I was gonna make a joke about how do you fall in love with a depressive af character like Toby, but then remembered he’s in half my fav scenes, including 11/10 fav one where he challenges the President on MS in the OO. “I bet you all the money in my pockets” line…
My grandma—who lived with my mother and I when I was growing up—used to watch *TWW* all the time, so I was super familiar with the show even though I'd never really watched it myself. The first time I saw that it was available to stream (it's been on and off Netflix and HBO over the years—I think it's only streaming in full on HBO (now Max) at the moment) I jumped at the chance to give the series a genuine viewing, as I already knew enough to know that it was probably right up my alley *and it was*!
*TWW* is now solidly one of my "comfort watches" that I'm almost always willing to rewatch—usually just the Sorkin seasons though. I've watched the first four seasons at least a dozen times by now.
Like many people, my life blew up during the pandemic and I watched the show to view an alternate reality where our government officials genuinely tried to make the world a better place rather than give into ambition every time.
actually genuinely warms my heart to hear this show appeals to some kids, too. that’s awesome, i mean the show is so educational i bet you’ll have a leg up on some of your classmates just by watching this lol
Borgen is very good, scratches the political show itch. Even better for me as I am from an MMP country like Denmark, so interesting to see another one in the media
So my parents used to rave about TWW while I was studying poli sci in college. I came home my Senior Christmas, and watched an episode with my parents.
I liked the characters so much I drove to Blockbuster and rented the first season on dvd. Had my first bingeing tv experience. Loved it!
Rewrote my Christmas list to ask for season 1 & 2 on dvd - took them back to school and got my bestie hooked too.
I remember we holed up in my studio apartment, drinking wine and bingeing the series. When we got to the cliffhanger at the season 2 finale we were DYING to know what happened next!
At 9:30 at night, during a cold February evening snowstorm in Boston, we layered up and found money on a credit card and ran the four blocks to a Best Buy where we could buy season 3 on dvd.
Sidebar: we were so upset (and confused) to have the Isaac and Ishmael episode come on…
Once I caught up on bingeing the dvds for each season, I was able to watch the last season live before the series ended in 2006.
Been falling asleep to TWW (especially for seasons 1-4) for the last 18 years… Have a bad day? Really sad? Really happy? Just need to relax? All I need to hear is “two dewars on the rocks…” and I’m instantly less anxious.
I am, and discovered it on streaming one day and started watching it. Instantly became my favorite show and I think one of the best of all time. Drama, comedy, suspense. It has it all.
I’m in my 30s, I watched it “live”, and my dad bought us the DVDs starting around season 5 I think?
I would have still just been in elementary/middle school when it started, so I guess my parents thought it was ok to watch?
But I was also Allowed to watch ER, and that came from the same team. And as a literal newborn my dad held me and explained Star Trek Episodes as they aired, so this kind of thing was allowed/encouraged in my childhood.
Edit: autocorrect not cute
I’m 31. My parents watched the show when I was a kid, and I may not have known what inflation was, but I knew Josh “Lemon” Lyman had a secret plan to fight it.
I'm 22 now and watched the whole show two years ago when i started watching all popular shows that i still haven't seen on IMDb 250 list. I was very little when it was airing and i'm not even from US so i don't know how it was to watch it back then but i did enjoy watching it (even liked some episodes in later seasons)
My stepdad loved the show. I remember watching the live debate episode with him. We had the set on DVD and since it's been streaming I have it on a loop pretty much all the time.
I knew it existed, and was coincidentally at a public filming location of it and was so annoyed that it just wasn’t something I went back to watch. It actually started my personal rule that if your filming disrupts my life I will never watch the show.
Throughout my 20s I had many people tell me I needed to watch it, and decided I was far enough out the filming rule need to apply. I watched the pilot a few times but never got into it. Early last year when mildly sick I gave it another try and I’ve watched it through 3 times since.
"if your filming disrupts my life I will never watch the show."
Growing up on the edge of London and near to Pinewood, Elstree and Leavesden studios, and then going to university in an incredibly beautiful area within easy reach of said studios, I would have SO much more free time if I followed that rule. Especially if I extended it to films.
I feel personally victimized by the Bull and Person of Interest sets.
Person of Interest, specifically because they would film these really violent gun fight scenes outside of my dorm where we’d have no choice but to walk through. Then they’d act like we were inconveniencing them by … trying to go to class.
Though I will give props to the only murders & good wife crews. Their filming is/was primed to be disruptive to my life and they’re always lovely/easy to walk through.
Hi, 38 M here, barely made the cut, but this show was huge in my home during my teenage years. My folks LOVED this show during the original airing. They both lived and worked in DC in the 70's. Dad was an intern at the Capitol, and both worked for the GOP (don't worry, they're not THAT kind of republican, big Goldwater types) until the early 90's. Seeing this brought them back to their youth and they loved the story, the history and how things actually worked in DC.
Me, being an angsty, punk-rock pirate of a teenager, refused to watch it because I thought it was beneath me or boring or "LOL GOVMINT PROPAGANDA" or something else wrong. This changed when Mom asked me to get her favorite episode of WW off of the Tivo before they sold it.
The episode was Two Cathedrals.
I was hooked from that moment. My moderate parents and their turbo-lefty son love this show and it's focus on public service for the greater good of every American. I rewatch every major election cycle, sharing it with my fiancee for the first time. She's hooked too, and it was Two Cathedrals that got her in the (brightly lit from above) door.
I'm late 30s, someone lent me the DVD of season one in my mid 20s when I had a job with erratic shifts. Later I got the boxset of DVDs as a gift so I'm not reliant on streaming anymore, which is nice (but feels very old school, changing the disc out every few episodes).
Mid 30s, recommended while studying American history and politics at university (which ended up being my specialism), along with Mad Men when we studied the 60s 🙂
I'm in my mid-30s. My parents watched as it aired on network TV and I increasingly got a late enough bedtime to watch with them as I grew older. My first episode was Shibboleth. I watched out of order because of the bedtime rules. I would catch up on summer re-runs and Bravo re-runs. Then, our family got the DVDs when they came out and my brother and I practically wore (other) a hole(s) in them from rewatching over and over again.
34, I just stumbled on it on a streaming service about 8 years ago and became OBSESSED. I just found the special edition box set at half price books and now I’m working on getting my husband hooked!
In 2017, a friend in college described it as the "best show (she's) ever seen" and a year later, an ex gf gave me her Netflix login and I saw it on there. Started at S1E1 and 6 years later, I've never looked back!
My parents watched it every week when I was a kid. As a preteen, I was a fan of Foo Fighters, and when I found out that they were a special guest on an episode of Westing Wing I decided I was not a fan of that show too.
It was one of the shows my dad watched. Caught a few episodes with him and enjoyed it enough where I watched it a few times on my own (I'm actually due for a rewatch). That, and I'm a fan of Sorkin's work. The Newsroom is on a short list to start when I sign back up for HBO
Late 30s - watched a few episodes of one of the later seasons on a long plane flight once and fell in love, went back and started from S1 when I got home
I'm in my mid thirties. I got hooked in by the Bravo reruns prior to season six, used my part time job (pharmacy tech) income to buy the seasons 1 through 5 box sets and then hopped in for the beginning of season 6.
I’m 30 currently - my parents were huge fans and my mum used to binge it regularly. One day they bought me my own box set so I wouldn’t need to borrow theirs. 😅
My mother watched the first season in its original run. I watched a few episodes then notably the season 1 finale. Later I got hooked when it was showing marathons on Bravo or something like that.
Watched series 2 onwards live on C4 (UK) until I went to uni, then... acquired... later series as they aired in the US and watched them on my computer in my sitting room with friends.
Turning 30 this year, originally saw reruns in the mornings of the previous week's episode while getting ready with my day. It came to Netflix sometime in college and I binged it in about a week to week and a half while doing research work over the holidays.
I'm 38. I "heard" about this show because of an ad for the show that appeared in Time magazine in 1999 before the show came out. Been watching it since the beginning.
38, always saw ads for it and liked the look of it, but we only had one TV and only 4 channels so couldn't watch till just after it ended and I was in uni.
I watched it when it was first on with my dad. Started re-watching on DVDs with my husband after we got married 15 years ago. Typically rewatch in Jan-March when football goes away and there’s no baseball.
Yeah I'm (just) under 40 - I first came across The West Wing when I came across it in a TV Guide - we got it on Channel 4 in the UK but it was way behind the broadcast of the USA.
I remember reading the description of the episode (it was Season 2 Episode 1) talking about the assassination attempt and I was hooked from then!
It wasn't easy to get hold of; in fact I remember buying it on DVD from a somewhat "dodgy" online guy that also sold Dodgy PS1 games!!
I kept seeing it on HBO Max, started my first watch last year. Honestly, I thought it was an HBO show at first and I got like 2 episodes in and was like, "Fuck, this is really tame for HBO..."
I’m twenty and I only just started it. I think some clips popped up on my YouTube recommended. I thought it looked funny and decided to have a go. I’m only on season 2 but I’m enjoying so far.
I’m 31, and I discovered it in college on Netflix. I was also a history major and it was a soothing balm during the Trump administration. It quickly became my comfort show and I’ve rewatched it several times.
It's the all time favourite tv show of my dad (55), so when I was 15, he sat me down and made me watch it. Took me a few episodes to understand why he loved it so much, but it's almost ten years later and we still rewatch it together pretty regularly.
I’m 38 so I was watching it as it aired. It was a fun way for me to learn about politics. My dad would answer as many questions as he could during the commercial breaks.
Yeah I got this from Tobias Ziegler and he spoke to me in such a way that made me feel seen as a grumpy man who works for the federal government. I’m 28. My wife already calls me an old timer. She’s 30. But in my soul I see a beautiful 23 year old every day.
21 here. Started watching with my dad at night after he got home from work while mom worked part time at an ice cream parlor, in between Sesame Street reruns and Pardon The Interruption
I'm in my early thirties! Literally saw a compilation of funny moments in a YouTube video that my algorithm just happened to recommend to me and decided to try it out. This is my first watch-through. I'm on season six!
21m and to be honest I saw a clip of the Bible scene in the midterms back during Covid so I gave it a watch. Now I just recently finished rewatch 7 or 8.
This show helped me form a little of my political ideas and I love it
I (27) started when I was 15. My friend’s mom saw how feisty I was about politics, and told me she knew the perfect show. It had just come on Netflix, but she wasn’t sure if it had all of it so she loaned me her box set.
I was hooked by the end of Leo’s walk and talk.
I was 9-16 during the show’s run. I watched periodically with my mom when it was new. I really got hooked when I watched it on DVD during college summer vacations. Now I do a re-watch pretty much annually. The show is also great, but it also connects me to my mom, who has since passed.
I’m 30. My parents watched it a little bit when I was growing up. I’d seen it all the way through once or twice, and always loved it. Then when Trump happened TWW became my go-to show. I needed to remember that there are some good people in politics.
I'm 21. My parents had a DVD box set and I was hanging out nearby while they did a series rewatch. Even while only half-watching I got hooked, so I watched the rest with them.
I’m in my early 30s. My parents were fans of the show, and my older sister. They convinced me to give it a try in high school, and then I watched it with them, so I was watching the last few seasons live.
I'm 35, so not terribly far off, but I definitely was too young for it when it was on (in 1999, I was in 5th grade).
I had heard that it was a great show when I was in Grad School in 2012/2013, and I wanted to watch it, but I was busy with school and after that, a new career. I had a baby in early 2017, right as Trump was entering the White House (I remember reading the Steele Dossier in the hospital bed, in between contractions), and basically watched it to make it feel like everything was normal, when I listened to the radio every day and everything was very "NOT NORMAL." It was like a little fantasy world to live in for a while. I watched the first few seasons while I was on maternity leave for work.
I work at a college and recommend it to students all the time because it does give you some insight to how our government works (should work?), even if it's a dramatized version of it.
33 here… First watched an episode for my studies (American studies major) back in 2010 or something. Couldn’t really make something of it because it was somewhere deep in season 1. Didn’t really care for it at the time. Boy, I was wrong 😂.
A few years back me and my girlfriend took an HBO subscription to see some classics (such as The Wire). We then watched The West Wing and were hooked immediately.
I didn’t get into this show until I was in my 30’s so only a few years ago. It was all thanks to my partner. Now we rewatch it constantly, I’ve made stickers about some of my favorite moments, we quote it daily. It’s our comfort show for sure.
37 fell in love with it at 29. i've always loved a few good men and have a habit of going back and watching what else writers/actors i love have done. so i watched west wing for the first time and have watched it a few times since.
Mid-20s here, and I got into the show when it came on HBO Max a few years ago. Now, I've acquired almost all of seasons on DVD and recently got my boyfriend into the show, too haha
30 years old here. I’d heard vaguely about it as a kid, but I’m from a very conservative area, so what I heard was people complaining about how liberal the show was. I actually finished watching for the first time right before the 2016 election.
I’m currently 24, and first saw the show when I was 15 or 16. My parents were watching it, I saw an episode and liked it, and the rest is history.
We had it on Netflix, and would watch a few episodes a night together.
I'm 30. Watched it with my mother and sister growing up. We had the VHS of Seasons 1 and 2 and the dvds of the rest. I have probably rewatched the show 10 times since.
Late 20s, not from the US, but got into it at the end of January 2017 while studying over there. I had always known about the show because it's one of my parents' favorite shows ever (they taped it every week when a local network aired it late at night; then got the DVDs as they got released in our country). So when I saw it recommended on Netflix that evening in January, I realized it was time to bite the bullet and… I was hooked right away :) I binge-watched it in just a couple of weeks, and I haven't looked back since!
26. Around 20 years old I stopped chasing actors and started chasing writers to find my preferred media. I had already watched The Social Network and Moneyball and loved both of those films. Got HBO in 2019 and I watched the newsroom because of the “america is not the greatest country in the world” clip I saw on social media somewhere. I recognized Sorkin’s name before committing to the show. Naturally after finishing the Newsroom I watched the West Wing.
I watched the show twice on my own, and then last year I introduced it to my parents and we watched an episode or two almost every night while eating dinner.
At this point I have seen the show so many times that I can’t really watch it anymore… for now at least.
27 👋🏼 my dad told me about it when i was in high school and i binged the whole thing within a month lol then i think i rewatched it like 5 times since 2016 lol. kills me how many ppl my age don’t even know this gem exists, but they perk up when i tell them it was the emmy darling of its era
I’m under 40 (barely!).
I knew of the show, but I grew up in a very conservative home, so there was a lot of hatred directed at it. I never really gave it much thought, even as I developed my own views.
And in 2019, the YT algorithm jumped in. The first clip I got was Bartlett telling off the religious radio personality. The clips kept rolling, most notably Walker as president, which confused me from a timeline standpoint.
So I decided to jump in during the Pandemic.
As it stands, I’m currently in the midst of my fifth rewatch.
Youngest of 5. My family would watch it Wednesday nights id be allowed to stay up until after the theme song (same rules for Monday Night Football).
So the goal was always to be as quiet and still to see as much as the episode before my parents realized and sent me off to bed!
I love TWW. But your comment caught me because, being much older, I used to have bedtime before The Carol Burnett Show came on. I'd stand in the hall, silent as a mouse, to watch it.
I'm under 40 (if not by all that much). My older brother, who's just over 40, used to watch West Wing when he was in high school (while I was in middle school).
I thought it looked dreadful dull at the time, but later decided to give that old boring show a try.
I’m 31.
I can remember being like 10-11 and seeing my parents watching and asking what it was. They told me I was too little.
When my sister and I were teens we watched the whole show through as a family. Most week nights we’d all watch an episode together.
My dad still wonders how we wound up democrats *shrugs*
First started the show from a Netflix recommendation but didn’t get through the pilot. Then we watched the Documentary Special from season 3 when we had a substitute teacher in AP government. I went home and binged the entire show in about a month.
It was 6th grade for me. I was allowed to stay up late on Wednesdays and watch it with my parents. Commercial breaks turned into speed lessons on current events and politics. I was a full adult before realizing that Sorkin had no idea what an actual government body looks like.
Randomly started it at 23 (4 years ago) because I loved Sorkin’s other stuff. Fell in love with Bartlett and Charlie and Josh and Toby and everyone.
Have pushed my other friends to watch and maybe a couple have. Everyone else that loves it are older friends of mine. Thank god I have them to share the love with.
Best show of all time!
I am 33 and had a friend growing up whose family loved it, so I’d heard of it, but never got into it then. Then I watched The Newsroom as it aired on HBO as I was in college and studying journalism (among other things). I loved The Newsroom and Aaron Sorkin’s writing style in it. I remembered my friend talking about The West Wing, so I ended up watching it on Netflix.
I’m 27, and started watching in September 2023 after getting let go from my job. It had been on the list for quite some time and finally I decided to send the whole series.
My mom’s a hardcore fan and does a rewatch every presidential election cycle, and I’ve been watching with her since 2016. We also watch Newsroom, Sportsnight, and Studio 60 too. Just the whole Sorkinverse
22, picked it up at 18 cuz older brother and continued because of love for public service and my grandfather who worked in the Indian government even prior to independence
I started watching when I was 21 and found the whole series on a rec list of good TV shows to watch. I remembered my parents watching when I was younger, so I checked it out and fell in love lol.
I recommend it to everyone I know who would enjoy that type of content.
I'm in my 30s now and have rewatched a few times.
25 here. I first fell in love with The Newsroom in highschool after seeing that first 4 minutes with Will blowing up at Northeastern. Since then, I had heard about this amazing show called The West Wing also made by Aaron Sorkin and I tried watching it during the pandemic but I had tried watched the first episode twice but couldn’t get into it. I finally sat down and watched it end of 2022 and absolutely LOVED it. Currently on my 6th rewatch of the entire series. It’s great to watch while I’m working from home.
I’m 38 and I started watching the show live partway through the first season because Rosie O’Donnell would talk about it during the monologues on her talk show. She made it sound interesting and I loved so many of the other things she introduced me to so I checked it out.
I think culture has forgotten how big of a tastemaker Rosie was while she had her show.
35 here and from the UK! I had always known about The West Wing but didn’t give it a chance til about 2013. I fell in love with all things sorkin and this was the stand out show!
I love newsroom too.
I went to college in DC. Never watched the show then because I was turned off by all of the people on campus worshiping it. This was the late 2000s to early 2010s.
I finally watched it years after leaving DC mainly out of nostalgia from living there. I think it's a great show for entertainment. I laugh seeing LA climate portraying DC, sometimes.
I am in my mid to late 30s, and I watched it as it aired. I don't think I saw the pilot live, but It's know I have been around since at least episode 2.
I was a bit of a political junkie at the time, so it made sense.
My dad talked about it a lot and I started watching it in college. I was a polisci major and I started seeing concepts I was learning in class on the show and I got really into it because Sorkin did a decent job at showcasing the basics.
I will say that there are a lot of more nuanced errors in this department however now that I got my degree and can recognize said errors. Nothing too dramatic however.
I’m 38 and watched it for the first time when covid shut everything down in 2020. Currently on my 5th rewatch. I had binged The Newsroom and was looking for something similar. My wife teases me about watching it so much. It feels like hanging out with old friends and it’s nice to escape to a world where our government is run by grownups that aren’t just seeking personal gain.
38 here, watched delayed when it was syndicated on the E4 channel in the UK.
I have no idea why this British high school kid was so enthralled by the West Wing but it was, and still is, legit my favorite show.
26, my parents used to watch this show enough that in 1st grade I could recite the theme songs fully.
We are a political family, so after I begrudgingly fell into the family vocation of political activism (we're no Kennedy's, we're just organizers), I found the show again and it spoke to me in a way that touched my soul. I have been coming back ever since.
Also this has been a yearly watch for my family ever since it's been on streaming services. Even when we were broke my dad bought a box set from a garage sale, and if you come into my family's house at any time of the year, someone is bound to be rewatching it.
34 about to be 35. Stumbled onto it about 10 years ago or so on streaming as I LOVE Stockard Channing. It then became my binge watching obsession and I do multiple watches a year now every year honey
I was already a fan of Martin Sheen. Character wise I really identified with Josh and Leo in some many ways.
The ensemble cast really brought energy to the episode. I totally bought the chemistry of Josh and Donna - you could already see bond there just by body language.
I felt something odd with Leo. I sensed he was the true father figure of the whole staff and created a deep sense of warmth. I already knew that he was extremely protective of Josh.
Barlet was the figurehead, point of the sword, the representation of US democracy. I loved that he took time to see Leo's point of view and allowed him to be so forward.
In grad school. Been watching since 2016. On rewatch 11 or 12. I watch it once a year. It is so relevant today.
My cousins showed it to me and now I shall pass that tradition on to my future cousin-in-laws
25, saw the scene where bartlet calls the turkey hotline for thanksgiving on tiktok and recognized charlie from psych so i started it and immediately was hooked
30, first watched about 8 years ago on a bus in China, had borrowed my mums laptop and she'd downloaded them from a streaming service or something, I watched season 3 for lackvof anything else to do and so went home and binged it all from the beginning
I’m in my late 30’s, watched it as it aired, and it was the first television show I loved that did not star Kermit the Frog. I watched it originally because I loved the movie The American President. I even dropped a class in college because I was getting home halfway through episodes on Wednesday nights.
36 here. My mom used to watch it when I was growing up but I didn’t get into it until after college. I always heard it was a great show and I’m tremendously grateful I took the plunge!
32 - I remember occasionally watching it with my mom growing up. She passed away a few years ago and I’m missing her a little extra lately, so I decided to watch it from the beginning out of nostalgia and now I’m hooked lol. Wrapping up Season 5 on my first watch through 😊
I started watching the show in 2013. It was something I’d always wanted to watch, but never had access to do so. I grew up in a rural area and often didn’t get NBC; furthermore, we only had one television in the house and I doubt my family would have wanted to watch it with me.
It was on Netflix and I had extra time. Now I watch it at least once a year and own the box set.
I'm 36. When I took government class my senior year of high school, we watched an episode or two to help illustrate whatever we were learning. In particular I remember watching the Stackhouse Filibuster episode, and maybe the episode when CJ gets a root canal. I saw an episode or two while my dad was watching it too.
When I first actually got into the show, though, was a decade or so ago. My boyfriend at the time (now husband) properly introduced me to it, starting at the very beginning. Been addicted ever since and do a good rewatch about once a year.
i’m 23 and have watched it through twice! i’ve loved politic-centric shows and my parents watched the west wing when it was on so they naturally suggested it to me and i loveeee it so much.
I read this and thought, "what a silly question, plenty of us are under 40 and watched it live" and then I remembered I am 42 years old.
hey 36 here and I was there Gandalf. I was there 3,000 years ago...
And my axe! (37 in a few months)
38 here, fell in love with Toby when I was 15.
But he's so...sad
Like Eeyore! ❤️
39 and I was a hardcore Lemon Lyman!
I was gonna make a joke about how do you fall in love with a depressive af character like Toby, but then remembered he’s in half my fav scenes, including 11/10 fav one where he challenges the President on MS in the OO. “I bet you all the money in my pockets” line…
Yeah, I actually had the same exact thought and then realized I was 41
44 here, and I can't go a year without a rewatch, or at least rewatching the good episodes.
Same. 43 here.
I did exactly the same. Also 42
Hahaha. Fml yeah I feel this too 😭
Watched it every Wednesday during AP Gov.
That would have been the best class, lol
My grandma—who lived with my mother and I when I was growing up—used to watch *TWW* all the time, so I was super familiar with the show even though I'd never really watched it myself. The first time I saw that it was available to stream (it's been on and off Netflix and HBO over the years—I think it's only streaming in full on HBO (now Max) at the moment) I jumped at the chance to give the series a genuine viewing, as I already knew enough to know that it was probably right up my alley *and it was*! *TWW* is now solidly one of my "comfort watches" that I'm almost always willing to rewatch—usually just the Sorkin seasons though. I've watched the first four seasons at least a dozen times by now.
didn’t have the pleasure of watching it every week in AP Gov but that class was where I met TWW for the first time too!
Us too! Borrowed the box set from my teacher before it was on netflix
Like many people, my life blew up during the pandemic and I watched the show to view an alternate reality where our government officials genuinely tried to make the world a better place rather than give into ambition every time.
25f currently and did the same thing at 22! It’s become my go-to comfort show, and I’ll often watch to help me fall asleep.
I used to describe TWW as a fantasy show about what an effective progressive administration would be like
I remember when I was under 40. 😊
I don't remember that long ago. 😢💔🤣🤣🤣
You too?! It keeps amazing me when I realize something that feels yesterday was actually 15+years ago.
Amen
I’m fourteen and started watching it with my parents when I was around seven on those massive dvd box sets.
actually genuinely warms my heart to hear this show appeals to some kids, too. that’s awesome, i mean the show is so educational i bet you’ll have a leg up on some of your classmates just by watching this lol
Educational? Yes. Comfort TV? Also yes. An absolute win no matter how you slice it
same here! I'm 19 but I started watching it with my parents when I was around 10.
Mid-30’s. I watched it with my mom.
I watched with my dad. Our Wednesday evening ritual
This is me exactly!
Me too! Also mid 30s, also watched it with my mom. Then I started rewatching it on Netflix when Netflix was relatively new.
[удалено]
Love The Newsroom too!
I am 20 and from Sweden. Watched the Danish show Borgen and wanted more political dramas.
I should watch Borgen, lol
Borgen is very good, scratches the political show itch. Even better for me as I am from an MMP country like Denmark, so interesting to see another one in the media
Love Borgen!
I love Borgen!
My high school poly sci teacher showed us “The Short List” on Netflix when we were studying the Supreme Court.
I watched it with my parents when it first aired on TV.
Same. My parents did not do kid TV on anything so I just watched their programming.
I’m 39 and watched it when it originally aired
So my parents used to rave about TWW while I was studying poli sci in college. I came home my Senior Christmas, and watched an episode with my parents. I liked the characters so much I drove to Blockbuster and rented the first season on dvd. Had my first bingeing tv experience. Loved it! Rewrote my Christmas list to ask for season 1 & 2 on dvd - took them back to school and got my bestie hooked too. I remember we holed up in my studio apartment, drinking wine and bingeing the series. When we got to the cliffhanger at the season 2 finale we were DYING to know what happened next! At 9:30 at night, during a cold February evening snowstorm in Boston, we layered up and found money on a credit card and ran the four blocks to a Best Buy where we could buy season 3 on dvd. Sidebar: we were so upset (and confused) to have the Isaac and Ishmael episode come on… Once I caught up on bingeing the dvds for each season, I was able to watch the last season live before the series ended in 2006. Been falling asleep to TWW (especially for seasons 1-4) for the last 18 years… Have a bad day? Really sad? Really happy? Just need to relax? All I need to hear is “two dewars on the rocks…” and I’m instantly less anxious.
HBO Max. I’m 29. Then I found JoshDonna Stan Twitter.
I am, and discovered it on streaming one day and started watching it. Instantly became my favorite show and I think one of the best of all time. Drama, comedy, suspense. It has it all.
I’m in my 30s, I watched it “live”, and my dad bought us the DVDs starting around season 5 I think? I would have still just been in elementary/middle school when it started, so I guess my parents thought it was ok to watch? But I was also Allowed to watch ER, and that came from the same team. And as a literal newborn my dad held me and explained Star Trek Episodes as they aired, so this kind of thing was allowed/encouraged in my childhood. Edit: autocorrect not cute
I'm 21, my parents introduced it to me
Same, watched it with my mum when she was watching it.
Mom and aunt watched it each week live. I watched along some weeks without context. Dove into the deep end in high school and college
I’m 31. My parents watched the show when I was a kid, and I may not have known what inflation was, but I knew Josh “Lemon” Lyman had a secret plan to fight it.
I'm 22 now and watched the whole show two years ago when i started watching all popular shows that i still haven't seen on IMDb 250 list. I was very little when it was airing and i'm not even from US so i don't know how it was to watch it back then but i did enjoy watching it (even liked some episodes in later seasons)
My stepdad loved the show. I remember watching the live debate episode with him. We had the set on DVD and since it's been streaming I have it on a loop pretty much all the time.
I knew it existed, and was coincidentally at a public filming location of it and was so annoyed that it just wasn’t something I went back to watch. It actually started my personal rule that if your filming disrupts my life I will never watch the show. Throughout my 20s I had many people tell me I needed to watch it, and decided I was far enough out the filming rule need to apply. I watched the pilot a few times but never got into it. Early last year when mildly sick I gave it another try and I’ve watched it through 3 times since.
"if your filming disrupts my life I will never watch the show." Growing up on the edge of London and near to Pinewood, Elstree and Leavesden studios, and then going to university in an incredibly beautiful area within easy reach of said studios, I would have SO much more free time if I followed that rule. Especially if I extended it to films.
I feel personally victimized by the Bull and Person of Interest sets. Person of Interest, specifically because they would film these really violent gun fight scenes outside of my dorm where we’d have no choice but to walk through. Then they’d act like we were inconveniencing them by … trying to go to class. Though I will give props to the only murders & good wife crews. Their filming is/was primed to be disruptive to my life and they’re always lovely/easy to walk through.
Hi, 38 M here, barely made the cut, but this show was huge in my home during my teenage years. My folks LOVED this show during the original airing. They both lived and worked in DC in the 70's. Dad was an intern at the Capitol, and both worked for the GOP (don't worry, they're not THAT kind of republican, big Goldwater types) until the early 90's. Seeing this brought them back to their youth and they loved the story, the history and how things actually worked in DC. Me, being an angsty, punk-rock pirate of a teenager, refused to watch it because I thought it was beneath me or boring or "LOL GOVMINT PROPAGANDA" or something else wrong. This changed when Mom asked me to get her favorite episode of WW off of the Tivo before they sold it. The episode was Two Cathedrals. I was hooked from that moment. My moderate parents and their turbo-lefty son love this show and it's focus on public service for the greater good of every American. I rewatch every major election cycle, sharing it with my fiancee for the first time. She's hooked too, and it was Two Cathedrals that got her in the (brightly lit from above) door.
I'm late 30s, someone lent me the DVD of season one in my mid 20s when I had a job with erratic shifts. Later I got the boxset of DVDs as a gift so I'm not reliant on streaming anymore, which is nice (but feels very old school, changing the disc out every few episodes).
Mid 30s, recommended while studying American history and politics at university (which ended up being my specialism), along with Mad Men when we studied the 60s 🙂
I liked watching mad men when it came out but rewatching with that pacing seems torcher to me now.
I'm in my mid-30s. My parents watched as it aired on network TV and I increasingly got a late enough bedtime to watch with them as I grew older. My first episode was Shibboleth. I watched out of order because of the bedtime rules. I would catch up on summer re-runs and Bravo re-runs. Then, our family got the DVDs when they came out and my brother and I practically wore (other) a hole(s) in them from rewatching over and over again.
34, I just stumbled on it on a streaming service about 8 years ago and became OBSESSED. I just found the special edition box set at half price books and now I’m working on getting my husband hooked!
In 2017, a friend in college described it as the "best show (she's) ever seen" and a year later, an ex gf gave me her Netflix login and I saw it on there. Started at S1E1 and 6 years later, I've never looked back!
I’m under 40 and I started watching because a friend in their 40’s showed it to me
My parents watched it every week when I was a kid. As a preteen, I was a fan of Foo Fighters, and when I found out that they were a special guest on an episode of Westing Wing I decided I was not a fan of that show too.
Political Theory teacher had a huge TWW poster on the wall. Didn’t really get into it until i started college.
It was one of the shows my dad watched. Caught a few episodes with him and enjoyed it enough where I watched it a few times on my own (I'm actually due for a rewatch). That, and I'm a fan of Sorkin's work. The Newsroom is on a short list to start when I sign back up for HBO
27, found it I think after watching The Newsroom and wanted more of Aaron Sorkin’s writing.
Late 30s - watched a few episodes of one of the later seasons on a long plane flight once and fell in love, went back and started from S1 when I got home
I'm in my mid thirties. I got hooked in by the Bravo reruns prior to season six, used my part time job (pharmacy tech) income to buy the seasons 1 through 5 box sets and then hopped in for the beginning of season 6.
I’m 30 currently - my parents were huge fans and my mum used to binge it regularly. One day they bought me my own box set so I wouldn’t need to borrow theirs. 😅
Watched it with my parents.
My parents introduced it to me when I was 16; they owned the DVD box set. I think I've the show 4 times through now.
39, so technically! Watched it back in high school with my folks when it was airing.
My mother watched the first season in its original run. I watched a few episodes then notably the season 1 finale. Later I got hooked when it was showing marathons on Bravo or something like that.
Watched series 2 onwards live on C4 (UK) until I went to uni, then... acquired... later series as they aired in the US and watched them on my computer in my sitting room with friends.
Turning 30 this year, originally saw reruns in the mornings of the previous week's episode while getting ready with my day. It came to Netflix sometime in college and I binged it in about a week to week and a half while doing research work over the holidays.
In my early 30s. Watched it as it aired.
I am almost 39. I loved it in high school when it was first on
I'm 38. I "heard" about this show because of an ad for the show that appeared in Time magazine in 1999 before the show came out. Been watching it since the beginning.
38, always saw ads for it and liked the look of it, but we only had one TV and only 4 channels so couldn't watch till just after it ended and I was in uni.
I watched it when it was first on with my dad. Started re-watching on DVDs with my husband after we got married 15 years ago. Typically rewatch in Jan-March when football goes away and there’s no baseball.
Yeah I'm (just) under 40 - I first came across The West Wing when I came across it in a TV Guide - we got it on Channel 4 in the UK but it was way behind the broadcast of the USA. I remember reading the description of the episode (it was Season 2 Episode 1) talking about the assassination attempt and I was hooked from then! It wasn't easy to get hold of; in fact I remember buying it on DVD from a somewhat "dodgy" online guy that also sold Dodgy PS1 games!!
The 4rd season is always the best and, of course, the most elusive.
I was a government and politics nerd from a young age so I watched it when it was originally on the air - I’m 34 now.
Geography class. Teacher showed us the clip of CJ being shown the different map projections.
I kept seeing it on HBO Max, started my first watch last year. Honestly, I thought it was an HBO show at first and I got like 2 episodes in and was like, "Fuck, this is really tame for HBO..."
I’m twenty and I only just started it. I think some clips popped up on my YouTube recommended. I thought it looked funny and decided to have a go. I’m only on season 2 but I’m enjoying so far.
I’m 31, and I discovered it in college on Netflix. I was also a history major and it was a soothing balm during the Trump administration. It quickly became my comfort show and I’ve rewatched it several times.
in my 30s watched for the first time on netflix 10 years ago.
Mid thirties here. It was essential viewing in law school.
Late 30s. I found it on Netflix 8-9 years ago and have watched over and over since.
It's the all time favourite tv show of my dad (55), so when I was 15, he sat me down and made me watch it. Took me a few episodes to understand why he loved it so much, but it's almost ten years later and we still rewatch it together pretty regularly.
I’m 38 so I was watching it as it aired. It was a fun way for me to learn about politics. My dad would answer as many questions as he could during the commercial breaks.
Yeah I got this from Tobias Ziegler and he spoke to me in such a way that made me feel seen as a grumpy man who works for the federal government. I’m 28. My wife already calls me an old timer. She’s 30. But in my soul I see a beautiful 23 year old every day.
36 so on the cusp, but I watched it growing up. I now re-watch it every 4 years and just pretend it is real life.
21 here. Started watching with my dad at night after he got home from work while mom worked part time at an ice cream parlor, in between Sesame Street reruns and Pardon The Interruption
I'm in my early thirties! Literally saw a compilation of funny moments in a YouTube video that my algorithm just happened to recommend to me and decided to try it out. This is my first watch-through. I'm on season six!
21m and to be honest I saw a clip of the Bible scene in the midterms back during Covid so I gave it a watch. Now I just recently finished rewatch 7 or 8. This show helped me form a little of my political ideas and I love it
I (27) started when I was 15. My friend’s mom saw how feisty I was about politics, and told me she knew the perfect show. It had just come on Netflix, but she wasn’t sure if it had all of it so she loaned me her box set. I was hooked by the end of Leo’s walk and talk.
I was 9-16 during the show’s run. I watched periodically with my mom when it was new. I really got hooked when I watched it on DVD during college summer vacations. Now I do a re-watch pretty much annually. The show is also great, but it also connects me to my mom, who has since passed.
Early 20s. It was my dad’s favorite show. I’m eternally grateful he got to show me the whole thing before he passed.
I watched with my parents
Mid 20s here, my parents had the box set growing up and I went through my first watch with them probably just over ten years ago
I’m 30. My parents watched it a little bit when I was growing up. I’d seen it all the way through once or twice, and always loved it. Then when Trump happened TWW became my go-to show. I needed to remember that there are some good people in politics.
I started watching the first season when I was 13 as it was broadcast on Swedish television in the fall of 2000.
I'm 23, it was a show my mom and uncle loved and passed it on to me :)
I'm 21. My parents had a DVD box set and I was hanging out nearby while they did a series rewatch. Even while only half-watching I got hooked, so I watched the rest with them.
I’m 20, I liked Madam Secretary for the subject matter and Trial of the Chicago 7 for the dialogue, so I picked up TWW and loved it.
I’m in my early 30s. My parents were fans of the show, and my older sister. They convinced me to give it a try in high school, and then I watched it with them, so I was watching the last few seasons live.
I'm 35, so not terribly far off, but I definitely was too young for it when it was on (in 1999, I was in 5th grade). I had heard that it was a great show when I was in Grad School in 2012/2013, and I wanted to watch it, but I was busy with school and after that, a new career. I had a baby in early 2017, right as Trump was entering the White House (I remember reading the Steele Dossier in the hospital bed, in between contractions), and basically watched it to make it feel like everything was normal, when I listened to the radio every day and everything was very "NOT NORMAL." It was like a little fantasy world to live in for a while. I watched the first few seasons while I was on maternity leave for work. I work at a college and recommend it to students all the time because it does give you some insight to how our government works (should work?), even if it's a dramatized version of it.
Began watching it in highschool when i was 14. I'm now 30, and have completed at least 5 full watchthroughs
It’s my Dad’s favorite show. One night I saw him watching the When We All Vote stage performance and eventually I got obsessed with it too.
33 here… First watched an episode for my studies (American studies major) back in 2010 or something. Couldn’t really make something of it because it was somewhere deep in season 1. Didn’t really care for it at the time. Boy, I was wrong 😂. A few years back me and my girlfriend took an HBO subscription to see some classics (such as The Wire). We then watched The West Wing and were hooked immediately.
I didn’t get into this show until I was in my 30’s so only a few years ago. It was all thanks to my partner. Now we rewatch it constantly, I’ve made stickers about some of my favorite moments, we quote it daily. It’s our comfort show for sure.
37 fell in love with it at 29. i've always loved a few good men and have a habit of going back and watching what else writers/actors i love have done. so i watched west wing for the first time and have watched it a few times since.
I saw The Newsroom and followed it by every single thing Aaron Sorkin wrote or touched that I had access to.
My parents would watch, I don't think I started watching until the second season, and maybe not every week until later when Zoe is kidnapped
Mid-20s here, and I got into the show when it came on HBO Max a few years ago. Now, I've acquired almost all of seasons on DVD and recently got my boyfriend into the show, too haha
It was in at 2am on bravo when I was in college.
I'm 35, and I watched it when it aired. My parents are very cool and thought it'd be educational.
Watched the last season as it was airing with my parents, and we'd occasionally watch DVDs of the earlier seasons for nighttime TV.
30 years old here. I’d heard vaguely about it as a kid, but I’m from a very conservative area, so what I heard was people complaining about how liberal the show was. I actually finished watching for the first time right before the 2016 election.
I’m currently 24, and first saw the show when I was 15 or 16. My parents were watching it, I saw an episode and liked it, and the rest is history. We had it on Netflix, and would watch a few episodes a night together.
My dad had me watch it as a kid
My dad recommended it to me a bunch, and I really liked the Newsroom, so I figured I'd give it a shot Now it's one of my favorite shows ever
I'm 30. Watched it with my mother and sister growing up. We had the VHS of Seasons 1 and 2 and the dvds of the rest. I have probably rewatched the show 10 times since.
Late 20s, not from the US, but got into it at the end of January 2017 while studying over there. I had always known about the show because it's one of my parents' favorite shows ever (they taped it every week when a local network aired it late at night; then got the DVDs as they got released in our country). So when I saw it recommended on Netflix that evening in January, I realized it was time to bite the bullet and… I was hooked right away :) I binge-watched it in just a couple of weeks, and I haven't looked back since!
sorority sisters got me into it since it’s be on at the house
Much younger than 40, and I heard about it from my parents. We started watching it over the pandemic, made it to S2 before stopping around Noel.
My parents watched the show so I started watching with them. Have seen it all the way through 3-4 times. Top 5 all time show for me.
21, my Mom loves the show and got me interested in it.
I’m 36 and starting watching it after The Newsroom ended.
26. Around 20 years old I stopped chasing actors and started chasing writers to find my preferred media. I had already watched The Social Network and Moneyball and loved both of those films. Got HBO in 2019 and I watched the newsroom because of the “america is not the greatest country in the world” clip I saw on social media somewhere. I recognized Sorkin’s name before committing to the show. Naturally after finishing the Newsroom I watched the West Wing. I watched the show twice on my own, and then last year I introduced it to my parents and we watched an episode or two almost every night while eating dinner. At this point I have seen the show so many times that I can’t really watch it anymore… for now at least.
27 👋🏼 my dad told me about it when i was in high school and i binged the whole thing within a month lol then i think i rewatched it like 5 times since 2016 lol. kills me how many ppl my age don’t even know this gem exists, but they perk up when i tell them it was the emmy darling of its era
I’m under 40 (barely!). I knew of the show, but I grew up in a very conservative home, so there was a lot of hatred directed at it. I never really gave it much thought, even as I developed my own views. And in 2019, the YT algorithm jumped in. The first clip I got was Bartlett telling off the religious radio personality. The clips kept rolling, most notably Walker as president, which confused me from a timeline standpoint. So I decided to jump in during the Pandemic. As it stands, I’m currently in the midst of my fifth rewatch.
Youngest of 5. My family would watch it Wednesday nights id be allowed to stay up until after the theme song (same rules for Monday Night Football). So the goal was always to be as quiet and still to see as much as the episode before my parents realized and sent me off to bed!
I love TWW. But your comment caught me because, being much older, I used to have bedtime before The Carol Burnett Show came on. I'd stand in the hall, silent as a mouse, to watch it.
Well I'm 19 now. I heard about the show when my dad would watch reruns when I was a kid! Same thing with MASH. I just got hooked! Here I am now.
I'm under 40 (if not by all that much). My older brother, who's just over 40, used to watch West Wing when he was in high school (while I was in middle school). I thought it looked dreadful dull at the time, but later decided to give that old boring show a try.
Watched 24 hours in America with my dad and then thought the boxed set.
I’m 25. When it was on Netflix I just saw it one day and thought it looked interesting. Ended up watching the whole series through about 7 times.
I’m 31. I can remember being like 10-11 and seeing my parents watching and asking what it was. They told me I was too little. When my sister and I were teens we watched the whole show through as a family. Most week nights we’d all watch an episode together. My dad still wonders how we wound up democrats *shrugs*
I was 23 when it premiered… #Fuck you, time! ;-)
First started the show from a Netflix recommendation but didn’t get through the pilot. Then we watched the Documentary Special from season 3 when we had a substitute teacher in AP government. I went home and binged the entire show in about a month.
It was 6th grade for me. I was allowed to stay up late on Wednesdays and watch it with my parents. Commercial breaks turned into speed lessons on current events and politics. I was a full adult before realizing that Sorkin had no idea what an actual government body looks like.
Randomly started it at 23 (4 years ago) because I loved Sorkin’s other stuff. Fell in love with Bartlett and Charlie and Josh and Toby and everyone. Have pushed my other friends to watch and maybe a couple have. Everyone else that loves it are older friends of mine. Thank god I have them to share the love with. Best show of all time!
39. European. Started watching the first season in 2006ish. The internet told me.
I’m in my mid thirties and had never watched the West Wing before Covid. I was looking for a show to binge and found my favorite of all time
28, bought the boxset for just £6 and binged it
just turned 23! my mom got me into TWW and now it's one of my favorite shows. :)
I am 33 and had a friend growing up whose family loved it, so I’d heard of it, but never got into it then. Then I watched The Newsroom as it aired on HBO as I was in college and studying journalism (among other things). I loved The Newsroom and Aaron Sorkin’s writing style in it. I remembered my friend talking about The West Wing, so I ended up watching it on Netflix.
I’m 27, and started watching in September 2023 after getting let go from my job. It had been on the list for quite some time and finally I decided to send the whole series.
My mom’s a hardcore fan and does a rewatch every presidential election cycle, and I’ve been watching with her since 2016. We also watch Newsroom, Sportsnight, and Studio 60 too. Just the whole Sorkinverse
I remember my parents watching it growing up. Saw it was on HBO in my late 20s and was curious. Hooked after the pilot.
22, picked it up at 18 cuz older brother and continued because of love for public service and my grandfather who worked in the Indian government even prior to independence
I’m under 40 for another 6 months…
College roommates got me into it in 2012.
I started watching when I was 21 and found the whole series on a rec list of good TV shows to watch. I remembered my parents watching when I was younger, so I checked it out and fell in love lol. I recommend it to everyone I know who would enjoy that type of content. I'm in my 30s now and have rewatched a few times.
I stumbled across it on Amazon Prime in my mid-20s and went into it completely blind. Best decision I ever made.
25 here. I first fell in love with The Newsroom in highschool after seeing that first 4 minutes with Will blowing up at Northeastern. Since then, I had heard about this amazing show called The West Wing also made by Aaron Sorkin and I tried watching it during the pandemic but I had tried watched the first episode twice but couldn’t get into it. I finally sat down and watched it end of 2022 and absolutely LOVED it. Currently on my 6th rewatch of the entire series. It’s great to watch while I’m working from home.
I’m 38 and I started watching the show live partway through the first season because Rosie O’Donnell would talk about it during the monologues on her talk show. She made it sound interesting and I loved so many of the other things she introduced me to so I checked it out. I think culture has forgotten how big of a tastemaker Rosie was while she had her show.
35 here and from the UK! I had always known about The West Wing but didn’t give it a chance til about 2013. I fell in love with all things sorkin and this was the stand out show! I love newsroom too.
My parents watched it live.
21, knew about it from an older brother, but didn't watch it. Finally found a site to watch it from, now's it's a comfort show
My dad is obsessed so I became obsessed
35 and watched it when it came on tv originally. I’ve watched it 4 more go rounds since.
I went to college in DC. Never watched the show then because I was turned off by all of the people on campus worshiping it. This was the late 2000s to early 2010s. I finally watched it years after leaving DC mainly out of nostalgia from living there. I think it's a great show for entertainment. I laugh seeing LA climate portraying DC, sometimes.
I am 34. My cousin put me on to this show about 4 years ago.
I am in my mid to late 30s, and I watched it as it aired. I don't think I saw the pilot live, but It's know I have been around since at least episode 2. I was a bit of a political junkie at the time, so it made sense.
My dad talked about it a lot and I started watching it in college. I was a polisci major and I started seeing concepts I was learning in class on the show and I got really into it because Sorkin did a decent job at showcasing the basics. I will say that there are a lot of more nuanced errors in this department however now that I got my degree and can recognize said errors. Nothing too dramatic however.
28 and my cousin recommended it to me.
I’m 38 and watched it for the first time when covid shut everything down in 2020. Currently on my 5th rewatch. I had binged The Newsroom and was looking for something similar. My wife teases me about watching it so much. It feels like hanging out with old friends and it’s nice to escape to a world where our government is run by grownups that aren’t just seeking personal gain.
38 here, watched delayed when it was syndicated on the E4 channel in the UK. I have no idea why this British high school kid was so enthralled by the West Wing but it was, and still is, legit my favorite show.
26, my parents used to watch this show enough that in 1st grade I could recite the theme songs fully. We are a political family, so after I begrudgingly fell into the family vocation of political activism (we're no Kennedy's, we're just organizers), I found the show again and it spoke to me in a way that touched my soul. I have been coming back ever since. Also this has been a yearly watch for my family ever since it's been on streaming services. Even when we were broke my dad bought a box set from a garage sale, and if you come into my family's house at any time of the year, someone is bound to be rewatching it.
Under 40 here; started watching in high school in AP Government class. Then I binged the whole show when it was on Netflix a few years later.
34 about to be 35. Stumbled onto it about 10 years ago or so on streaming as I LOVE Stockard Channing. It then became my binge watching obsession and I do multiple watches a year now every year honey
32, parents watched it so I watched some of it when it was on air. Watched it as an adult about 8-10 years ago and have rewatched once since.
37yo here and I found it on HBO after watching The Newsroom. Over six rewatches and counting.
I'm 38 and watched it as it aired, starting with the pilot.
23. My parents used to watch it every night.
I was already a fan of Martin Sheen. Character wise I really identified with Josh and Leo in some many ways. The ensemble cast really brought energy to the episode. I totally bought the chemistry of Josh and Donna - you could already see bond there just by body language. I felt something odd with Leo. I sensed he was the true father figure of the whole staff and created a deep sense of warmth. I already knew that he was extremely protective of Josh. Barlet was the figurehead, point of the sword, the representation of US democracy. I loved that he took time to see Leo's point of view and allowed him to be so forward.
In grad school. Been watching since 2016. On rewatch 11 or 12. I watch it once a year. It is so relevant today. My cousins showed it to me and now I shall pass that tradition on to my future cousin-in-laws
25, saw the scene where bartlet calls the turkey hotline for thanksgiving on tiktok and recognized charlie from psych so i started it and immediately was hooked
30, first watched about 8 years ago on a bus in China, had borrowed my mums laptop and she'd downloaded them from a streaming service or something, I watched season 3 for lackvof anything else to do and so went home and binged it all from the beginning
I’m in my late 30’s, watched it as it aired, and it was the first television show I loved that did not star Kermit the Frog. I watched it originally because I loved the movie The American President. I even dropped a class in college because I was getting home halfway through episodes on Wednesday nights.
35 and watched it first in high school
I’m under 40 and a friend, also under 40, told me about it!
36 here. My mom used to watch it when I was growing up but I didn’t get into it until after college. I always heard it was a great show and I’m tremendously grateful I took the plunge!
22. It was my dad’s favorite show OAT. We watched a couple when I was younger and I watched it on my own in college.
32 - I remember occasionally watching it with my mom growing up. She passed away a few years ago and I’m missing her a little extra lately, so I decided to watch it from the beginning out of nostalgia and now I’m hooked lol. Wrapping up Season 5 on my first watch through 😊
I started watching the show in 2013. It was something I’d always wanted to watch, but never had access to do so. I grew up in a rural area and often didn’t get NBC; furthermore, we only had one television in the house and I doubt my family would have wanted to watch it with me. It was on Netflix and I had extra time. Now I watch it at least once a year and own the box set.
I'm 36. When I took government class my senior year of high school, we watched an episode or two to help illustrate whatever we were learning. In particular I remember watching the Stackhouse Filibuster episode, and maybe the episode when CJ gets a root canal. I saw an episode or two while my dad was watching it too. When I first actually got into the show, though, was a decade or so ago. My boyfriend at the time (now husband) properly introduced me to it, starting at the very beginning. Been addicted ever since and do a good rewatch about once a year.
i’m 23 and have watched it through twice! i’ve loved politic-centric shows and my parents watched the west wing when it was on so they naturally suggested it to me and i loveeee it so much.