I've been re-watching a bit of the West Wing. I finally caught up with the end of Season 7 which I'd never seen and now regret I ever wasted time watching. They clearly had absolutely no idea what to do once John Spencer died as they couldn't really go into governing. They should have just given it a couple episodes to wrap up but I guess tell that to the channel controllers.
But I was reading how there were quite animated debates in the writing room about whether Vinick or Santos should win. Santos was always likely to win but it seems those who were writing Vinick really believed he should win.
Which I think is a great idea for a show. You set up a race- a mayoral race. There are going to be a number of inaugural mayor races in Britain over the next couple years so you can set them there. You go for one like Birmingham where it's conceivable someone other than Labour can win. And you assign writers to the teams and get them to write and direct their bits. You have controllers who are going to chuck problems and information at them and will stop the writers making their characters too likeable and perfect but it's up to the writing, directing and acting team to respond to the events, whether personal or political.
And you could have it semi-live, maybe a couple weeks behind so that the opinion of those watching it can dictate opinion polls. I think it could be a great mix of drama and interactivity. It would also be a great way for a city to be explored. The issues that matter locally will come to the fore and it could give people and idea of politics beyond Westminster.
BBC are moving to Salford so maybe it could be their way of discovering their new city.
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