Geek alert: I frickin LOVE The West Wing.
If you’ve never seen the show then this episode by episode ‘following along’ podcast will make each moment richer.
Scrap that, if you’ve never seen the show, drop everything and watching the Pilot episode. If you enjoy that, then subscribe and listen to the first episode of The West Wing Weekly (TWWW) and if you aren’t hooked by then, well, I’m not sure I want to know you.
THE WEST WING WEEKLY is an episode-by-episode discussion of one of televisionโs most beloved shows, co-hosted by one of its stars, Joshua Malina, along with Hrishikesh Hirway of Song Exploder.
Where TWWW stands apart from other podcasts is in the range of guest stars they have on the show. From the creator/writer Aaron Sorkin, through pretty much every major cast member – Alison Janney, Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe – and other people involved with the show in the background, including Snuffy Walden who composed the theme tune and some other notable guests like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It’s insightful, funny, and a real treat for fans of the show.
Part of the reason it works so well are the hosts, Hrishi brings fan-like dedication, whilst Joshua brings the actor view, both before and during his time on the show. There are also quite a few funny stories of Joshua being a complete wind-up merchant; any of the episodes with Bradford Whitley feature some delicious back-handed compliments from both sides.
I’ve found myself re-watching episodes and with all that insider knowledge and with the presenters views in my head, end up seeing so much more detail and richness in each episode. They frequently talk to members of the production crew as well, writers, directors, producers, camera operators, so there is always something different to learn and new insights to be found.
I simply cannot recommend this enough, and if you weren’t a fan of the show before, then you will be once you start watching along!
I’m not going to link to any episodes as this podcast works best if you watch the TV show in sequence.
However, for those of you who’ve already watched The West Wing before, you can skip to your favourite episodes, the Pilot, In the Shadow of Two Gun, Two Cathedrals etc…