Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, and other“ West Wing” cast reunite for series' 25th anniversary at 2024 Emmys

Sheen and Janney were joined by Richard Schiff, Dulé Hill, and Janel Moloney in honor of the Emmy-decorated series' big birthday.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.

Martin Sheen's President Jed Bartlet once recited this Margaret Mead quote on The West Wing. Seeing Sheen join forces with other Wing alums, including Allison Janney, Dulé Hill, Richard Schiff, and Janel Moloney on the Emmys stage makes you believe it.

The supergroup took to the Peacock Theater stage in downtown Los Angeles Sunday night to commemorate the award-winning series' 25th anniversary. They presented the Emmy for Best Drama Series, which went to Shōgun.

Sheen began, "From 1999 to 2006 I had the honor of playing the President of the United States on an extraordinary series created by Aaron Sorkin and produced by John Wells." Hill continued, "the name of that series was The West Wing. We all had the honor of serving in your administration," he directed back to Sheen.

Janney added that "it's hard to believe that 25 years ago, Aaron and the writers actually had to use their imaginations to create interesting plot lines for The West Wing." "Unlike today," Schiff continued, "where storylines can be plucked right off the news, storylines that the writers would have deemed a bit farfetched, if not utterly ridiculous, 25 years ago."

Moloney noted that "our political landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years, but two things have not changed - the importance of making sure for everyone to be registered, and to vote..." She then passed the baton to Sheen, who naturally had the last word: "...and the quality of the drama series on television."

Related: Emmys 2024: See the complete list of winners

The cast of The West Wing have staged many reunions, formal and informal, over the 18 years since the show went off the air.

Sheen gave a speech in support of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA/WGA strike on a picket line, and was joined by Janney, Hill, Schiff, Moloney, and series creator Aaron Sorkin, as well as Melissa Fitzgerald, Bradley Whitford, Joshua Malina, and Mary McCormack. The cast and Sorkin also reunited for a 2020 HBO Max special to help get out the vote ahead of that year's Presidential election.

Related: What really made Rob Lowe quit The West Wing?

Sheen described Sorkin's stage production of the season 3 episode "Hartsfield Landing" as "sacramental," adding that the cast "have stayed in touch," but "have not played together in almost 15 years."

He added, "I just wept with joy when it was done."

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Connie Britton, who played Bartlet-Hoynes reelection campaign staffer Connie Tate on season 3 of the political drama, was also in the house, but presented a different award. She joined forces with Meredith Baxter and Susan Kelechi Watson in a tribute to TV moms to present the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, which went to the team behind Hacks.

The West Wing was an Emmys juggernaut during its eight-year run on NBC, racking up a staggering 95 total nominations and 26 wins, including acting awards for Janney, Schiff, writing for Sorkin, and Outstanding Drama many times over. It remains in the top 15 most Emmy-nominated series of all time.

Janney is the most Emmy-decorated West Wing veteran, winning four times for her performance as Press Secretary C.J. Cregg, and taking home three more Emmys in the years since for her work on the CBS sitcom Mom and the Showtime limited series Masters of Sex.

You can check all the winners of the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards on EW's complete list.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.