Another election year, another West Wing cast reunion in the works

Every time the American political sphere starts getting, shall we say, upsetting, The West Wing rises in appeal yet again. We all want to live in a world where Washington D.C. looks more like Aaron Sorkin’s hit series and less like Veep, where the president is a benevolent and competent father figure like Martin Sheen. (Or just is Martin Sheen.) The cracks in Sorkin’s shiny idealism of American politics have long been evident, but The West Wing invokes a warm nostalgia for a country that never really existed. Which is why so many fans would like to see the series rebooted.

Those fans are in for… well… something. Mary McCormack, who played Deputy National Security Adviser Kate Harper in the fifth through seventh seasons of the show, posted to Twitter/X on Wednesday, “Calling all #wingnuts ! We have something very exciting in the works! We will be sharing it next week. Stay tuned for the big reveal Jan. 24th. Any guesses?” She tagged cast members Allison B. Janney, Dulé Hill, Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff, Joshua Malina, Melissa Fitzgerald, and Lawrence O’Donnell, as well as Hrishikesh Hirway, the producer of the podcast The West Wing Weekly.

Malina chimed in with the response, “Reeeeeboooooot!” He had teased something similar earlier this month, after it was mistakenly reported that Sheen was attending a fundraiser for the campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “I am relieved that Martin is not backing RFK Jr. as that would likely have affected the reboot negatively. Onward! News soon…” he wrote.

Much as Malina might insist he’s being serious, a full-on West Wing reboot seems unlikely (especially since a source for Deadline said there’s nothing in the works over at Warner Bros. Discovery). A better guess would be that the cast is reuniting again for another podcast, considering McCormack also tagged Hirway. The last episode of the podcast was in October 2020, a cast reunion special to benefit Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote initiative. Now that we’re approaching yet another presidential election, it seems more than likely that the “reboot” Malina refers to could be a reboot of the podcast, to once again encourage civic engagement in the American populace.

If you’re craving a true West Wing revival, you’re not alone. Former Doctor Who and Sherlock showrunner recently said a British version of the show “might be necessary,” citing the cynicism of the United Kingdom’s politicians (per Deadline). It’s not exactly President Bartlett and his senior staff, but maybe there’s still life for The West Wing somewhere out there.