The West Wing - Development

Development

The series developed following the success of 1995 theatrical film The American President, for which Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay, and in which Martin Sheen played the White House Chief of Staff. Unused plot elements from the film and a suggestion from Akiva Goldsman inspired Sorkin to create The West Wing.

According to the DVD commentary, Sorkin intended to center the show on Sam Seaborn and the other senior staff with the president in an unseen or a secondary role. However, Bartlet's screen time gradually increased, and his role expanded as the series progressed. Positive critical and public reaction to Sheen's performance raised his character's profile, decreasing Lowe's perceived significance. In addition, according to Sorkin, the storylines began to focus less on Sam and more on Josh Lyman, the Deputy Chief of Staff. This shift is one of the reasons for Lowe's eventual departure from the show in the fourth season. For the first four seasons, drawing on research materials, scene drafts, and occasionally entire draft scripts from his writing staff, Sorkin wrote almost every episode of the series, occasionally reusing plot elements, episode titles, character names, and actors from his previous work, Sports Night, a sitcom in which he began to develop his signature dialogue style of rhythmic, snappy, and intellectual banter. Fellow executive producer and director Thomas Schlamme championed the walk and talk, a continuous shot tracking in front of the characters as they walk from one place to another that became part of The West Wing's signature visual style. Sorkin's hectic writing schedule often led to cost overruns and schedule slips, and he opted to leave the show after the fourth season, following increasing personal problems, including an arrest for possession of "what were believed to be hallucinogenic mushrooms." Thomas Schlamme also left the show after the fourth season. John Wells, the remaining executive producer, took the helm after their departure.

The West Wing aired on Wednesday nights from its debut until the end of its sixth season, not moving from its 9:00 p.m. time slot in any of those seasons. NBC elected to move the series to Sunday nights for its seventh season, a move universally regarded as the beginning of the series' end (since NBC and the NFL had reached a deal for Sunday Night Football to return to the network in fall 2006), and the series finale did air on May 14, 2006. The West Wing took a large ratings hit with the move, which put it up against ABC's Top 20 hit Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and CBS' Top 30 hit Cold Case in its timeslot.