Aaron Sorkin was open to the idea of a reboot of "The West Wing" after celebrating the series' 25th anniversary at the White House.
Speaking to Variety after the commemorative visit, the showrunner said that he “just got a couple of ideas for episodes" while walking around the setting for his seven-season drama. Sorkin, along with cast members like Martin Sheen and Dulé Hill, was given a personal tour of the White House by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.
While the stroll got the juices flowing, Sorkin did have his doubts that such an "idealistic" show would work in 2024.
"It does need to feel like it’s taking place in the world that we live in for it to work,” he said.
In addition to concerns that any new lead would pale in comparison to Sheen's portrayal of President Jed Bartlet, Sorkin also worried that, if Donald Trump were to win re-election, a potential reboot would feel like a response to the nightly news.
"[A Trump term] would certainly present incentives to do it, but also headaches,” he told the outlet. “The worry would be that everything we did on the show would be seen as a rebuttal to the world of Donald Trump.”
