Why Did Toby Get Fired on The West Wing? Details for Fans

Should Toby Have Been Fired on 'The West Wing' or Did Politics Get in the Way?

"You feel this corporate shadow constantly suppressing and regulating and watching over, especially for Toby," stated actor Richard Schiff.

Apr. 22 2024, Published 1:12 p.m. ET

Beloved displays encourage the most powerful fan bases. Regardless of when the show went off the air, reviews on characters turn into more potent as the years pass. One such show is The West Wing and one such personality is Toby Ziegler. Nearly 20 years since his departure from The White House, fans still get disenchanted that Toby used to be fired from The West Wing.

After showing in six full seasons of The West Wing, Toby used to be gone after 4 episodes in Season 7. In the episode “Mr. Frost,” we see Toby settle for his destiny, whether it was once warranted or not.

Toby was fired from The White House on the 'The West Wing' for a leak.

All of the following might sound silly because The West Wing was a display rooted if truth be told. But sometimes even the most serious presentations sound like science fiction.

Toby was the White House Communications Director in the President Bartlet White House. Toby leaked to a journalist at The New York Times the existence of a secret military house commute at the finish of Season 6. This is relevant as a result of there were 3 astronauts trapped in the International Space Station. The leak led to the use of the commute because of public demand.

During the first part of Season 7, there’s an investigation to determine the leaker. Toby admits to it and is fired from the Bartlet White House. For extra context, it’s necessary to understand that Toby’s brother was an astronaut, therefore his ethical duty to let the public know there’s a program that might doubtlessly save astronauts' lives.

While no longer the whole thing labored out great for Toby, he did roughly lend a hand save those astronauts’ lives and was once in the long run pardoned by means of President Bartlet in his closing act in office.

Both super fans and the actor playing Toby didn't like the firing.

You can find dozens of impassioned writings from tremendous fans of The West Wing about Toby’s firing however the best could also be from Brian Grubb at Uproxx. In his piece, “‘The West Wing’ Shouldn’t Have Done What It Did To Toby,” printed on Oct. 12, 2016, more than Eleven years since Toby used to be fired, Brian posits that this by no means even needed to happen.

“None of it had to happen, you realize? By doing it, the show took Toby — to that point a gruff, cynical, solely lovable crank, who served as one of those Greek chorus for the extra liberal wing of the show’s target audience — and roughly threw him in the trash in the middle of the final season. Why would they do this? They didn’t need to. They could have simply as easily, like, not carried out it. Or they could have stored maximum of the plot, however sent Josh Lyman up to repair it on a tiny rocket and then left him in the market to die by myself in the cosmos."

Maybe it did have to happen. According to Toby’s portrayer, actor Richard Schiff, the character was just too liberal for the executives at Time Warner. In a piece for Deseret News on Oct. 21, 2005, he said, "You really feel this corporate shadow constantly suppressing and regulating and staring at over, particularly for the persona Toby, who's slightly conscience-driven and dynamic in his reviews. You simply really feel the suppression."

The West Wing is currently available to stream on Max. The cast, including Toby, reunited in October 2020 for A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote, additionally available on Max.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pbXSramam6Ses7p6wqikaKhfrLW6ecOim2asn5fGbrPErWSfoaKasW7DxKyrZq%2BZo7Q%3D