Wondering How to Watch "The West Wing" Reunion Special in Australia? You Can't

#HOPE? More like nope.

Update: Oops, now you can! The special episode has been made available on Binge as of Monday 2 November. Get it here. (Affiliate disclosure: Student Edge may earn a commission if you click that link and buy a product from our partner's page.) Our original, much more depressing article follows.

Did you need a little something to perk up your spirits at the tail-end of a year that GLOW star Betty Gilpin has described—extremely accurately—as a "fecal hurricane"?

Did you feel the small, unfamiliar seed of anticipation—rather than dread at whatever the next day holds—after learning that the cast of The West Wing were reuniting for a staged reunion special, due out 15 October?

Were you looking forward to seeing an American President on the small screen who isn't actively shedding pandemic particles on his colleagues?

Well, if you’re in Australia, here’s what we’re about to do with that teeny, tiny kernel of hope you’ve been nurturing ever since the reunion was announced.

Student Edge has learned that the reunion—officially titled A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote—won’t be made available to Australian viewers (at least, for now). In fact, it won't be sold internationally at all, given its focus on the US election.

The special is a HBO Max original, but unfortunately, the streaming service HBO Max is not available in Australia. Nonetheless, we held out hope as some HBO Max shows had been palmed off to Stan locally (Love Life and Search Party, specifically), while some HBO Max movies have been released in Aussie cinemas (An American Pickle, and soon, The Witches).

But alas, the West Wing benefit will not, ahem, benefit from the same relationship between HBO Max and Stan or cinemas. Neither will Foxtel or Binge give Aussie subscribers access, as we have been informed it is not part of their deal with WarnerMedia, which sees them as the exclusive Australian home of HBO.

You can nonetheless stream all seven seasons of The West Wing (which originally aired on NBC in the States) on Stan, Binge, Foxtel Now and Amazon Prime Video. That includes the Season 3 episode "Hartsfield’s Landing", which serves as the script being re-staged by the original cast in the reunion (with Sterling K. Brown filling in for the late John Spencer in the part of Leo McGarry).

Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Rob Lowe, Bradley Whitford, Dule Hill, Janel Moloney and Richard Schiff all reprise their roles for the reunion, which was filmed at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles with strict COVID-19 protocols in place. It was put together in advance of the coming American election to promote the 'When We All Vote' initiative, which seeks to get every eligible American voter registered.

The benefit also includes appearances from Michelle Obama, President Bill Clinton, Samuel L. Jackson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Elisabeth Moss (who used to play the First Daughter!).

I mean, not that we can really do much with that information.

Hope you enjoy, America! Don't forget to vote on 3 November (or now, seeing as you can vote early).

It is, quite honestly, the least you can do for us.

Header Image: HBO Max