From the Associated Press and Washington Post today, comes news that NBC has cancelled The West Wing after seven seasons
PASADENA, Calif. — The new president on “The West Wing” will be a real short-timer: NBC announced Sunday it was pulling the plug on the Emmy-winning political drama after seven seasons in May.
NBC, struggling to regain its footing after the worst season in its history, also outlined several midseason schedule changes _ including the moves of popular dramas “Law & Order” and “Las Vegas.”
“The West Wing” announcement wasn’t much of a surprise. Although this season’s story line with a presidential campaign involving a Democrat played by Jimmy Smits and Republican portrayed by Alan Alda has been strong critically, ratings have sunk with its move to Sunday nights.
The decision to cancel it was made before actor John Spencer, who played former presidential chief of staff Leo McGarry, died of a heart attack Dec. 16, said Kevin Reilly, NBC entertainment president.
“There’s a point when you look at the ratings and say, it feels like it’s time,” Reilly said.
The series finale will be May 14, preceded by a one-hour retrospective. The campaign to replace the fictional Josiah Bartlet as president will be settled, NBC said.
I’ve been a fan of The West Wing from the beginning. Despite its sometimes annoying biases, at its best the show boasted some of the best writing and acting on broadcast television as well as stories and plots that very much mirrored the world that we lived in. It was time to go, though, the show had peaked some time ago and there really wasn’t any where else for it to go. The election plot that has carried through the past two seasons has been interesting, and brought back alot of what made the show good to begin with, but no matter which candidate “won” the fictional election, I don’t think there’s anything new the writers could’ve done that would have taken the show beyond where its been. Finally, the death in Deceamber of John Spencer just seemed to confirm that it was the right time to end things; even more so than President Barlett, Leo McGarry was The West Wing for me and the show just wouldn’t be the same without him.
Technorati Tag: Television,The West Wing
