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LOS ANGELES - Aaron Sorkin, creator of the Emmy-winning White House drama "The West Wing," is leaving the series after this season, he said Thursday.
Sorkin, who was involved in writing most of the scripts for the NBC series, also served as executive producer. Thomas Schlamme, another executive producer and the principal director, also is leaving.
The show will continue with John Wells, the series' other executive producer, in charge. Wells also produces NBC's "ER" and "Third Watch."
There had been reports of tension between Sorkin and the studio that produces the show, Warner Bros. Television. He reportedly had been cautioned about budgets and production delays.
"This has been the experience of any writer's dreams," Sorkin said in a statement. "I had the best job in show business for four years and I'll never forget that."
Schlamme and Sorkin said they will pursue other film, television and theater projects. They will remain "the two biggest fans of 'The West Wing,' " according to their statement.
Their work was lauded by the studio and NBC.
"Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme have done an extraordinary job in their four years at the helm of 'The West Wing,' " said NBC entertainment chief Jeff Zucker and Warner Bros. Television President Peter Roth.
"The West Wing" won its third consecutive best drama trophy at last year's Emmy Awards. Sorkin has won an Emmy for writing for the series, while Schlamme has won two Emmys for directing.
The drama, which last season was the 10th-ranked prime time program, has fallen in the ratings and is No. 23 as the current season nears its end. Competition from ABC's reality series "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" helped siphon off viewers, especially the younger ones favored by advertisers.
In an odd bit of timing, the departures of Sorkin and Schlamme were not the only ones announced this week for "The West Wing." On the episode that aired Wednesday, the vice president (Tim Matheson) decided to resign after it was revealed he had leaked classified information to a lover.
Sorkin, 41, went through difficult personal times during his work on "The West Wing," which stars Martin Sheen as fictional President Josiah Bartlet. In 2001, Sorkin was arrested for possession of cocaine and hallucinogenic mushrooms and ordered to enter a drug treatment program. The charges were dismissed after he completed the program.
Wells, whose production company, John Wells Productions, co-produces "The West Wing" with Warner Bros. Television, has been asked by Warner to take a "more active role" next season, the studio said.
"Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme are irreplaceable," Wells said in a statement. "... They will be sorely missed."
A team of writers, directors and producers has been assembled to help in the transition, he said.
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"If Chuck is Solo, Larkin is his Fett!" - Morgan
Originally posted by Chandler Mike I love the Danny character, and I was so pumped when they brought him back last year. He's great, adds a very cool side story to any show.
I also liked Mathew Perry last season, but there is no way he'd stay of course.
I really liked the way Goodman stood up for the assassination of that guy...was pretty big of the Republicans not to take advantage of their position.
It's a good show, I hope the Zoe thing ends next week.
Mike
Perry was excellent and I thought maybe they were paving the way for him to make to move to WW after Friends. I also wished the John Laroquette character from a season ago or so had been more regular...he was Chief Counsel...Ainsley Hayes worked for him when she first landed the job.
I agree with your earlier thought that there was a real sense Sorkin wasn't writing anymore. I noticed the change at the end of last year a little but it was a bit more pronounced Wednesday.
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Dream like you'll live forever, live like you will die today. -James Dean
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - It's shaping up as the biggest political battle ever portrayed on a U.S. television series, but the executive producer of "The West Wing" swears he has no idea whether a Democrat or Republican will be elected the show's next president.
John Wells insists that real-life politics has little bearing on the outcome of the fictional White House race now unfolding on the Emmy-winning NBC series between candidates played by former "M*A*S*H" star Alan Alda (the Republican) and "NYPD Blue" veteran Jimmy Smits (the Democrat).
Instead, Wells says the show's next occupant of the Oval Office, succeeding current star Martin Sheen, will be determined by which character the writers ultimately feel is the "most compelling" to the audience.
"I don't know yet," Wells told a recent gathering of TV critics. "We actually watch what's happening between the cast members, the issues that are being presented ... and try and follow what makes the most story sense, what's giving you the greatest amount of drama."
The show, now in its sixth year as President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet (Sheen) nears the end of his second term, is building to a season-ending climax with back-to-back episodes depicting the Republican and Democratic national conventions.
Producers plan to return in the fall with the election, followed by the inauguration of a new president -- Smits or Alda -- next winter. Sheen will stay on into next season, but his profile will diminish as Bartlet returns to private life.
NUANCED CHARACTERS
"We're hoping that by the time we get into the fall, that there will be a real question in the viewer's mind as to who would make the better president," Wells said. "They both have their strengths and weaknesses."
Indeed, neither Smits' nor Alda's character is a party ideologue. Both depict candidates who are politically moderate and disarmingly likable -- far more nuanced than the Republican challenger played by James Brolin, who was defeated by Bartlet's re-election in the show's fourth season.
Smits portrays a young congressman from Houston, Matthew Santos, who is reluctantly recruited to run by Bartlet loyalist Josh Lyman. Alda plays veteran California Sen. Arnold Vinick, who throws his hat into the ring after his wife dies.
Both characters are endowed with a manifest integrity and thoughtfulness widely seen as rare inside the Beltway -- on either side of the aisle -- in keeping with "The West Wing's" enduring appeal as a show about wish fulfillment.
The show hit the peak of its popularity in its third season, ranking No. 9 among all prime-time series with 17 million viewers a week. It currently averages 11.8 million viewers, dropping to 33rd. But it remains a marquee element on NBC's lineup, having won the Emmy as best drama four years in a row and boasting the highest concentration of upscale viewers in all of TV, a key selling point with advertisers.
Wells said viewers should not assume that the Democratic affiliation of the show's current administration -- and all of its central characters -- has preordained a victory for Smits. Nor should they think that the current conservative climate in Washington necessarily spells a TV mandate for Alda.
EVEN-HANDED DRAMA
He noted that while Republicans now control the White House and both houses of Congress, public opinion polls show Americans "are mostly in the middle" on key issues that divide the two major parties.
Likewise, Wells dismissed what he called misconception about the show -- that its audience is overwhelmingly Democratic and agrees with Bartlet's politics.
"That's actually not true, and I can prove it by our mail bag ever week," he said. "We have a very, very large Republican audience that loves to watch the show and throw things at the screen."
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"If Chuck is Solo, Larkin is his Fett!" - Morgan
Is anybody watching this season?
I really enjoy the way they are playing out the election campaigns, very good television.
Next week the two candidates, Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits will debate live, twice, once for east coast feeds and once for west coast feeds.
Should be interesting TV.
Tetris Champion!
Linear Mode
