The West Wing is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that aired on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where the Oval Office and offices of presidential senior staff are located, during the fictitious Democratic administration of Josiah Bartlet (played by Martin Sheen). During the course of the series, 154 episodes of The West Wing aired, including two specials over seven seasons.

Two special episodes were produced to complement the series and broadcast on NBC. The first was a terrorism-themed episode produced in the wake of the September 11 attacks. The episode pushed the scheduled season premiere back a week and encouraged viewers to donate to charity—profits from the episode and cast members' weekly pay were also donated.^[153] The episode "was written and produced in record time" – less than three weeks.^[153][154] Although timely and well-intentioned, the episode was criticized for being condescending and preachy.^[154]

The second special interspersed the characters' fictional lives with interviews of real West Wing personnel, including Presidents Ford, Carter and Clinton; press secretaries Marlin Fitzwater and Dee Dee Myers; presidential advisors David Gergen, Paul Begala and incumbent Karl Rove; Secretary of State Henry Kissinger; Chief of Staff Leon Panetta; presidential personal secretary Betty Currie; and speechwriter Peggy Noonan.^[155] The documentary won a Primetime Emmy Award in 2002 for "Outstanding Special Class Program".^[156] Both episodes ran within the season 3 television season and were included on the season's DVD.^[157]

A third retrospective "clip-and-interview" special was slated to air in the hour before the series finale; however, it was axed and replaced with a re-run of the "Pilot" episode, as cast members were not contracted to do the special and there were disputes over pay.^[158]

• List of characters on The West Wing