West Wing, The

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

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About

From Wikipedia

The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast 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, the executive producer was Aaron Sorkin, who worked with Thomas Schlamme. After Sorkin left the program, he was replaced by John Wells.

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 27 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 Aaron 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.

Highlights

Allison Janney on the "walk and talks" on The West Wing

00:56

Richard Schiff on preparing for his role in The West Wing

01:35

Kathryn Joosten on her recurring role on The West Wing

01:08

Thomas Schlamme on casting The West Wing

05:06

John Amos on his character of "Percy Fitzwallace" on The West Wing

02:51

John Wells on pitching The West Wing to the network with Aaron Sorkin

01:59

Who talked about this show

John Amos

John Amos on his character of "Percy Fitzwallace" on The West Wing

02:51

John Amos on appearing as "Percy Fitzwallace" on The West Wing

02:09

John Amos on working with Martin Sheen on The West Wing

02:03

John Amos on working with John Spencer on The West Wing

04:18

John Amos on rehearsing for The West Wing

02:08

John Amos on the end of his character on The West Wing

01:24

John Amos on the legacy of The West Wing

01:02

John Aniston

John Aniston on appearing on The West Wing and Mad Men

00:44

Janet Ashikaga

Editor Janet Ashikaga on editing The West Wing and no longer being a sole editor

17:12

Editor Janet Ashikaga on editing The West Wing episode "Evidence of Things Not Seen"

00:46

Editor Janet Ashikaga on editing The West Wing episode "Twenty Five" - Aaron Sorkin's last episode

00:36

Editor Janet Ashikaga on editing The West Wing episode, "The Birnam Wood," in which John Spencer has a heart attack

02:21

Thomas Azzari

Thomas Azzari on turning down the opportunity to set design for The West Wing

00:56

Paris Barclay

Paris Barclay on directing episodes of The West Wing

01:13

Thomas Del Ruth

Thomas Del Ruth on how he became involved with Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing and on being hired by The West Wing director Thomas Schlamme

02:37

Thomas Del Ruth on developing the look of The West Wing

04:54

Thomas Del Ruth on a typical production week for The West Wing and on the arduous rehearsal process, colors, and location of the show

05:05

Thomas Del Ruth on how the set of The West Wing compared with the real-life Oval Office and the lighting of the show

02:07

Thomas Del Ruth on the logistics of shooting The West Wing and on his crew for the show

03:09

Thomas Del Ruth on the kinds of cameras that were used for The West Wing

01:33

Thomas Del Ruth on the on-location shooting of The West Wing

02:35

Thomas Del Ruth on working with Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme on The West Wing

01:30

Thomas Del Ruth on using light to identify characters on The West Wing

01:26

Thomas Del Ruth on winning Emmy Awards for The West Wing

02:46

Thomas Del Ruth on the biggest challenge of the cinematography of The West Wing

02:41

Thomas Del Ruth on the appeal of The West Wing and his contribution to the show

02:06

Lesli Linka Glatter

Lesli Linka Glatter on directing Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing

02:40

Lesli Linka Glatter on what she learned about being a producing director from Thomas Schlamme on The West Wing, and on the experience of directing the show

04:14

Lesli Linka Glatter on the production of a typical episode of The West Wing

04:13

Lesli Linka Glatter on John Wells taking over The West Wing from Aaron Sorkin at the start of season 5

03:09

Lesli Linka Glatter on directing memorable episodes of The West Wing

05:07

James Hong

James Hong on the difficulty in memorizing lines when he worked on The West Wing

01:24

Allison Janney

Allison Janney on the "walk and talks" on The West Wing

00:56

Allison Janney on auditioning for The West Wing

03:15

Allison Janney on her early days on The West Wing and the show taking off

02:41

Allison Janney on her knowledge of politics when cast on The West Wing

01:46

Allison Janney on getting invested in her West Wing character, "C.J. Cregg"

01:09

Allison Janney on her West Wing character, "C.J. Cregg", and what she brought to the role

03:53

Allison Janney on her West Wing character, "C.J. Cregg's" backstory and strengths

02:00

Allison Janney on working with The West Wing creator, Aaron Sorkin

03:20

Allison Janney on working with The West Wing director, Thomas Schlamme

01:07

Allison Janney on her co-stars on The West Wing

13:37

Allison Janney on how Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme's departures changed The West Wing

02:01

Allison Janney on specific episodes of The West Wing: "The Women of Qumar"

01:59

Allison Janney on specific episodes of The West Wing: "Posse Comitatus" (and episodes where "C.J." has a stalker)

02:16

Allison Janney on specific episodes of The West Wing: "The Long Goodbye"

00:53

Allison Janney on her character "C.J. Cregg's" priorities on The West Wing

02:45

Allison Janney on her favorite episodes and scenes on The West Wing

01:20

Allison Janney on how 9/11 was dealt with on The West Wing and where she was on 9/11

01:54

Allison Janney on the last season of The West Wing

00:40

Allison Janney on the last season of The West Wing

03:36

Allison Janney on the critical success of The West Wing

00:44

Allison Janney on her Emmy wins for The West Wing

Allison Janney on the "walk and talks" on The West Wing

00:56

Kathryn Joosten

Kathryn Joosten on her recurring role on The West Wing

01:08

Kathryn Joosten on the premise of The West Wing and her role as "Mrs. Landingham" on the show; on her favorite episodes and the legacy of the show

25:46

Ed O'Neill

Ed O'Neill on appearing in several episodes of The West Wing

00:41

Edward James Olmos

Edward James Olmos on playing "Judge Mendoza" on The West Wing and being cast in American Family

03:04

Lori Openden

Lori Openden on her involvement in casting The West Wing

03:11

Lyn Paolo

Lyn Paolo on how she was asked to be the costume designer on The West Wing by John Wells and Aaron Sorkin, and on working on the pilot for the show and knowing the first day on set that the show was "magical"

04:30

Lyn Paolo on her process and research designing costumes for The West Wing, and on visiting the White House during President Bill Clinton's administration; on Aaron Sorkin's input on the costuming and how it enriched her point of view, and on Thomas Schlamme's input on the costumes and wanting them to "set the tone" then disappear

02:43

Lyn Paolo on Aaron's Sorkin's vision for the costume design for The West Wing's "President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlett," played by Martin Sheen, and on how Sheen was not originally scripted to appear on the entire series

02:13

Lyn Paolo on designing costumes for The West Wing's for "C.J. Cregg," played by Allison Janney

02:24

Lyn Paolo on dressing Stockard Channing as "First Lady Abbey Bartlett" on The West Wing episode "The State Dinner," and on the controversy the dress invited

03:43

Lyn Paolo on reuniting with the cast and crew of The West Wing to work on a pre-election benefit special in 2020 "A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote" and how it came about

02:23

Lyn Paolo on the legacy and impact of The West Wing, and on how it opened doors for her career, particularly with producer/show creator Shonda Rhimes, who was a "Wing Nut" (what fans of the show are called)

03:00

Richard Schiff

Richard Schiff on preparing for his role in The West Wing

01:35

Richard Schiff on getting cast in The West Wing

12:56

Richard Schiff on his West Wing character "Toby Ziegler"

02:24

Richard Schiff on The West Wing's pilot episode

00:28

Richard Schiff on visiting the real Oval Office

04:05

Richard Schiff on his character "Toby Ziegler" from The West Wing

05:17

Richard Schiff on developing his character "Toby Ziegler" with Aaron Sorkin on The West Wing

08:04

Richard Schiff on public reaction to The West Wing

03:16

Richard Schiff on working with Thomas Schlamme on The West Wing

03:19

Richard Schiff on working with the cast of The West Wing

03:58

Richard Schiff on The West Wing episode "In Excelsis Deo"

06:57

Richard Schiff on his Emmy and The West Wing's various awards

03:53

Richard Schiff on The West Wing episode "Seventeen People"

02:14

Richard Schiff on his performance as "Toby Ziegler" on The West Wing

09:56

Richard Schiff on how his political beliefs affected his performance in The West Wing

02:44

Richard Schiff on how real life events affected The West Wing

02:17

Richard Schiff on how his character "Toby Ziegler" changed during the run of The West Wing

01:13

Richard Schiff on The West Wing's 9/11 episode "Issac and Ishmael"

03:58

Richard Schiff on The West Wing dealing with real life issues and stories

02:39

Richard Schiff on reaction to The West Wing from real life politicians

03:48

Richard Schiff on the cultural impact of The West Wing

01:58

Richard Schiff on directing The West Wing

07:25

Richard Schiff on appearing in a West Wing sketch on Saturday Night Live

01:06

Richard Schiff on the turn his character "Toby Ziegler" took toward the end of The West Wing

03:00

Richard Schiff on difficulties with his character in the later years of The West Wing

06:29

Richard Schiff on the legacy of The West Wing

01:16

Thomas Schlamme

Thomas Schlamme on casting The West Wing

05:06

Thomas Schlamme on the genesis of The West Wing

04:30

Thomas Schlamme on how visiting the White House informed his directing of The West Wing

02:43

Thomas Schlamme on the "Take the Sabbath Day" episode of The West Wing

03:10

Thomas Schlamme on the set of The West Wing

01:27

Thomas Schlamme on directing "walk and talk" shots on Aaron Sorkin's shows

03:29

Thomas Schlamme on shooting The West Wing in Washington, DC

03:19

Thomas Schlamme on his role in Aaron Sorkin's writing process on The West Wing

02:59

Thomas Schlamme on Aaron Sorkin's writing process on The West Wing

03:00

Thomas Schlamme on the cast of The West Wing

03:32

Thomas Schlamme on the end of The West Wing

02:35

Thomas Schlamme on the rise and fall of the ratings of The West Wing

03:30

Thomas Schlamme on The West Wing and 9/11

06:01

Thomas Schlamme on the legacy of The West Wing

01:36

Ellen M. Violett

Ellen M. Violett on what she likes about writing for television

05:26

W.G. Snuffy Walden

W.G. Snuffy Walden on composing the theme for The West Wing

02:02

W.G. Snuffy Walden on composing for The West Wing

09:09

W.G. Snuffy Walden on a demonstration of The West Win g theme; on working with a live orchestra

07:24

W.G. Snuffy Walden on his Emmy win for The West Win g

02:20

John Wells

John Wells on how he came to produce and write The West Wing

02:11

John Wells on pitching The West Wing to the network with Aaron Sorkin

01:59

John Wells on the initial audience for The West Wing and the early process of writing the show, including Aaron Sorkin rewriting every script

03:40

John Wells on Aaron Sorkin clashing with the network over The West Wing and Sorkin leaving the show

05:01

John Wells on producing and writing The West Wing after Aaron Sorkin's departure and dealing with the death of John Spencer who had played "Leo McGarry" on the show

02:27

John Wells on continuing The West Wing after "Jed Bartlett's" presidency

04:14

John Wells on working with Martin Sheen as "Jed Bartlett" on The West Wing

01:59

John Wells on the series finale of The West Wing and Aaron Sorkin's participation

02:26

Jeff Zucker

Jeff Zucker on his admiration for The West Wing and its success

00:47