When Good Shows Go Bad: The West Wing

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NBC was once a juggernaut, and while it's kind of regained some of its former glory with solid shots on the key 18-49 year old demographic, FOX is doing quite well in that area as well while CBS remains the king in total viewers. While the departure of Seinfeld NBC had lost a major cash cow. Though Frasier, ER and Friends were pulling their weight (being some of the top-rated shows on television), there was yet another feather in NBC's already-crowded cap... Come with we now as we examine what is justifiably called Aaron Sorkin's most notable TV series as Sorkin Month marches on...

The History

In 1997, two years after The American President had become a solid cinematic hit, Aaron Sorkin pitched a television series based around the White House to producer John Wells (ER, Shameless). While the real-world issues with the Monica Lewinsky scandal initially hindered production of such a show (not that it stopped The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer), NBC eventually picked it up. The program went through a few revamps before becoming The West Wing, which debuted in September of 1999 and ended in May of 2006. While in its first season The West Wing struggled ratings-wise it became a hit in the following seasons, hitting over seventeen million viewers at its peak, the show also remaining on Wednesday nights for all but its final season. The West Wing is also one of the most decorated programs of all time Emmy-wise, with nine acting award wins by main cast members alone and a total of twenty-five Emmy awards being won.

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