'A West Wing Special To Benefit When We All Vote' Trailer: The Bartlet Administration Is Back

A trailer for the somewhat clunkily-titled A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote gives us a glimpse at the West Wing reunion that brings back the cast of the hit series for a very special cause. The reunion will have the original cast members in a stage production of the West Wing episode "Hartsfield's Landing", all in the name of raising awareness and support for When We All Vote, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization co-chaired by Michelle Obama which was founded to increase participation in every election in America.

I'm a fan of The West Wing, but the last few years have only increased my cynicism about politics. And that cynicism has made me hesitant to ever return to Aaron Sorkin's hit series, primarily because none more than ever it feels like it exists in a fantasy world where political factions can all come together. In reality, politics have only become more tribal and soul-crushing.

And yet, I'll confess that as I watched this trailer, I got nostalgic – especially when that iconic theme music from W. G. Snuffy Walden kicked in. Damn it, I might have to watch this. The HBO Max event A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote brings back the cast of the series to recreate the season 3 episode "Hartsfield's Landing." In the world of the show, the 42 votes of the small New Hampshire town tend to always predict the winner of the state primary. It's based on the real-life town of  Hart's Location, one of the first places to declare its results for the New Hampshire Presidential primary and U.S. Presidential elections.

Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Rob Lowe, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford, and Martin Sheen are all back, working with creator Aaron Sorkin and executive producer and director Thomas Schlamme to create the theatrical staged version of the episode. It's all to benefit When We All Vote, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization co-chaired founded to increase participation in every election in America. The event will include act breaks with guest appearances from When We All Vote co-chair Michelle Obama, President Bill Clinton,  Lin-Manuel Miranda, and more.

I know there will be plenty of extremely online people who will roll their eyes at this entire endeavor – I've actually seen some folks suggest that the sugarcoated politics of The West Wing directly lead to our current political hellscape, which is, I'm sorry, just silly goose nonsense. But I think I might have to give in and check this out, if only for nostalgia's sake.

A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote airs on HBO Max October 15.