Netflix adds all nine seasons of West Wing as showrunner teases return
Netflix has added the entirety of a critically acclaimed drama series to its catalogue.
Political drama The West Wing won a whopping 26 Emmy awards across its seven season run.
Airing on NBC between 1999 and 2006, it follows the inner workings of the fictional administration of US President Jed Bartlet, a Nobel Prize–winning economist and Democrat.
Martin Sheen leads the cast as Bartlet, while Allison Janney, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff and Rob Lowe also star.
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The popular drama, which earned a near-perfect 95 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, is now set to join Netflix.
Over the years, The West Wing has bounced between the world's largest streamer and HBO Max - which is set to be acquired by Netflix as part of a huge deal.
It moved from Netflix to Max in 2020 before being temporarily removed late last December as part of cost-cutting measures.
It returned to the platform shortly after.
Now, from Tuesday (December 9), all nine seasons will be available to stream on Netflix.
It comes as reports suggest The West Wing showrunner John Wells has struck a new deal with the world's largest streamer.
It's not to revive the beloved 00s political drama, unfortunately.
But it's been touted as the show's 'perfect replacement' by The Direct, who have cited Wells' work on other smash hit dramas including Shameless and ER.
For Netflix, he produced Margaret Qualley's The Maid, which topped the trending charts and racked up more than 162 million views.
The new series will reportedly see Wells team up with Phoebe Fisher, co-creator of Prime Video's Cruel Intentions adaptation, for a return to Washington DC.
As reported by Deadline, the series is called The Aisle and is currently in development at Netflix.
Giving the theme a modern update, the show will follow young, ambitious staffers working for a newly appointed US senator.
It will capture the themes The West Wing was known and loved for, including 'sexy, high-stakes chaos' of workers' personal lives, navigating the high pressures of the job and the politicians' integrity (or lack thereof).
No further details have been released, so we're not sure when the show is set to wrap filming or air, or who has been cast.
Netflix declined to comment on reports of The Aisle, Deadline reports.
In the meantime, subscribers can binge all nine seasons.
It will take roughly 154 hours to watch the entire thing - which is about 6.4 days of continuous viewing.
Critics previously hailed The West Wing 'among the best hours of drama that this or any other weekly series has produced'.
The West Wing is streaming on Netflix from December 9.
Topics: Netflix, Streaming, Film and TV, Nostalgia
Ellie Kemp