One Of Television's Best Political Dramas Ever Is Streaming On Netflix

One fun thing about streaming is that, on any given day, your favorite platform might add a truly classic show. Maybe you've only been able to enjoy the series in bits and pieces over the years, or maybe it's been a long time since you first saw it, and you're due for a rewatch. And then, one day, you browse Netflix and notice that the show is suddenly available for streaming. Case in point: one of the best political shows of all time, "The West Wing," is back on Netflix as of December 9, 2025.

It's not the series' first rodeo on this particular platform, either. "The West Wing" is one of the many shows that left Netflix in December 2020, and it hasn't been among the streamer's selections ever since. With this grand return, Netflix-subscribing political drama fans both old and new are now free to dive into the world of President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and his team of perennially overworked problem solvers. 

As its name implies, "The West Wing" focuses on the hubbub and various crises that the staff of the president's personal offices have to tackle on a daily basis. The political minefields the most powerful individual in the world has to navigate are many and varied, and over the show's seven seasons, viewers learn a great deal about the political workings of the White House — as presented by Aaron Sorkin's hit NBC series, anyway. 

Not only is the setting of "The West Wing" pretty much the ultimate one for a high-impact political drama, but the show's writing and acting are also top notch. Apart from Sheen's turn as a the comforting, capable President Bartlet, the show's key characters include Rob Lowe's deputy communications director Sam Seaborn, Bradley Whitford's deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman, Dulé Hill's presidential aide Charlie Young, Stockard Channing's First Lady Abbey Bartlett, and many others. The end result is a delicious cocktail that won no fewer than 26 Primetime Emmys during its run, and it remains an enticing look at the day-to-day operations of a stable government. The show truly shines during its first four seasons, but even the worst seasons of "The West Wing" are well worth checking out and have their share of underrated episodes.

"The West Wing," to reiterate, is currently available for streaming on Netflix.