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The West Wing reunion: Aaron Sorkin and cast to regroup for first time in 17 years to urge Americans to vote

Rob Lowe, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford and Martin Sheen will reprise their roles

Clémence Michallon
New York City
Tuesday 25 August 2020 16:48 BST
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A West Wing reunion is planned by HBO Max, as part of a campaign designed to get Americans to vote.

Aaron Sorkin and the cast will reunite for the first time 17 years for the special, set to air in the fall.

Rob Lowe, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford and Martin Sheen will all feature.

The stars will perform a theatrical stage presentation of the season three episode “Hartsfield’s Landing”, which first aired in 2002.

In the episode, Whitford’s Josh “is nervous about the 42 votes in a remote New Hampshire town’s election, which are counted immediately and always predict the winner of that state’s primary”, HBO Max wrote in a summary.

The cast of ‘The West Wing’: from left to right, Richard Schiff, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Moira Kelly, and John Spencer.
The cast of ‘The West Wing’: from left to right, Richard Schiff, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Moira Kelly, and John Spencer. (Getty Images/Paul Drinkwater NBC)

The reunion will benefit When We All Vote, a non-profit organisation co-chaired by Michelle Obama, Tom Hanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monae, and more, which aims to mobilise American voters.

WarnerMedia has pledged to donate to When We All Vote “in honour of the special”.

Sorkin said he and executive producer/director Thomas Schlamme are “incredibly excited to be getting The West Wing cast back together for this staged reading and to support When We All Vote in their efforts to get all of us involved in this election”.

The special is scheduled to shoot over the course of several days in early October, at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.

Obama and others will provide guest appearances.

The West Wing aired for seven seasons between 1999 and 2006. The political drama has earned multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, and Peabody Awards among other accolades.

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