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A nostalgia-packed Emmys reunited cast members from one of the most beloved TV dramas of all time, The West Wing. On stage to present one of the final awards of the evening, several of the show’s cast members reflected on its influence, and what’s changed in the 25 years since it debuted. Turns out it’s quite a lot.
Janel Moloney remarked that “our political landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years,” Allison Janney joked about West Wing writers having to actually “use their imaginations to create interesting plot lines” for the show’s political operators, and Richard Schiff argued that today’s headlines would have been seen as “far-fetched” and “ridiculous” on their series that celebrated civic duty, workplace camaraderie, and political idealism.
Such earnestness came to be a hallmark of Aaron Sorkin’s much-heralded D.C. drama that premiered 25 years ago this week on NBC. To say the series had an impactful run when it aired would be putting it mildly. It won 26 Emmys and frequently appears high up in rankings of the greatest television series of all time. On Friday, members of the cast will reunite once more at a White House event hosted by first lady Jill Biden.
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