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October 17, 2004
Big changes await occupants of the "West Wing" White House
By Gail Pennington
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
John Wells talks a good "West Wing."
The executive producer, who took the helm - reluctantly, he says - when Aaron Sorkin departed a year-and-a-half ago, is shaping big changes for Season 6. But he vows that he will never alter its character just to woo back the elusive 18-49 demographic.
Those viewers, the ones prized by advertisers, had been trickling away for a while, but last season the trickle turned into a flash flood, with "The West Wing" losing 18 percent of its 18-49 audience and 13 percent of its total viewership. The exodus alarmed NBC but didn't surprise the show's most devoted fans, who were already complaining that the four-time Emmy winner had lost its way.
NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly acknowledged the problem in talking with TV critics in July.
"OK, 'The West Wing' was ratings challenged last year," he said. "John Wells isn't in denial about it. We're going to try to juice up the show creatively this year, and I'm excited about what I've heard."
But how exactly does one juice up a drama that once built a nifty plot around the franking privilege? Wells routinely juices up his long-running hit "ER" with action-movie tricks: a helicopter crash here, a catastrophically submerged car there. And last season on "The West Wing," he blew up a regular, Janel Moloney's Donna Moss (she survived), to illustrate strife in the Middle East.
This season, Wells will go further, blowing up the whole Bartlet administration - metaphorically, it's necessary to note. That means bringing in new characters with an eye to a future that might find the fictional White House West Wing in new hands.
That's also a trick borrowed from "ER," where Wells said he learned that long-running shows can be refreshed by cast changes.
In the case of "The West Wing," Wells has two more good reasons for shaking up his cast. In keeping the core players stable so long, "we've been a little unrealistic," he said, adding that pressure drives the average White House staffer out after just six months. At the same time, contracts for many cast members are running out after this year, so not all could be expected to stay on.
The season, then, will turn on change, as melodramatic promos for Wednesday's season premiere are already shouting.
"We're moving into what will be an electoral cycle," Wells said last week in a conference call that attracted so many writers, not everyone was able to get in a question.
Thus, the Bartlet administration will be entering its twilight, with the president (Martin Sheen) thinking about what he has (and hasn't) accomplished and contemplating his legacy. At the same time, the parallel-universe nation will prepare to choose a new president, and this season will follow several candidates through the primaries.
Gary Cole's Vice President Robert Russell, guided by ex-Bartlet speechwriter Will Bailey (Joshua Malina), is a leading contender. So are Jimmy Smits as Rep. Matt Santos, a Texas Democrat, and Alan Alda as Sen. Arnold Vinick, a California Republican.
Who will prevail? Wells and his team are still fighting that out.
"We're looking forward to exploring the issues and following the campaigns," he said. "We'll see where that leads us."
The campaigns also will take the show to a larger venue, he said, with several episodes in the new year leaving the White House entirely.
Other big changes will involve the main characters, and although Wells detailed them, he suggested letting viewers be surprised. Suffice it to say that Leo (John Spencer), CJ (Allison Janney), Josh (Bradley Whitford) and Donna are all affected in major ways.
Since he took over from the famously liberal Sorkin, Wells has tried to steer the show more toward the center because "most of us live in more of a middle ground," he said. He still wants "The West Wing" to stand "as an alternative to the existing political situation," rather than attempting to reflect it.
And, like Sorkin, who called his show "a valentine to public service," Wells believes the show's foundation is still good government, "without being Pollyannaish about the sausage making that is politics."
A weakness of the show last season?
"Not funny enough," Wells said, crediting Sorkin with a unique knack for maintaining a balance of comedy and drama. "The political climate hasn't felt very humorous" since 9/11, Wells acknowledged, but promised to "recommit ourselves to making sure the show is enjoyable and has the buoyancy" it once had.
The general plan is to elect the new president midway through next season. But if Sheen, whose contract is up after this year, won't extend it, the vote may take place this spring.
"We're in full denial" that Sheen may actually depart, Wells said, adding that he personally is deeply invested in the Bartlet character.
Although NBC has not officially picked up "The West Wing" beyond this season, Wells professes to have little doubt that the show will go on. "The West Wing" is still top-rated in upper-income households, he said, and is extremely popular with advertisers.
As for the 18-49 demographic, "It would be a mistake to try to bolster that audience in obvious ways" and possibly lose other loyal viewers, Wells said. "We will stay as true to what the show was (in the beginning) as we are capable of being."
For his part, "This is the most difficult thing I've ever tried to do," Wells said. "It's challenging and rewarding, but it's a lot of work."
He'll write about 10 episodes this season, but he has an eye on another scribe - one named Sorkin.
"I'm still deluding myself that I'm going to get him to write another one."
"The West Wing"
When: 8 p.m. Wednesdays beginning this week
Where: NBC (Channel 5)
Posted by Jo at October 17, 2004 05:52 AM