Line #56 Trivia/TheWestWing


1	* BillingDisplacement: Cast members are always placed in alphabetical order in the opening credits, regardless of when they joined the main cast, with the exceptions of Rob Lowe going first (seasons 1-4), Moira Kelly going second (season 1), Martin Sheen going last with an "and" credit, and Jimmy Smits going second to last with a "with" credit (seasons 6-7). This means that John Spencer, Richard Schiff, and Bradley Whitford, three of the most central actors on the show, are always billed last. This was especially prevalent in the final season, where Whitford's Josh Lyman was arguably the main character. The likes of Alan Alda, Kristin Chenoweth, Mary [=McCormack=], and Joshua Malina, all of whom joined the main cast in the second half of the show, are all billed before Whitford (and Schiff and Spencer).
2	* ButIPlayOneOnTV: After the first season, people around Hollywood started treating Creator/MartinSheen like he was the President for real.
3	* CastTheExpert: Every person in uniform during the funeral in "[[{{Recap/TheWestWingS01E10InExcelsisDeo}} In Excelsis Deo]]" is an actual member of the United States Armed Forces, performing their roles exactly as they would during a genuine military funeral.
4	** Yo-Yo Ma appears as himself in the second season episode "[[{{Recap/TheWestWingS02E10Noel}} Noël]]" , performing Bach at a White House event. According to episode director Thomas Schlamme, instead of miming the motions of the song to recorded music, he actually played the song for each take.
5	* CastTheRunnerUp:
6	** Creator/AlanAlda was considered for the President. He eventually joined the series Oval Office candidate Arnold Vinick.
7	** Creator/KristinChenoweth (Annabeth Schott) was originally approached to play Ainsley Hayes but could not commit to a regular role on a television series due to ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''.
8	** Creator/BradleyWhitford was originally cast as Sam Seaborn, even though Creator/AaronSorkin had created the Josh Lyman character specifically for him.
9	** Creator/JanelMoloney originally auditioned for the part of CJ Cregg before being cast as Donna Moss.
10	* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: Creator/JohnSpencer's death from a heart attack was written into the show. Several episodes where he was still alive aired after Creator/MartinSheen's tribute to him before one episode, and the in-universe death occurs on "Election Night".
11	* CreatorBacklash:
12	** Creator/RobLowe has consistently lashed out against the powers that be over Sam Seaborne's diminishing role as well as constant refusal, on Creator/WarnerBros' part, to renegotiate his salary even though everyone else on the cast received significant raises. These are what led to his early exit from the series.
13	** Creator/RichardSchiff hated his storyline in Season 7,[[note]]He was convinced to stay by being paid for the entire season despite only appearing in about half the episodes.[[/note]] and it was many years before he started appearing in TV roles again, not wanting to risk again spending years crafting a character only to be forced by the writing to betray him.
14	* TheDanza:
15	** Creator/ConnieBritton as Connie Tate during the re-election cycle.
16	** Creator/OliverPlatt as Oliver Babish.
17	* {{Defictionalization}}:
18	** The White House introduced a real-life (virtual) [[http://popwatch.ew.com/2015/01/16/the-west-wing-reunion-big-block-of-cheese-day/ Big Block of Cheese Day]] in 2014.
19	** In 2006, the British parliament enacted the stunt depicted in "[[{{Recap/TheWestWingS06E17AGoodDay}} A Good Day]]" (2005), an event now known in Parliamentary history as "The ''West Wing'' Plot".
20	* DiedDuringProduction: Creator/JohnSpencer passed away roughly halfway through the final season. The remaining episodes, which were produced after his death, continued to include him in the opening credits as a tribute.
21	* DirectedByCastMember: Richard Schiff directed two episodes in the later seasons ("Talking Points" from season 5 and "A Good Day" from season 6). Tim Matheson, who played John Hoynes, directed the seventh season episode "The Last Hurrah".
22	* DisabledCharacterDisabledActor: Creator/MarleeMatlin (Joey Lucas) is deaf in real life.
23	* ExecutiveMeddling: Creator/AaronSorkin wanted to get Josh and Donna together. He kept being told "Wait another season!" The chemistry was apparent from the pilot and didn't get fulfilled until the last season.
24	* FlipFlopOfGod: Regarding the series finale. Lawrence O'Donnell said that [[spoiler:the original plan was to have Vinick win, but after John Spencer's death they changed it to Santos to make it easier on the audience]]. John Wells, however, says this wasn't the case.
25	* HideYourPregnancy:
26	** Creator/MaryLouiseParker was pregnant during season five which resulted in a lot of loose jackets, conveniently placed folders and close-ups on her face as she sat behind a desk.
27	** Creator/MaryMcCormack was pregnant when she joined the show so most of her early episodes see her conveniently standing behind parts of the set that hide her belly.
28	** {{Averted\|Trope}} when Creator/MarleeMatlin and [=NiCole=] Robinson both got pregnant in the later seasons. Since Joey Lucas and Margaret were minor characters they were both established as being pregnant when their actresses were.
29	* LifeImitatesArt:
30	** The presidential election in the last season has been noted for its uncanny resemblance to the real-life 2008 presidential election. The mind-blowing thing is that the presidential election in the ''West Wing'' universe takes place in 2006... ''two years'' before the real life one, and when there was no guarantee that either UsefulNotes/BarackObama or UsefulNotes/JohnMcCain would win their respective nominations (The front-runners in 2008 were UsefulNotes/HillaryRodhamClinton and UsefulNotes/MittRomney).
31	*** The election sees Matthew Santos being elected as POTUS, Santos's character was based on Barack Obama after the show's creators met him while still an Illinois state senator. The real life "Josh" (Rahm Emmanuel) also took over as Chief of Staff.
32	*** Santos' Republican opponent Arnold Vinick was loosely based on John [=McCain=] - Southwestern Senator with bipartisan appeal.
33	*** In "[[{{Recap/TheWestWingS07E15WelcomeToWhereverYouAre}} Welcome to Wherever You Are]]", there's a brief scene where we overhear a Vinick ad using the slogan "Yes, America Can", which the Santos campaign complains was actually their slogan. Obama's slogan, of course, ended up being "Yes We Can".
34	*** After Santos wins the election, he offers Vinick the position of Secretary Of State. While it doesn't go across-the-aisle as it does in the show, in real life, President-Elect Obama offers the job of Secretary of State to his primary rival in the 2008 election, former first lady Hillary Clinton.
35	*** On a related note, Vice President John Hoynes almost seems like a uncanny {{Expy}} of real-life senator, 2004 vice-presidential nominee, and 2008 presidential candidate John Edwards... except most of the things that create the similarity to Edwards happened after the show aired. Both men were forced to endure a failed Presidential campaign and a career-destroying sex scandal hinging around infidelity.
36	* MoneyDearBoy: Richard Schiff hated Toby's storyline in the seventh season and only stayed on the show because he was paid a full season's worth for what was a handful of appearances.
37	* TheOtherDarrin: Creator/SterlingKBrown replaces Creator/JohnSpencer as [=Leo McGarry=] in the 2020 HBO Max special after the latter passed away in the final season of the original series.
38	* ProductionPosse: Creator/BradleyWhitford, Creator/JoshuaMalina, Creator/TimothyBusfield, and Creator/ClarkGregg had been part of Creator/AaronSorkin's stable of actors going all the way back to the original staging of ''Theatre/AFewGoodMen''.
39	* RealitySubtext:
40	** Bruno Gianelli first appeared as the campaign manager of Bartlet's 2002 bid for reelection, and later reappears as Eric Baker's campaign manager for the 2006 Democratic primary, only to become an independent consultant to Republican nominee Arnold Vinick after Baker withdraws from the race. This was based on his actor Ron Silver having switched parties from Democrat to Republican between his character's appearances on the show.
41	** Creator/JimmySmits (Matt Santos) was arrested in 2001 for his participation in protests against U.S. Navy bombing practices on the Puerto Rican offshore island of Vieques, which is exactly what happened to Josh's friend Billy Molina in an early episode. Additionally, Smits, like Santos, is a firm believer in education as the great equalizer and has done lots of nonprofit work to promote that goal.
42	** Bartlet's struggles with multiple sclerosis mirror late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone's affliction with the same disease.
43	* RealLifeRelative:
44	** Creator/MartinSheen's son Creator/EmilioEstevez played the younger Bartlet in "[[{{Recap/TheWestWingS04E23TwentyFive}} Twenty-Five]]".
45	** Sheen's daughter Renée Estevez had a recurring role as Nancy, one of Bartlet's secretaries. Subtly lampshaded in the series finale when Bartlet stops to speak to Nancy and mentions that he's looking forward to seeing her mother once he leaves office.
46	* StarMakingRole: Creator/AllisonJanney and Creator/BradleyWhitford's profiles significantly increased because of the show, especially the former.
47	* StuntCasting:
48	** Creator/AlanAlda and Creator/JimmySmits in season six-seven. Creator/JamesBrolin in season three-four.
49	** Not to mention President Bartlet being played by Creator/MartinSheen.
50	** Another example would be Creator/MatthewPerry's casting as a White House counsel (although he predictably fit in rather well). Creator/ChristianSlater, on the other hand....
51	* TechnologyMarchesOn:
52	** The show started off with beepers and accordion envelopes. Cell phones are rare enough in early seasons that it's not considered unusual for senior staffers like Josh to not carry one (Donna has to hand him hers if someone tries to reach him out of the office). By the fourth season everyone has a cell phone and... well the accordion envelopes were still there, just with computers on top of that, too. In later seasons, people start being glued to Blackberries, then at the height of their popularity (before being pushed out by Apple and Google).
53	** Several times on the show, a news story is about to break, and a character will report that it has already been published on the internet. This implies that it will be reported by traditional media sooner, and that the internet outlets themselves don't matter and are only relevant indirectly through their impact on traditional media outlets. This seems rather strange in times where many or most people get their news mainly from the internet.
54	* ThrowItIn: CJ's performance of The Jackal. Creator/AllisonJanney used to use it to entertain her castmates.
55	* UncreditedRole: Creator/JohnGoodman appeared in four episodes but was only credited for "The Stormy Present" which was his final appearance on the show.
56	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
57	** Creator/SidneyPoitier was considered for the role of the President, but his asking price was too high. Creator/HalHolbrook and Creator/JasonRobards were also considered.
58	** Bartlett was originally supposed to be a satellite character who'd make sporadic appearances, but Creator/MartinSheen's performance was just too good, so he quickly became the show's core.
59	** Mandy would have come back for an episode later on, but this didn't pan out.
60	** Creator/AaronSorkin intended Zoe's kidnappers to be domestic terrorists, which was why Nancy [=McNally=] said that it was probably a cheap-shot operation in the episode when it happened, and there were [[{{Foreshadowing}} many incidents with domestic terrorists throughout the season]]. The new showrunners went with generic Muslim terrorists who were mad about Sharif.
61	** According to Liza Weil on ''Podcast/TheWestWingWeekly'' podcast, there was some talk of making the Karen Larsen character a recurring presence following "Take Out the Trash Day", but it ultimately didn't come to fruition.
62	** There was an option for Ainsley Hayes to make further appearances in the fourth season. However, Emily Procter was eventually offered the chance to be a series regular on ''Series/CSIMiami'', and therefore Ainsley did not appear again until late into the final season.
63	** When Creator/RobLowe announced he would be leaving the show in the fourth season, among the names considered to replace him were Creator/JonCryer, Creator/MacaulayCulkin, Creator/JuddNelson and Creator/DermotMulroney.
64	** Creator/RobbieColtrane was offered a role, but had to turn it down due to his commitment to ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets''.
65	** Creator/JuddHirsch was considered for Leo [=McGarry=].
66	** Creator/EugeneLevy was conisdered for Toby Ziegler.
67	** Creator/CCHPounder was considered for C.J. Cregg.

Context Trivia / TheWestWing