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fictional tv presidents

S

skippercollector

How many fictional United States Presidents have there been on TV? Since the beginning of the 21st Century it seems there are at least two new ones every year!
I'd like to start a list.
The best-known one is
Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) on The West Wing.
 
Well, the 1980's comedy "Hail To The Chief" and the 2000's drama "Commander In Chief" (both on ABC and starred the late Patty Duke and Geena Davis respectively) depicted the first female presidents...and we could be days away from electing one in real life!
 
Just off the top of my head, "Mr. President" with George C. Scott (early Fox days); "Nancy", a sitcom from around 1969-70 about the President's daughter; The various prezzes on "24"; And the new show "Graves" with Nick Nolte as a dead (I think that's what the promos are hinting at) ex-President.
 
longer list

I went through two TV show reference books I own and this was the list I came up with.

1985
Patty Duke/Julia Mansfield, Hail to the Chief

1987-1988
George C. Scott/Samuel Arthur Tresh, Mr. President

1999-2006
Martin Sheen/Josiah Bartlet, The West Wing

2001-2010
Dennis Haysbert/David Palmer, 24

2005-2006
Geena Davis/Mackenzie Allen, Commander in Chief

2012-?
Tony Goldwyn/Fitzgerald Grant, Scandal

2012-?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus/Selina Meyer, Veep

2012-2013
Josh Gad/Skip Gilchrist, 1600 Penn

2012-2015
Christopher P. Duncan/William Johnson, The First Family

2014-?
Keith Carradine/Conrad Dalton, Madam Secretary

2016-?
Kiefer Sutherland/Tom Kirkman, Designated Survivor

From what I can tell, there are currently four different Presidents on TV: Conrad Dalton, Fitzgerald Grant, Tom Kirkman and Selina Meyer
 
In the "It's a Wonderful Life" final episode of Dallas in 1991, J.R. Ewing is shown the alternative universe where Cliff Barnes is poised to assume the presidency.
 
skippercollector said:
I went through two TV show reference books I own and this was the list I came up with.

2001-2010
Dennis Haysbert/David Palmer, 24
Click to expand...


The David Palmer character was not president all those years. In season 5 (2006) he was already a former president.
The presidents after him on 24 were
Charles Logan (Gregory Itzin)
Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside)
Noah Daniels (Powers Booth)
Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones)
James Heller (William Devane)
 
In the Disney XD kid's show Gravity Falls there was Quentin Trembley, the 8th and a half president of the US, in one episode. :D
 
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There was a show on The Disney Channel in the early 2000s where the main kid's father was the President's chef. Can't tell you the name of the show or who the actors were; my sister's kids used to watch it.

Bronx
 
My daughter said she wanted to write in Quentin Trembley if she could. (She's 13, so she'll have to wait a few years. :))

I had the thought about writing in Ronald Reagan this year. :rolleyes:
 
Just saw another fictional president this past weekend.

In an episode of the 60s sitcom Mr. Terrific, landing gear on the president's plane jams during deployment and Stanley (Mr. Terrific) is called upon to fly to the plane and unjam it. His "Power pill" doesn't work and hilarity ensues while they try to figure out why.

Only the president's back is seen but his voice is heard. This would have been during the LBJ years and the TV pres didn't have a Texas accent, so I assume he was supposed to be fictional.

Bronx
 
madam secretary

In the sixth and last season of Madam Secretary on CBS, Elizabeth "Bess" McCord (Tea Leoni) is now president.
A new show debuted this week on BET The Oval. It stars Ed Quinn as President Hunter Franklin.
 
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