House of Cards is great and everything, but I hope Netflix will forgive me when I say that its not quite the West Wing. The American serial political drama follows Martin Sheen and Rob Lowe as the U.S. President and his deputy communications director as they deal with life in the White House during the fictitious Democratic administration of Josiah Bartlet. While the West Wing was often praised for its writing, some critics called the show unrealistically optimistic and sentimental, with a large part of the criticism pointing fingers at the naiveté of the characters, however many former real-life West Wing residents praised the shows realism and representation of life in Washington, including Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. Critics overwhelmingly agreed with the former presidents, and Sheen was awarded a Best Actor Golden Globe for his performance as head of state. Seasons one through seven of Aaron Sorkins Emmy award winning show are available in their entirety for US Netflix customers, though those of on the other side of the Atlantic with an interest in American politics will have to continue to make do with Kevin Spaceys pragmatic congressman Frank Underwood.
