May 01, 2003
Aaron, Brrrr!
Aaron Sorkin leaves ''The West Wing.'' The creator of NBC's presidential drama is out after four award-winning years
by Lynette Rice
Entertainment Weekly
Administration change on ''The West Wing''! After a tumultuous season of disappointing ratings and cool critical reception, Aaron Sorkin has decided to leave the Emmy-winning drama he created for NBC. ''I had the best job in show business for four years and I'll never forget that,'' Sorkin said in a statement. ''I'm indebted to a cast, crew and staff whose world-class talents were exceeded only by their tireless dedication to the show and endless generosity of spirit.''
Tommy Schlamme, the drama's key director who served as an executive producer, will also leave. TV Über-producer John Wells -- who already holds an executive producer credit on ''Wing'' -- is expected to take over for Sorkin as the drama's full-time showrunner next season.
The stunning announcement comes after months of speculation over whether NBC and Warner Bros. TV were preparing to replace Sorkin. Entertainment Weekly reported in April that the studio had, in fact, put Sorkin on notice that it would no longer tolerate huge cost overruns on the show (due in part to his habit of delivering scripts late). The series also suffered a 20 percent drop in viewers this season as it scrambled for valuable young adult viewers against formidable competition like ABC's ''The Bachelor'' franchise.
Publicly, at least, the network had nothing but kind words for the departing duo. ''Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme have done an extraordinary job in their four years at the helm of 'The West Wing,''' said NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker. ''Aaron's brilliant writing and Tommy's gifted direction and leadership have been the cornerstones of ''The West Wing'''s remarkable critical and ratings success.''
Under Sorkin and Schlamme, ''Wing'' broke all records for Emmy wins, including back-to-back-to-back trophies for Best Drama. After its second season, ''Wing'' joined ''The Sopranos'' and ''Northern Exposure'' as one of only three TV series in history to win the Peabody Award twice. Sorkin also received an Emmy, the Writers Guild award, and two Humanitas prizes for his writing on ''Wing.''
It’s too early to know who will replace the prolific Sorkin as the primary writer for the series, but it's rumored that producers are looking for Republican scribes. Meanwhile, there has been some speculation about whether NBC may pull ''Wing'' out of the war zone at 9 p.m. Wednesdays and give it a more protected slot on Sundays -- possibly at 9 or 10 p.m. NBC will announce its new fall schedule May 12 in New York. As for Sorkin's next move, one option would be to create a new series for Warner Bros. TV, where he’s under contract for another year.
(Posted:05/01/03)
