Aaron Sorkin

1999 · 7 Seasons · NBC · Drama, Political

The West Wing is Aaron Sorkin's love letter to democratic governance, a show that proved political process could be as gripping as any thriller when anchored by brilliant writing and a cast that elevated every walk-and-talk into something electric. The first four seasons under Sorkin's pen represent some of the finest writing in television history, with dialogue that crackles and characters you'd follow anywhere. The quality drops noticeably after Sorkin's departure in season four, with the fifth season in particular struggling to maintain the standard, though the show recovers somewhat for its final stretch. Even with its uneven back half, The West Wing remains essential television for anyone who believes that smart, literate drama belongs on network television.

1992 · Rob Reiner · 138 min · Drama / Legal

A Few Good Men is the courtroom drama as heavyweight bout, building for two hours toward a witness-stand collision between Tom Cruise's slick Navy lawyer and Jack Nicholson's granite colonel that produced the most quoted eruption in the genre's history. Aaron Sorkin's first produced screenplay crackles with the rhythms that would define his career, Rob Reiner directs it like a thriller, and the ensemble around the leads never misses. It's formula, gleaming and unashamed, with a female lead the script underserves and a mystery that's really a straight line. Nobody minds while it's playing.

2012 · 3 Seasons · HBO · Drama, Political

The Newsroom is Aaron Sorkin at his most passionate and most polarizing, a show about how television news should be done that struggles with the gap between its ideals and its execution. Jeff Daniels delivers a commanding lead performance, and the second season's sustained storyline about a fabricated story represents some of Sorkin's tightest work. But the show's tendency to lecture, its uneven treatment of female characters, and the inherent smugness of telling real-world stories with the benefit of hindsight kept it from reaching the heights of Sorkin's earlier work. It's a fascinating, frustrating show that provokes strong reactions in every direction.