President Barlet and his staff are back for a reunion special, and I could not be more excited. The special, A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote is the first time in 17 years, the original cast reunites with the creator and executive producer Aaron Sorkin for a theatrical stage performance of the episode “Hartsfield’s Landing” from season three of the series.
The original cast, which includes Martin Sheen (President Barlet), Allison Janney (C.J. Cregg), Rob Lowe (Sam Seaborne), Dulé Hill (Charlie Young), Richard Schiff (Toby Ziegler), Bradley Whitford (Josh Lyman), and Janel Moloney (Donna Moss), will all reprise their roles for the special, to raise awareness about voting in the upcoming general election. The special will also have guest appearances from Michelle Obama, President Bill Clinton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Elisabeth Moss, Samuel L. Jackson, and Sterling K. Brown. The special, filmed over a couple of days at the beginning of October inside the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California, followed all COVID-19 safe protocols.
In the trailer, we see President Barlet (played by Martin Sheen) start us off by asking, “What’d I miss?” A lot Mr.President. We also see the same scenes from the episode re-created beautifully on stage, emphasizing how important it is for us to vote. In the clip, we see Sterling K. Brown sign on for the special in replacing the late John Spencer character Leo McGarry. Spencer died of a heart attack in December 2005.
From 1999 – 2006, on Wednesday nights at 9 PM, The West Wing took viewers inside the west wing of the white house, the oval office, and senior staff offices’ location for the fictional Democratic administration of Josiah Bartlet. You can watch The West Wing reunion titled “A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote” beginning Thursday, October 15, 2020, on HBO Max’s streaming service (subscription required). You can binge all seven seasons on Netflix before watching the special for those who haven’t seen the series during its original run. For those who have seen it before, you can catch reruns of popular episodes every Friday morning on TNT until the general election.
After watching the trailer, I am so ready for the special as this reunion is overdue. Will you be watching The West Wing special? Let me know on socials @MikeStarkCA on Instagram and Twitter.
Written By: Mike Stark
First Photo Source: Screenshot of President Bartlet from A West Wing Special When We All Vote Trailer on YouTube.