‘West Wing’ Cast Reunites For White House’s Big Block Of Cheese Day
Enlisting the help of the West Wing cast for the second year in a row, the White House has announced that “Big Block of Cheese Day” will be returning just in time for the 2015 State of the Union address.
On Friday, the White House announced this year’s edition of the oddly titled event, during which staffers answer Americans’ question on various issues by releasing a video on YouTube featuring much of the cast of The West Wing. As Entertainment Weekly notes, the video features Press Secretary Josh Earnest, who receives a call from Bradley Whitford, quickly joined by Josh Malina, Richard Schiff, Allison Janney, and several other alumni of The West Wing.
The tradition is a nod to President Andrew Jackson, who had a 1,400-pound block of cheese installed in the White House’s main foyer for an open house with citizens on February 22, 1837. Big Block of Cheese Day later became the basis for an episode of The West Wing’s first season, in which Chief of Staff Leo McGarry allowed interest groups to meet with White House staff, much to the chagrin of the cast. The modern version of the event will take place online, as the White House makes staffers like Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer, Press Secretary Josh Earnest, and Dr. Jill Biden, among many others, available to discuss a wide range of topics.
The “West Wing” cast reunited for a video about the White House’s “Big Block of Cheese Day.” http://t.co/iEgaiyMerp pic.twitter.com/kVpLdClOJh
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) January 16, 2015
Last year, the White House also promoted the first virtual Big Block of Cheese Day with the help of The West Wing, though only Bradley Whitford and Josh Malina were on hand for the 2014 video. This year’s event is scheduled for January 21, coinciding with President Obama’s State of the Union speech, which will be delivered the previous evening. As MSNBC reports, the question and answer session will be organized with the hashtag #AskTheWH.
West Wing reunion at @funnyordie @WhitfordBradley @Richard_Schiff @JoshMalina @AllisonBJanney pic.twitter.com/MQDOfi3wzE
— Eli Attie (@EliAttie) January 13, 2015
Earlier this week, images from the video shoot made their way online, thanks to some former cast members of The West Wing. As the Inquisitr previously reported, fans were excited to see the group reunite, nine years after the show’s finale, even though the reason why wasn’t immediately clear. Josh Malina jokingly tweeted that the cast were working on the West Wing movie, while others reported that the group had filmed a sketch for Funny or Die.
[Image: YouTube/ White House via Entertainment Weekly]
