Aaron Sorkin thinks about reviving The West Wing 'every day'

Aaron Sorkin thinks about bringing back The West Wing almost every day.

The creator told Entertainment Weekly there is "probably a couple of seconds every day" when a revival crosses his mind, in comments reported by Variety. He added it "would be fun" and said plainly: "I miss it."

It is not in the works. Sorkin said a return would be "very, very tricky to do in the current environment." No plan, platform or script has been announced.

The original remains a fan favourite. Created by Sorkin, the Emmy-winning drama aired on NBC from 1999 to 2006 and followed staff inside a fictional Democratic White House. Martin Sheen starred as President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet, with Allison Janney as press secretary C.J. Cregg.

Two former co-stars say they would return. Bradley Whitford and Dule Hill told Variety they would both be on board if Sorkin revived the series. Whitford raised the idea of a limited series revival, meaning a short run with a set ending rather than a full ongoing season.

Sorkin also gave a hint of how his fictional White House would meet real politics. He said he did not think Bartlet's reaction to current US politics would be dissimilar to most people's reactions.

Talk of a return is not new. Sorkin previously outlined an idea built around Sterling K. Brown as president, with no Donald Trump character and a story driven by an emergency jam situation, according to earlier reporting by Entertainment Weekly. Former co-star Richard Schiff has also said Sorkin liked his reboot pitch "a lot."

The cast has kept gathering. They reunited for a 2020 HBO Max special organised to help get out the vote ahead of that year's presidential election. They appeared together again at the 2024 Emmys and at the White House for the show's 25th anniversary.

For fans, this means waiting. Nothing is ordered. But the writer and key cast members are speaking openly about wanting to come back.

Sorkin, an Oscar-winning writer, is focused elsewhere for now. His film The Social Reckoning follows 2010's The Social Network, with Jeremy Strong playing Mark Zuckerberg. He discussed the film in a September interview with The New York Times Magazine and spoke about revisiting A Few Good Men on Broadway in an October interview with The Hollywood Reporter.