You Can Now Watch the West Wing Reunion Special For Free

Photo credit: Courtesy @Richard_Schiff
Photo credit: Courtesy @Richard_Schiff
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

From Town & Country

President Bartlet is back—and for a good cause. The Emmy Award-winning cast of The West Wing appears together in A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote, which premiered on HBO Max October 15.

The special marked the first time in 17 years that the political drama's original cast, plus creator Aaron Sorkin and executive producer/director Thomas Schlamme, reunited on screen. The much-anticipated show benefits When We All Vote, a nonpartisan non-profit launched by First Lady Michelle Obama in 2018. The organization hopes to increase voter participation, especially with regard to the race and age voting gaps. Fittingly, the special first aired two weeks prior to the 2020 election.

Ready for some political escapism? Here's everything you need to know.

Most of the show's original cast appears in the special.

In addition to Sorkin and Schlamme's return behind-the-scenes, all of The West Wing's major on-camera players were back for the special. The special's cast includes Martin Sheen (President Josiah "Jeb" Bartlet), Bradley Whitford (Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman), Rob Lowe (Sam Seaborn, the President's Deputy Communications Director), Richard Schiff (Toby Ziegler, Communications Director), Dulé Hill (Charlie Young, the President's personal aide), Allison Janney (C.J. Cregg, Press Secretary), and Janel Moloney (Donna Moss, Josh Lyman's assistant). Additionally, Emily Procter reprises her role as the Republican White House Associate Counsel, Ainsley Hayes; Marlee Matlin once again plays pollster Joey Lucas; and Peter James Smith and William Duffy return as the iconic duo, Ed and Larry.

The special is a theatrical stage performance of the season three episode, "Hartsfield’s Landing."

The cast reprised their roles to recreate season three's episode 15, which was written by Sorkin and originally aired on February 27, 2002. In the episode, President Bartlet is in the midst of running for re-election. Josh becomes nervous about 42 votes in a New Hampshire town's election, which always predict the winner of the all-important New Hampshire primary. Meanwhile, Bartlet, Sam, and Toby play a chess match which mirrors Bartlet's game of brinksmanship with the Chinese. And finally, C.J. and Charlie become engaged in a prank war.

Sterling K. Brown plays Chief of Staff Leo McGarry.

Tragically, John Spencer, who played Chief of Staff Leo McGarry, passed away in 2005, in the middle of shooting the show’s seventh and final season. In this year's revival, This Is Us star Sterling K. Brown fills Spencer's storied shoes. The actor is excited about taking on this iconic role.

Brown wrote on Twitter after People broke the news. "A true bucket list moment for yours truly! Thanks for the hospitality, #WestWing #Vote," he said.

Photo credit: Amy Sussman - Getty Images
Photo credit: Amy Sussman - Getty Images


Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, and Lin-Manuel Miranda also appear in the broadcast.

In lieu of commercial breaks, the episode will be interspersed with messages from the former First Lady, President Clinton, and Miranda. Presumably, the trio will discuss When We All Vote and encourage voter participation among the show's audience.

To start, Emmy-winning composer W.G. Snuffy Walden will perform The West Wing score on guitar, and folk rock band The Avett Brothers will end the special with a performance.

A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote is now available for free.

Originally only accessible through an HBO Max subscription, the platform has now made the special free and available to everyone. Simply go to hbomax.com/votebecause to find the show, alongside other election-related programming. The special will be available there until the end of the year, when it will return to HBO Max's subscription service.

Want permanent access? You can subscribe to HBO Max for $14.99 per month. If you already have HBO, all you need to do is create an account. Get HBO Max

See some behind-the-scenes photos below.

Clearly excited about being back together, the cast took to social media, posting photos from production. The shoot strictly followed COVID Safe Way Forward Protocols, as you can tell with the masks and shields. Keep scrolling for all the heart-fluttering reunion snapshots.

You Might Also Like