Happy Birthday to The West Wing

On September 22nd, 1999, the Pilot of The West Wing aired. The Pilot is witty and amazingly written, a great start to the show. The West Wing was groundbreaking, as at the time, shows weren’t made about politics. The Pilot also had an amazing cast, which was only made better by the introduction a couple of episodes later of Dule Hill, playing Charlie Young.

The West Wing, although created 23 years ago, is often relevant today, as I point out almost every week. This makes the show not only a great learning tool for people, such as teens, who may not know much about how government works, but it also serves as an inspiration to people. (For example, in the musical Hamilton, Lin Manuel Miranda, a West Wing fan, draws multiple times from the show.)

As I’ve mentioned, I believe The West Wing is the best television show ever. The West Wing has even been so inspiring to me that I chose for my Quinceañera to make my Waltz to the West Wing theme song! On another personal note, my parents, when they were dating before I was born, scheduled their date nights to be every Wednesday so that they could watch The West Wing. The show kept them coming back every week, making the show possibly one of the reasons that I am even here.

Not only does the show have an amazing plot and wit, but it teaches about important things that go on in our world. The West Wing also has many plot points that spur the audience to think about similar things that are happening in the real world. This is especially important to younger generations who are new to these complex concepts and makes it an amazing way to gain understanding, something that is hard to do in an age where it is easy to get news from headlines without learning what brought those headlines into existence. To anyone who has not yet started to watch The West Wing, I highly recommend that you start. You can watch it on HBO Max, and if you want to learn more about the show, you can listen to the podcast The West Wing Weekly.

Given that today is 23 years from when the Pilot aired, I would like to wish The West Wing, the best show ever, a Happy Birthday. Thank you to Aaron Sorkin, John Wells, the cast members, and all the others who made this wonderful show possible! You inspire me to ask the World, and myself, “What’s Next?”