Aaron Sorkin says he thinks about reviving The West Wing every day
Aaron Sorkin’s recent confession settles the will-it-or-won’t-it around The West Wing—now the only question is which way the answer breaks.
Asked point-blank about dusting off his Oval Office drama, creator Aaron Sorkin didn’t play coy. He told Entertainment Weekly the idea pops into his head daily, even as he admits pulling it off in today’s climate would be a high‑wire act. And despite the complications, he still feels the pull of his old workplace melodrama.
“There’s probably a couple of seconds every day when I think about it,” Sorkin said. “I miss it.”
Pressed on how President Josiah “Jed Bartlet” — played by Martin Sheen — might navigate the current political moment, Sorkin held back. He said he’d need time before putting words back in Bartlet’s mouth and suggested the character’s reaction wouldn’t be much different from how most people are feeling right now.
Who would come back
Two key alumni have already raised their hands. In a recent Variety interview, Bradley Whitford and Dulé Hill said they’d jump at a return if Sorkin called. Whitford even floated a limited‑series format as a smart way to do it, while Hill said that if Sorkin writes it, the cast would answer — framing a potential reunion as a chance to nudge the culture toward empathy, connection and understanding.
For anyone who hasn’t revisited the halls of power lately, The West Wing ran on NBC from 1999 to 2006, spanning seven seasons of rapid‑fire walk‑and‑talks, policy duels and late‑night strategy sessions that helped define prestige network TV.
As of now, there’s no plan on the books — no revival has been announced.