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August 27, 2004
'West Wing' preparing for a new prez
By Gary Levin
USA TODAY
Whatever the outcome of the November election, fictional White House resident Josiah Bartlet will move out on The West Wing this season. To refurbish the show — and stay true to term limits — a shakeup is planned.
With the (fictional) New Hampshire primary looming in January, "we're interested in how does the Bartlet administration deal with its last year, and how do people try to begin to position themselves for the future," says producer John Wells. Candidates include:
• Alan Vinick (Alan Alda), "a socially moderate and fiscally conservative Republican from California in the same political vein as Arnold Schwazenegger."
• Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smits, in his first TV series role since leaving NYPD Blue in 1998), "a three-term congressman from Houston who came up by the bootstraps out of the barrio and made something of himself."
• VP Bob Russell (Gary Cole), whose campaign will be managed by Will Bailey (Josh Malina).
Mary McCormack, who played a deputy national security adviser last spring, becomes a more permanent cast member. And Marley Shelton joins as a reporter-turned-deputy press secretary.
Wing continues to win Emmys, snagging 12 nominations this year, but the show's ratings have steadily dropped from an average 17.2 million viewers in 2001-02 to 11.8 million last season.
Producer John Wells disputes that the Republican White House — or creator Aaron Sorkin's departure — has damaged the liberal-leaning show. "I think it's more to do with going from a period which presents an idealistic White House that wasn't having to deal with issues of terrorism and war. The challenge now is to make it relevant without demeaning real events ... and not make political critiques about the current administration. ... That's a difficult balance to maintain."
Posted by Jo at August 27, 2004 06:36 PM