The seventh and final season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 25, 2005, to May 14, 2006, and consisted of 22 episodes.
[1][2] The seventh and final season principally follows Santos and Vinick on the campaign trail, while also addressing the aftermath of the space shuttle leak investigation.
Janeane Garofalo initially joined the show for a three-episode arc as Louise Thornton, a media strategist hired by Matt Santos;[4][5] however, she became a long-term recurring cast member.
[7][8] Other guest stars returning to recurring roles include Teri Polo as Helen Santos,[9] Patricia Richardson as Vinick's chief of staff Sheila Brooks,[10] Lily Tomlin as presidential secretary Deborah Fiderer,[11] Karis Campbell as Santos' secretary Ronna,[12] Allison Smith as Leo's daughter, Mallory,[9] Kathleen York as Andrea Wyatt, Melissa Fitzgerald as Carol, Renée Estevez as Nancy,[13] and Peter James Smith and William Duffy as Ed and Larry and all White House staff.
These included Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn, Mary-Louise Parker as women's-rights advocate Amy Gardner, Anna Deavere Smith as National Security Advisor Nancy McNally, Emily Procter as Republican attorney Ainsley Hayes, Marlee Matlin as pollster Joey Lucas, Gary Cole as Vice President Bob Russell, Tim Matheson as former Vice President John Hoynes, Timothy Busfield as journalist Danny Concannon, and Annabeth Gish as Liz Bartlet Westin, eldest daughter of President Bartlet.
Kate Harper tangles with both the National Security Council and intelligence agent Frost as tensions rise between Russia and China.
Santos must face the challenge of visiting a Black family in Los Angeles whose child was shot by a Latino police officer.
Adding more to her stress level, the President's son-in-law, Doug Westin, is rumored to be having an affair with his kids' nanny; a federal award of a major science project affects a U.S. Senate race in Kentucky; Danny Concannon (Timothy Busfield) makes his first appearance (outside of the season opener flash forward) since the fifth season to go on a date with C.J.
With the election two weeks out and both candidates polling even in California, both the Santos and Vinick campaigns scramble to the state to try to gain free media from public events.
Vinick, whose hand is broken by constant handshakes, has a stroke of luck when Bruno discovers Santos' briefcase in a holding room.
After Santos and Vinick win their home states of Texas and California respectively, the two campaigns agonize over whether to mount legal challenges before final results are announced in Nevada and Oregon.
Leo's funeral brings back fond memories and old friends, including Amy Gardner, who urges Josh to consider appointing a Congresswoman from Florida Vice President; Ainsley Hayes, who approaches C.J.
The transition is speeding ahead, and Matt and Helen Santos are overwhelmed by almost everything about their new lives – including Secret Service protection, choosing a DC school for their kids, and dealing with the White House household staff.
Will Bailey is offered a job with the DCCC to help get Democrats elected but finds himself becoming interested in one apparently unwinnable congressional seat in Oregon.
It is revealed that Santos plans to try to make Governor Eric Baker the vice-president through the Twenty-fifth Amendment and Bartlet pardons Toby in the last hours of his presidency.
The website's critical consensus reads, "A contentious race for the White House gives The West Wing narrative focus during a final season that bids a heartfelt farewell to President Bartlet while thoughtfully exploring the dynamics of campaigns.
[46] Bill Brioux from the Toronto Sun agreed, stating that the seventh series was "enjoying a creative renaissance" and had been "enlivened by the election storyline".
[47] Mike Duffy of the Detroit Free Press said that The West Wing had "rediscovered the vivid political zing in its farewell season";[48] however, Jeffrey Robinson from DVD Talk commented that the shift away from daily issues and operations in the White House meant "season seven did not feel like The West Wing".
"[50] Janet Daley of The Daily Telegraph called the episode "riveting, and astonishingly brave" with "dazzling exposition of the central political argument of our time: whether free markets deliver better life chances, and a more virtuous society, than economies controlled by government.
[52][53] Eli Attie and John Wells received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination in the Episodic Drama category for "Election Day Part II".
[54] Attie and Wells were nominated for the $15,000 Humanitas Prize in the 60-minute category for the same episode, which was also the submission that won the show an AFI Award that year.
[60] At another Latino ceremony, the Imagen Awards, the show won Best Primetime Series[61] with Smits nominated for Best Actor in Television.
[62] Despite slipping ratings and a fear the show would be axed, NBC announced in March 2005 that The West Wing would be returning for a seventh season.
Kevin Reilly, entertainment president for NBC, said that after poor viewing figures for the "last couple of seasons [they reached] a point where you look at the ratings and you just say, 'it's time.
[4] The executive producers were the production company's namesake and founder John Wells, Christopher Misiano, Alex Graves, political analyst Lawrence O'Donnell and Peter Noah;[67][68] Noah was previously a supervising producer in the sixth season,[69] and O'Donnell, who is a former Democratic chief of staff on the Senate Committee on Finance, provided insight into political life.
For the seventh season, regular staff writers were Wells, O'Donnell, Noah, Eli Attie, Debora Cahn, Josh Singer and Lauren Schmidt, while cast member Bradley Whitford wrote his second episode of the series.