By Gail Shister
Knight Ridder Newspapers 

Don't look for "The West Wing's" President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) to welcome "Mister Sterling's" freshman Sen. Bill Sterling Jr. (Josh Brolin) to Washington. 

Though they share the NBC pedigree, the logistics of such a crossover are a nightmare, says "Sterling" creator Lawrence O'Donnell Jr., a "West Wing" alum. 

"I'd love to do it, but technically and in terms of scheduling, it's incredibly difficult," says O'Donnell, whose series launches Jan. 10 in the 8 p.m. EST Friday slot vacated by "Providence." 

"Aaron ("West Wing" boss Aaron Sorkin) and I could have a lot of fun writing crossover stuff -- we could go to the White House, they could come to the Capitol. But the opportunities for interaction are difficult." 

Like Robert Redford in 1972's "The Candidate," Sterling is the activist son of a famous retired politician who reluctantly falls into politics. 

In "Sterling," Sterling Sr. is the beloved former governor of California (James Whitmore). When the state's senior senator suddenly dies, the current governor appoints Sterling Jr. to fill the seat. 

O'Donnell acknowledges that "Sterling" probably wouldn't have been made without the success of "The West Wing," now in its fourth season. It "paved a path that no one knew was in TV -- a realistic drama set in the White House. Aaron made it much easier for me. It's easier to pitch lawyer shows to a network after "Perry Mason has been on the air." 

"Sterling" isn't a "West Wing" clone, O'Donnell points out. The White House and Capitol "are hugely different arenas." 

The Capitol "is the Grand Central Station of American politics," says O'Donnell, 50, who was Democratic chief of staff of the Senate's Committee on Finance and a senior aide to former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York. 

"Anybody can go into the building at any time, once you get through the metal detector," O'Donnell explains. "A politician can have an uncomfortable encounter right there in the hall." 

"Sterling" is the third series for Brolin, 34, better known as Barbra Streisand's stepson and Minnie Driver's former fiance. He played a hunky cop named Jack Passion (clever!) in NBC's short-lived 1994 soap "Winnetka Road," and a crack-shot Pony Express cowboy in ABC's 1989-92 "The Young Riders." 

O'Donnell cast Brolin "five minutes into our first meeting," he says. "He came in with long hair and a goatee, not looking even slightly senatorial. We got into a conversation ... and I loved his strength, confidence and vulnerability." 

"Sterling" has been in O'Donnell's head for 10 years, he says. He wrote a movie script in July '92, but after Bill Clinton's election that November, O'Donnell was swept back into politics. Is it realistic that someone who has never held elective office would be given a free pass to the U.S. Senate? 

"John Kennedy Jr. could have been appointed under the same circumstances. Sterling gets in because of a very famous last name. That's currency in politics. The current president could tell you that, as could various Kennedy family members." 

Speaking of famous names, "West Wing's" Bartlet is assumed to be president on "Sterling," though he's not mentioned specifically. Why not create a new commander-in-chief? "I think there should be one fictional president at a time on a network."

January 3, 2003

FROM THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT: Josh Brolin plays a liberal independent California senator in NBC's upcoming "Mister Sterling" series -- but doesn't talk politics with his dad, James Brolin, or stepmother, Barbra Streisand. 

Says the actor, "I'm not politically savvy, though I've become more so doing this show. Politics has never been of interest to me, except for a couple of educational issues because of my children being in school."

The actor notes that in the quest of learning what it would be like to be "a complete black sheep in the Senate," he "visited the Senate and ended up on the Senate floor. I saw Strom Thurmond with his walker and Teddy Kennedy, and I said to myself, 'Hey, that's all I need. Thank you. ' "