Hunter Ingram Please read this as the compliment with which it is written: American politics have never felt cozier than in the halls of NBC’s “The West Wing.” Whereas most Americans today are rightfully cold and jaded about the democratic process, on Sept.
22, 1999, when Aaron Sorkin premiered his fast-talking take on the inner workings of the White House, there was a genuine curiosity about how government worked.
For a moment in time, Americans were getting weekly –– often far-fetched, but better than nothing –– lessons in politics and history from the administration of President Jed Bartlet (a never-better Martin Sheen). “The West Wing” was the ideal TV show for adults who spent their childhood watching the “Schoolhouse Rock” segment “I’m Just a Bill” on repeat: It was a cultural phenomenon that made it cool to care about government, thanks to a likable cast of characters and a healthy dose of elegantly rendered soapy drama.
Over the years, the series has been praised as a prime example of broadcast TV at its best, and won four consecutive drama series Emmys.
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