This article about the demise of The West Wing attributes its ratings plunge to the exit of its creator, Aaron Sorkin.  But I reckon there's a different reason ...

See, the whole show was like a parallel universe in which political correctness actually worked. But the dramatic events of the last few years have woken many people up; they are just sooo beyond all that now. So, the spectacle of a bunch of smug, solipsistic liberals repeatedly disappearing up their own backsides is one that only the most tragically reality-challenged viewer might now enjoy.