By Beatriz Colon
Copyright hellomagazine
Rob Lowe has been beckoned back to Washington D.C. After spending a few years over in fictional Austin starring as Owen Strand in the 9-1-1 spin-off 9-1-1: Lone Star, the St. Elmo’s Fire actor has booked his next gig since Lone Star came to an end earlier this year after its cancellation. Over 20 years since his exit from the esteemed White House drama The West Wing, in which he starred as Deputy White House Communications Director Sam Seaborn, now he’s taking a stab at playing Secret Service.
Variety confirmed this week that Rob has been cast in a new NBC drama about the U.S. Secret Service, which is currently in the works. Titled per the logline, it will follow elite agents serving on the president’s protective detail as they attempt to balance life with professional duty while securing the nation and defending against the next imminent threat.
Rob will also serve as executive producer alongside show creator Jennifer Yee McDevitt, who is also known for her work on Over the Moon, Goodbye Vitamin, and Task Force Two. Should it be ordered to series, it would mark Rob’s first return to scripted broadcast TV since 9-1-1: Lone Star’s cancellation, moreover, specifically within NBC, it would be first time back as a series regular on the network since Parks and Recreation, which he was on from 2010 to 2015, and his first NBC drama since The West Wing, which was created by Aaron Sorkin.
Rob was on The West Wing from its inception in 1999 until when he decided to leave in 2002 halfway through season four. The series ran for seven seasons, won over 20 Primetime Emmy Awards, and also starred Martin Sheen, Bradley Whitford, Allison Janney, Dulé Hill, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, and the late John Spencer, among others.
Speaking on the Podcrushed podcast in 2023, he gave insight into how leaving became the “best” decision he could ever make, despite the disappointment it caused. “I felt very undervalued,” he confessed at the time, adding: “It happens in any workplace. You can be in an environment where people sandbag you, wanna see you fail, don’t appreciate you — whatever it is.”
Not holding back, he admitted: “I did not have a good experience and tried to make it work and tried to make it work and tried to make it work,” and even said: “I purposely didn’t share half of [these stories] because it would make the people involved look so bad that I didn’t want to do it to them,” referring to what he previously said about his time on the show in his 2011 memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends.
Rob compared his involvement with the show to being in a relationship with the most popular girl at school, noting how despite the pressure to stay, it wasn’t worth it. “Everybody likes her, she’s beautiful, it must be great — all the things that people would say about making The West Wing to me,” he said, noting how he wanted to be an inspiration to his kids, who were just starting to get into relationships. “‘It’s so popular, it’s so amazing, it must be amazing,’ but I know what it’s like, and if I couldn’t walk away from it then how could I empower my kids to walk away from it?”
“What people forget is the minute I left, Aaron Sorkin left and then it wasn’t The West Wing anymore. It was ER in the White House, which is perfectly fine, but I’m not interested in that,” he added. He ultimately emphasized he had “zero regrets” about the decision, and stated: “I walked away from the most popular girl at school, but I also knew that it was a super unhealthy relationship and it was the best thing I ever did.”