As his Twitter bio drily notes, Joshua Malina “ruined The West Wing”. He joined Aaron Sorkin’s deluxe presidential drama in season four, just as Rob Lowe was bailing out – and some hardcore fans held Malina’s character, Will Bailey, directly responsible for the departure of beloved speechwriter Sam Seaborn. So it might seem strange that Malina is launching The West Wing Weekly, a new podcast that will rewatch and recap every single episode of the award-winning show (not to mention that he’s also busy appearing in Scandal, another moreish TV hit set in the White House).
The West Wing Weekly won’t be the first podcast to reassess a classic TV show episode by episode – there are excellent ones dedicated to The X-Files, The Simpsons and even Saved By the Bell – but it’s already shaping up to be one of the most successful. A brief teaser released last week hit No 1 on the iTunes chart. Malina and his co-host, Hrishikesh Hirway, have also promised “occasional guests” to help walk and talk listeners through The West Wing. (Dulé Hill, who played presidential aide Charlie, will appear on episode three. Bradley Whitford is also confirmed to discuss all things Josh Lyman. Fingers crossed for Martin Sheen on Jed Bartlet.)
The West Wing ran for 155 episodes over seven seasons from 1999 to 2006, so Malina may have created a rod for his back for the next three years. With the first proper episode of The West Wing Weekly launching worldwide today, he talks about working with Sorkin, the frisson of revisiting The West Wing in an election year and which presidential hopeful he would most like to invite on the show.
Is it a coincidence you’re launching in an election year? Are you hoping to benefit from the blanket coverage of the US presidential race, or offering an alternative?
Just as the original series was a kind of antidote to the long Bush years, perhaps The West Wing Weekly will serve as a tonic for the mad circus that is our current presidential race. But, in truth, we sort of stumbled into the timing. We’ve been talking about it for a while. It’s taken so long mainly because I had some initial hesitation: although I was in The West Wing, I wasn’t sure I was qualified to host a show about it. Hardcore fans tend be far better versed in its minutiae than the actors who made it. I was always a fan, although I hadn’t re-watched it since the show first aired. But I found, when I finally sat down to do so, that I had plenty to say. Also, with Hrishi’s status as West Wing Superfan, I can just be “the cute one”.
There have been rumblings about The West Wing Weekly since last year. How much work has it taken to get to launch day?
I want to tell you that it’s been a real slog, and we’ve busted our asses to get you this fine product, but in fact, it’s been a joy to make. Hrishi and I are good friends, and jabbering at each other about this show we love is good fun. That said, he is certainly working harder on the technical side than I am.
How did you and Hrishi Hirway meet?
We both attended Yale, though many years apart. When he graduated, he sent me an email asking for advice. He was looking to write music for movies. I recklessly suggested he should move to Los Angeles. He followed this stranger’s advice, and some years later we met and became fast friends.
What can we expect from The West Wing Weekly?
It’s a free-for-all ramble. Though we approach each taping with plans in place, the show quickly turns into a meandering chat about each episode.
I like the immediacy of podcasts. As an actor, I often have to wait months between shooting a project and seeing it released. With this, you sit down, speak your piece, clean it up a little and put it out. I dig that.
Your character makes his debut early in season four. Are you looking forward to rewatching yourself for episode 71 of The West Wing Weekly?
I’m happy to concentrate on the three and a half seasons without me for now. If people continue to listen and we are lucky enough to get to episode 71, it’ll be reckoning day, and I’ll have to contemplate my own work. It will be fun to revisit the memories – and it might be nice to remind myself what I looked like 14 years ago.
Are you surprised The West Wing is so beloved in the UK?
I am surprised, in a way. I think of your political shows, like The Thick of It – which I love! – and they are darkly hilarious and splenetic. Who knew Brits would flock to something as unabashedly idealistic as The West Wing? I think in the end, it’s Aaron Sorkin’s writing that’s the star of the show. The acting was terrific, but it’s the world Aaron envisioned, and the dialogue he created, that are its greatest legacy.
Which of the current would-be presidential candidates would you like to welcome on the show as a guest?
To quote The Three Amigos: “I like the one who is not so smart.”
Episode one of The West Wing Weekly launches worldwide today.
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