The West Wing on Netflix!

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

PS: The closest current US show to this style is The Diplomat (starring Kerry Russell and Rufus Sewell.)

I would disagree with this. The Diplomat is a political thriller in its primary type. Yeah it's also considered a political drama but a political thriller has very different set ups than something just considered a drama.

There is a whole genre of shows that are political thrillers that can have elements like the West Wing but they are still not the same type of show. That would be even more confusing to someone, like the poster asking about action and suspense, to compare it to The Diplomat.

Quite frankly there just isn't a West Wing type show after this. The Newsroom, like someone already mentioned, is more akin to it and it should be because it's also by Aaron Sorkin.

These days the high brow drama shows are not quite what people want, the attention spans are often less, and in an ever growing environment people go to tv to tune out not be given a lesson in what the world should be like today (at least by in large that's what people aren't wanting). That's also what makes The West Wing a very powerful show and beloved by those who saw it years back but maybe not quite enjoyed by newcomers...too much hits close to home too (especially given that many of the events and people who based on actual events and people). And when people are watching shows that contain politics it's usually the more thriller or spy oriented where there's more action going on (The Night Agent, The Recruit, Jack Ryan, back in the day Designated Survivor, etc).

 

[irlandaise]

Thank you for the excellent overview of TWW, @NotUrsula. It indeed had an unmatched combination of drama, comedy, poignancy, and education. People have already mentioned in this thread a couple of the episodes that brought people to tears, but there were also some that had people falling out of their chairs with laughter. (Sometimes the same episodes.)

 

[NotUrsula]

I would disagree with this. The Diplomat is a political thriller in its primary type. Yeah it's also considered a political drama but a political thriller has very different set ups than something just considered a drama.

There is a whole genre of shows that are political thrillers that can have elements like the West Wing but they are still not the same type of show. That would be even more confusing to someone, like the poster asking about action and suspense, to compare it to The Diplomat.

Quite frankly there just isn't a West Wing type show after this. The Newsroom, like someone already mentioned, is more akin to it and it should be because it's also by Aaron Sorkin.

These days the high brow drama shows are not quite what people want, the attention spans are often less, and in an ever growing environment people go to tv to tune out not be given a lesson in what the world should be like today (at least by in large that's what people aren't wanting). That's also what makes The West Wing a very powerful show and beloved by those who saw it years back but maybe not quite enjoyed by newcomers...too much hits close to home too (especially given that many of the events and people who based on actual events and people). And when people are watching shows that contain politics it's usually the more thriller or spy oriented where there's more action going on (The Night Agent, The Recruit, Jack Ryan, back in the day Designated Survivor, etc).

FWIW, I hate the word "highbrow" -- to me it carries a connotation of superciliousness. The only character in The West Wing who regularly came off that way was Toby, and that was a plot device: all the other characters ragged him for it, his wife/ex-wife Andi in particular. (And, of course, Toby in the end turns out to be all too human.)

The BBC airs serious dramas all the time, and their audience take-up is excellent; are you seriously saying that Americans are too stupid or flighty to appreciate well-written drama that lacks regular appearances of explosions and sniper rifles? (or even that the television industry just assumes that they are?) Of course, both explosions and sniper rifles did show up in The West Wing -- just not every week.

So, I stand by what I said about The Diplomat. It's not exactly the same, I won't argue that, but in many ways it wants to be. Yes, there are lots of crash-bangs (because spies), but there is also a lot of walk-and-talk (though for some reason Keri Russell always seems to be changing clothes part way through the discussion.) Besides the fact that one show purports to let us into the daily life of spies, while the other lets us into the daily lives of political operatives, the greatest difference in structure, I think, comes down more to The Diplomat being a star vehicle for Keri Russell, while The West Wing was more of a true ensemble show. Sheen was ostensibly the star, but he got very little airtime in most episodes, while Keri Russell is in almost every scene. (Also, the nookie quotient is MUCH higher. IMO, it gets kind of ridiculous what these people are getting up to while they are supposed to be working.)

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

FWIW, I hate the word "highbrow" -- to me it carries a connotation of superciliousness. The only character in The West Wing who regularly came off that way was Toby, and that was a plot device: all the other characters ragged him for it, his wife/ex-wife Andi in particular. (And, of course, Toby in the end turns out to be all too human.)

The BBC airs serious dramas all the time, and their audience take-up is excellent; are you seriously saying that Americans are too stupid or flighty to appreciate well-written drama that lacks regular appearances of explosions and sniper rifles? (or even that the television industry just assumes that they are?) Of course, both explosions and sniper rifles did show up in The West Wing -- just not every week.

So, I stand by what I said about The Diplomat. It's not exactly the same, I won't argue that, but in many ways it wants to be. Yes, there are lots of crash-bangs (because spies), but there is also a lot of walk-and-talk (though for some reason Keri Russell always seems to be changing clothes part way through the discussion.) Besides the fact that one show purports to let us into the daily life of spies, while the other lets us into the daily lives of political operatives, the greatest difference in structure, I think, comes down more to The Diplomat being a star vehicle for Keri Russell, while The West Wing was more of a true ensemble show. Sheen was ostensibly the star, but he got very little airtime in most episodes, while Keri Russell is in almost every scene. (Also, the nookie quotient is MUCH higher. IMO, it gets kind of ridiculous what these people are getting up to while they are supposed to be working.)

High brow is just about the type of content in it. It's a show that many people are not going to get all the content in it but it's in contrast to other shows that are not that type. I wouldn't talk about characters at all because that's not what high brow show means, it's the grand scheme of the show. But I'm going to be honest here in your attempt to discredit the usage of high brown you basically have in your comments made them high brow, why say "superciliousness" when a different term could be used. One does not prove their point by using such high brow language themselves

I love BBC shows (presently watching two) but we're talking about The West Wing and it's political drama in relation to a question regarding why isn't there more suspense or action. Because The West Wing isn't a political thriller and your example is of one that is a political thriller first and foremost. The West Wing, like American President, like The Newsroom took Aaron Sorkin's specific style which was not based on the action that we know today.

BBC dramas for what its worth are a specific type of viewer one who is used to a more slow moving plot device overall with dry humor. Vigil was the one I finished the other day but even my love of British dramas I had to fastforward the last episode of the first season, second season was more interesting. And while your attempt to put words in my mouth nowhere in my comment did I even mention nationality. It is you who are making something out of it. I only said what shows are made now are more of the political or action thriller rather than in the past, thrillers have distinct parts to them namely they have more in your face actions. If what you're referencing is my comment about attention spans well that is well-documented most especially in today's era (especially since the pandemic), only you take that to mean something bad when it's just a reality of how we consume media in today's streaming dominated world.

West Wing wasn't intended to be an ensemble show, it just became one, The President wasn't supposed to be the star, it was Rob Lowe and everyone else was supposed to just be more background to Rob Lowe's character.

The comment was about action and suspense, hence my comment covered that. Sure some shows try and capture that vibe of the walk and talk. Regardless there is a reason The West Wing may not appeal to first time viewers now, it's a different world than it was years ago and no show has ever managed to capture what it captured. We'll agree to disagree