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August 27, 2004
Actor Jimmy Smits to Join 'West Wing'
Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Jimmy Smits, best known for his turns as a lawyer on "L.A. Law" and a cop on "NYPD Blue," will join the cast of "The West Wing" as a Houston congressman with presidential aspirations, NBC said on Friday.
"West Wing," entering its sixth season, has won four consecutive Emmy Awards -- U.S. television's highest honors -- for best drama and is currently nominated for a fifth.
However, the show's ratings have fallen in recent seasons, and NBC executives told TV critics at their annual tour earlier this summer they would shake the show up in its new season.
The fictional president on the show, Josiah Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen, is well into his second term, and the Hollywood showbiz papers have suggested that Smits may be a potential replacement in that role.
NBC is a unit of the NBC Universal division of General Electric Co.
Posted by Jo at August 27, 2004 06:37 PM