Ziegler earned actor Richard Schiff the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2000. For most of the series' duration, he was White House Communications Director. In the final season, Ziegler was involved in a storyline around a leak of classified information, which The New York Times compared to the leak investigation of the Valerie Plame affair.
"Five Votes Down" is the fourth episode of The West Wing. The episode aired on October 13, 1999 on NBC. Presidential chief of staff Leo McGarry needs five more House votes to pass a bill restricting the sale of automatic firearms—but the cost might be too high, especially if he has to go to the unpredictable Vice President to help put them over the top. The staff's annual financial disclosure statements prove to be thorny for Toby, whose innocent technology stock purchase last year proved to be wildly profitable, which raises eyebrows due to his association with an expert in the field. In addition, Leo's long hours on the job cause an unforeseen crisis at home, and the President unintentionally mixes up the potent medications he receives for his ailing back.
"The Crackpots and These Women" is the fifth episode from season one of The West Wing. The episode aired on October 20, 1999, on NBC.
"Twenty Five" is the 88th episode and the season four finale of the American television series The West Wing. The episode aired on May 14, 2003, on NBC. It takes its title from the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which deals with the presidential line of succession.
"What Kind of Day Has It Been" is the 22nd episode of The West Wing, the season finale of the show's first season. It originally aired on NBC on May 17, 2000. Events circle around the attempted rescue of a US fighter pilot in Iraq, and the president taking part in a town hall meeting in Rosslyn, Virginia. The episode was written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Thomas Schlamme. "What Kind of Day Has It Been" is also the name of the first-season finales of both the series Sports Night and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, as well as the series finale of The Newsroom, all of which were created by Aaron Sorkin. It was also a quote by Leo in the fourth-season episode "Commencement" in the situation room. Sorkin claimed that he took the phrase from Robert Whitehead, lead producer of Sorkin's A Few Good Men, who used to start meetings at the end of rehearsal days by asking this question.
"Celestial Navigation" is the fifteenth episode of the first season of the American serial political drama The West Wing. The episode aired on February 16, 2000 on NBC. The episode depicts Josh Lyman narrating a story from the past few days to a collegiate audience, as well as the President's nominee to the Supreme Court being arrested for drunk driving. The episode was widely regarded as lighter and more humorous than other episodes of The West Wing.
"Bartlet for America" is the tenth episode of the third season of American serial political drama The West Wing. The episode aired on December 12, 2001 on NBC. The episode features Leo McGarry, the White House Chief of Staff, testifying before a congressional committee after it is revealed that the administration has been covering up the President's multiple sclerosis. Reception of the episode was mostly positive, and the slogan of "Bartlet for America" has been reprised in popular culture and real-life American politics.
"Hartsfield's Landing" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of The West Wing, an American serial political drama. The episode aired on February 27, 2002, on NBC. The episode takes its title from the fictional bellwether town that is central to the episode, which is holding an election that Josh Lyman wants to win for the president. "Hartsfield's Landing" also includes Toby Ziegler and Sam Seaborn playing chess matches against President Jed Bartlet, and C. J. Cregg involving herself in a prank war against Charlie Young. Allison Janney, who portrayed C. J., described the episode as one of her favorites. In 2020, the episode was reprised by the original cast in A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote.
"Game On" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of The West Wing. The episode aired on October 30, 2002, on NBC. The episode features Josiah Bartlet, the President of the United States, debating against his opponent in the upcoming presidential election, as well as Sam Seaborn meeting the new character of Will Bailey and Leo McGarry attempting to stop the shipment of arms to a terrorist group. Reception for the episode was mixed, with differing viewpoints on how the show portrayed the dueling ideologies of liberalism and conservatism in the United States.
"The Supremes" is the seventeenth episode of the fifth season of American serial political drama television series The West Wing. It originally aired on NBC on March 24, 2004. In "The Supremes", the White House senior staff, under Democratic President Josiah Bartlet, looks to nominate a judge to the Supreme Court of the United States when Josh comes up with a plan to, instead of nominating a centrist to the seat, nominate one liberal and one conservative candidate to two seats on the Court. The episode was met with mixed reception, although it was later noted the show bore similarities to the 2016 death and replacement of real-life Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
The seventh and final season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 25, 2005, to May 14, 2006, and consisted of 22 episodes. The series changed time slots from Wednesdays at 9:00 pm to Sundays at 8:00 pm, and the series struggled in its new time slot against ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and CBS's Cold Case.
The sixth season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from October 20, 2004, to April 6, 2005, and consisted of 22 episodes.
The first season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 17, 2000, and consisted of 22 episodes.
The second season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from October 4, 2000 to May 16, 2001 and consisted of 22 episodes.
"17 People" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of American serial political drama The West Wing. The episode aired on April 4, 2001 on NBC. The episode depicts Josiah Bartlet, the President of the United States, informing his aide Toby Ziegler of startling news about the President's condition, as well as other members of the cast trying to rewrite a humorous speech the President is to give. The episode was generally praised for its intensity, as well as its complexity and stark contrast between plotlines.