Donald Trump presidency sparks rise in The West Wing viewership

Google Trends suggests a rising interest in Aaron Sorkin's political drama

It turns out something is actually benefiting from Donald Trump's tenure as President of the United States of America - television series The West Wing.

Google Trends data suggests that all this chatter surrounding the US election has seen a spark in interest for the Aaron Sorkin-written TV series which ran from 1999 to 2006.

Annual data from Google Trends has shown a clear rise in search for the serial political drama series which follows Martin Sheen's President Bartlett.

Renewed interest reached its peak at two specific points from the past year in US politics: Trump's election in November 2016 and his inauguration back in January 2017.

The West Wing also starred Rob Lowe, Allison Janney and Richard Schiff. It's clear that people are using the series as an opportunity to see if reality can really be as unbelievable as fiction - in comparison, The West Wing makes for easy viewing.

Sorkin - who served as lead writer on the show's first four seasons - went on to pen The Social Network, Moneyball and HBO series The Newsroom.

Trump's presidency has seen a rise in viewing ratings for late-night talk show hosts, including Bill Maher and John Oliver. However, it's Stephen Colbert who is proving the current late night show king with his series Late Show with Stephen Colbert.