The first season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 17, 2000, and consisted of 22 episodes.

The first season, which begins in the middle of Bartlet's first year in office, is loaded with images of a West Wing "stuck in neutral" and powerless to govern.

Several episodes (notably "Five Votes Down" and "Mr. Willis of Ohio") feature the White House desperately digging for a backdoor through which to pass a particular piece of legislation.

The senior staff is called back to the White House as "POTUS" (President of the United States) Jed Bartlet is injured, having ridden his bicycle into a tree.

President Bartlet connects with his new physician, Captain Morris Tolliver, MC, USN, whose first child was born ten days prior.

The staff members participate in Leo's "Big Block of Cheese" Day, when they meet with fringe special interest groups who normally cannot get attention from the White House.

Zoey Bartlet, the youngest First Daughter, arrives at the White House, and the President holds a celebratory chili supper in her honor for the members of his inner circle.

At the state dinner, the First Lady, Abigail Bartlet, makes her first appearance, and Sam sees Laurie, who is working as an escort for one of the attendees.

While the senior staffers discuss the preparations for the Christmas celebration at the West Wing, Toby receives a telephone call from the office of the local coroner, and he responds by meeting a detective of the Metro PD at the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall to identify a body who had been found wearing a jacket that had Toby's business card in the pocket.

tries to push for hate crime legislation after a deadly assault on a young gay man but receives little support amongst senior staff.

Sam and Josh, against Leo's wishes, visit Laurie to try and get dirt on Lillienfield and his allies, but she refuses to tell them anything and reminds them to behave as the good guys.

An admiral and medical officer from Bethesda diagnoses it as the flu, but the First Lady, Dr. Abbey Bartlet, cancels her trip and returns to the White House to treat her husband.

A senior member of the House of Representatives summons Josh and Sam and leans hard on them; they make a deal, which avoids a hearing on Leo and the related inquiries.

On Saturday morning, President Bartlet returns from Stockholm; Donna finds Josh asleep and hungover in his office after a bachelor party.

Meanwhile, Josephine “Joey” Lucas (Marlee Matlin), the deaf campaign manager for a Democratic House candidate from Southern California, using American Sign Language through her interpreter Kenny, aggressively asks Josh why the White House has caused the Democratic National Committee to reduce the funding for her campaign, and then demands to meet the President.

The President calls the Pope and sends for the parish priest (Karl Malden, in his final acting role) whom he knew as a boy; he also discusses the death penalty separately with Charlie and with Joey, who is a Quaker.

At 3 a.m. aboard Air Force One, President Bartlet, Josh, Toby, C.J., Donna, Zoey, Charlie, and others leave Andrews AFB for a grueling 24-hour trip to Los Angeles.

The President expresses concern about a pending 50-50 vote on a Senate bill about a tax credit for the production of ethanol as a fuel, and meets Gina Toscano (Jorja Fox), the Secret Service agent assigned to Zoey.

The agenda, filling the day and evening, includes a debate on a proposed amendment to the Constitution to prohibit burning the national flag, a town-hall meeting on school vouchers, and a celebrity-packed fundraising dinner at the home of Ted Marcus (Bob Balaban), the president of a film studio.

The First Lady appears on television on behalf of the Children's Crusade to raise awareness about child slavery, but her efforts are soon overshadowed when the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors dies.

After last-minute quibbling over the wording of several questions, the senior staff start a nationwide telephone poll to measure the job-approval rating of the administration.

The staff learns that the Space Shuttle Columbia has incurred a mechanical problem and a resulting delay in its landing, and that Toby's brother is a payload specialist aboard the flight.

Afterward, as the group returns to the motorcade, Zoey's Secret Service agent Gina Toscano sees something, but is unable to piece it together before two unknown concealed gunmen begin shooting.

The website's critical consensus reads, "The West Wing is a gripping fantasy of lawmakers and government operatives looking to make a difference, presenting an idealized vision of politicking that audiences can strive toward.