The West Wing is widely regarded as one of the best political dramas in history, but creator Aaron Sorkin says that if he made the series today, people wouldn’t recognize the “reasonable” Republican Party depicted in the show. Starring such Hollywood heavyweights as Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Stockard Channing, and John Spencer, The West Wing burst onto television screens in 1999, immediately captivating the nation with its tale of Democratic president Josiah Bartlet, and all the goings-on inside the White House. During the course of its seven-season run, The West Wing managed to amass an impressive 26 Primetime Emmy Awards, and received high praise from political pundits for its realism.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Sorkin was on hand at an event in L.A. to celebrate the release of the upcoming book What’s Next: A Backstage Pass to The West Wing, Its Cast and Crew, and Its Enduring Legacy of Service, and was asked by those on hand if he thinks that The West Wing would work in today’s political landscape. Sorkin replied that he thinks so, mainly because the series told “good stories,” something that’s at the heart of every successful TV show.

“Honestly, I think it would for roughly the same reason it worked when it did, which is that, first of all, it was a good show, just good stories well told by a great group of people.”

That being said, the 63-year-old filmmaker added that there’s one difference between then and now that he thinks people would find hard to believe: today’s Republican Party is a far cry from the “reasonable” one depicted on The West Wing, which managed to work with Bartlet and company on policy, rather than devolve into the name-calling, conspiracy-ridden group it’s become in recent years.

“This is simply what would be different. I’m afraid to say that right now — and maybe things will be different a year from now or two years from now, but right now — it would be implausible that the opposition party, that the Republican Party, was reasonable. People would watch that and it would be unfamiliar to them as the country that they live in. On the show, while the Republicans were the opposition, they were reasonable, the Republicans that they dealt with.”

Will There Ever Be a Reboot of The West Wing?

While the cast and crew of The West Wing gathered together for a 2020 special to benefit the nonprofit organization When We All Vote, it’s been speculated in recent months that we could see a full-on reboot of the show sooner rather than later. Back in January, stars Joshua Malina and Mary McCormack, who portrayed Will Bailey and Kate Harper respectively, began teasing on social media the possibility of its revival. However, Warner Bros. Television has stated that there are no definite plans in place to reboot the series, so it may have just been the actors having a bit of fun.

Related The West Wing Cast: Where They Are Today The West Wing is widely hailed as one of the best political shows ever made. Here’s a look at where the old cast are today.

For his part, Sorkin has somewhat backed Warner Bros. on this one, saying that he “still needs to have an idea” when it comes to a West Wing revival. Currently, he is still concocting a way to bring a live television movie of A Few Good Men to life based on the Broadway play he wrote in 1989, which was turned into a feature film in 1992 starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson. Given the political minefield these days, however, Sorkin’s comments are sure to raise a few eyebrows, which could lead the filmmaker to the idea he is searching for in order to bring The West Wing back to life.

All seven seasons of
The West Wing
are available to stream on Max.