Clooney's blend of fact and fiction has Capitol Hill abuzz

Along the corridors of Capitol Hill and in the offices of the Washington lobbyists who bid for influence there is a definite buzz. And it has less to do with who leaked the identity of a CIA operative than the chance of running into George Clooney or else making a cameo performance in the new television series he is producing.

Clooney is the executive producer of K Street, a new series that aims to do for lobbyists what The West Wing has done for those who work at the White House. In recent weeks Clooney, his co-producer Steven Soderbergh and their film crews have become a familiar sight on the streets of the nation's capital, in some cases bringing traffic to a halt in a city that generally likes to think of itself as terribly serious.

As with much that goes on in Washington, the show is creating more interest among political and lobbying types than with Americans in other parts of the country. Reviews and viewing figures have, so far, not been favourable for the show, the fourth episode of which was screened on Sunday night on the HBO cable channel. The buzz in Washington is not just about seeing the city get a Hollywood makeover, but in the real chance of getting a walk-on part. The show's aim is to combine fictional characters with appearances by real-life political figures, all centred on the biggest political news of the week.

"There is a lot of talk among the senators," said Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat who, in real life, recently called for an independent counsel to investigate the leaking of a CIA operative's name to the media. Mr Schumer - who appeared in the third episode of K Street playing himself - told The New York Times: "I was on all three national networks that night - the same night [the show was screened] - and I got 20 times the feedback on K Street."

The show's mixing of fictional and real-life characters is taken to extremes by the inclusion of the real-life married couple James Carville and Mary Matalin. Mr Carville, a former adviser to Bill Clinton, and Ms Matalin, a former adviser to Vice-President Dick Cheney, play versions of themselves as a couple who run a lobbying firm. In a recent episode, Mr Carville was seen giving a briefing to the Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean.

Though the briefing was staged for the cameras, in a case of art imitating life, one of the lines suggested by Mr Carville was actually later used by Mr Dean: "If the per cent of minorities that's in your state has anything to do with how you can connect with African-American voters, then Trent Lott [the Mississippi Senator who lost his Republican leadership job in the Senate for a racist remark] would be Martin Luther King."

There is little doubt that on the real K Street - the wide Washington boulevard often referred to as "Gucci Gulch" where many law and lobbying firms are based - the show has got people talking.

Mark McKinnon, a political consultant to President Bush, said: "K Street has hit Washington like a bat hitting a bee's nest. Everyone's talking about it. They're either intrigued or they're horrified. But they're talking about it."

For some fans, the real interest remains Clooney, once named by People magazine as the "Sexiest Man Alive".