The West Wing Reunion To Air On HBO Max Two Weeks Before Election Day

With Election Day only weeks away and people constantly filling their social media pages with opinions about former Vice President Joe Biden and incumbent POTUS Donald Trump, the upcoming presidential election promises to be one for the ages.

The West Wing Reunion Date Set

Harkening back to a less tumultuous political time—although a fictional one—former TV President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet will return to the airwaves in the form of his portrayer, Martin Sheen.

According to TV Line, HBO Max will air a West Wing reunion special two weeks before Americans cast their vote. On National Voter Registration Day, the streaming service announced the special will premiere on Thursday, Oct. 15, releasing a black and white photo of Sheen in character in his Oval Office.

A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote will feature original cast members Rob Lowe (Sam), Dulé Hill (Charlie), Allison Janney (C.J.), Janel Moloney (Donna), Richard Schiff (Toby), Bradley Whitford (Josh), and Sheen, along with series creator Aaron Sorkin and executive producer/director Thomas Schlamme, for a staged theatrical presentation of the Season 3 fan-favorite episode, “Hartsfield’s Landing.”

HBO Max revealed that each act break will feature commentary from former First Lady Michelle Obama, President Bill Clinton, and Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda.

The episode, which originally aired on Feb. 27, 2002, shows President Bartlet engaged in chess matches with both Sam and Toby, games that mirror the brinksmanship that Bartlet is playing with the Chinese, who are conducting war games in the Taiwan Strait.

The show also sees Josh worried about the 42 votes in a remote New Hampshire town’s election, which have historically predicted the winner of that state’s primary, while C.J. gets in a war of her own with Charlie by hiding his copy of the President’s top-secret daily schedule.

Opening the show will be Emmy Award-winning musician and composer W. G. Snuffy Walden, who will play an acoustic rendition of the series’ iconic theme song, as well as folk-rock band The Avett Brothers, who will close out the special.