# The West Wing

5 Hacker News commenters recommended The West Wing and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as one of the best shows of all time, with competent, respectable political characters. Common caveat: it can disappoint on rewatch, and some dislike its soft-focus Netflix picture.

## Why people recommend it

- One of the best shows of all time (1 comments): "one of the best shows of all time" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46215563))
- Competent, respectable political characters (1 comments): "The presidential candidates from both parties on the show were competent, respectable individuals." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50296430))
- Exemplifies its category (1 comments): "The West Wing exemplifies that category." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50296133))

## What people warn about

- Soft-focus picture on Netflix (2 comments): "I wish Netflix could go back and remove the hideous soft-focus filtration from The West Wing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46163219)) "hideous soft-focus filtration from The West Wing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46157637))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Halt and Catch Fire](https://hackerapproved.com/p/halt-and-catch-fire.md): 166 recommend
- [Babylon 5](https://hackerapproved.com/p/babylon-5.md): 86 recommend
- [Silicon Valley (TV series)](https://hackerapproved.com/p/silicon-valley.md): 52 recommend
- [Andor](https://hackerapproved.com/p/andor.md): 52 recommend
- [The Wire](https://hackerapproved.com/p/wire.md): 39 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The West Wing", https://hackerapproved.com/p/west-wing/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).