Never mind that John Wells is one of the more respected producers working in television, a four-time Emmy nominee for his writing and has won multiple Emmys as a producer.

His latest endeavor, overseeing day-to-day operations on "The West Wing" after the departure of creator Aaron Sorkin in the spring, has him feeling like "Ethel Merman's understudy in 'Gypsy.'"

"The stage manager makes the announcement to the crowd that in the second act, Miss Merman's part will be sung by John Wells, and you hear this kind of groan," Wells says of taking a more hands-on role in the series, which just celebrated its fourth straight Emmy win for best drama and begins its fifth season on NBC at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday (Sept. 24).

"That's sort of the mental image I went into writing [the season's first two episodes] with. But I ended up having a lot of fun."

"The West Wing" has always received more than its share of scrutiny from critics and viewers, and that likely would have been true again this season even if Sorkin, who wrote all but a handful of the show's scripts in its first four seasons, had remained with the series. Despite its Emmy win, a lot of observers thought it suffered some creatively last season; it also lost some of its audience to competitors like "The Bachelor."

Wells' focus is on keeping the series moving forward even as he and his writing staff look to introduce some new ideas into the series. One of his primary concerns is having President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) regain some of his authority after battles with multiple sclerosis, a cover-up of a secret military operation and, in last season's cliffhanger finale, the kidnapping of his daughter Zoey (Elisabeth Moss), which causes him to invoke the 25th Amendment and temporarily give up his office.

"We've put him through quite a bit," Wells says of the character. "The whole beginning of the season is actually about just that [question], which is ... he's questioning how he ended up making some of the decisions he's made, and how does he get back to leading in the way he originally envisioned himself leading the country."

While he hopes fans of "The West Wing" won't notice the change at the top of the show, he does acknowledge that he and his writing staff -- which includes holdovers Paul Redford, Eli Attie, Debora Cahn and Mark Goffman, returning writer Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. and "ER" veterans like Carol Flint -- won't try to mimic Sorkin's style.

In particular, viewers are less likely to see some of the dense monologues and quick banter that were Sorkin trademarks. "Aaron does that exceedingly well, and it's very difficult to do well," Wells says. "It's a wonderful stage technique he developed as a playwright, and when he uses it effectively it's terrific, but it's also one of the hardest things to actually do.

"So if we can do it really well, you'll hear a bunch of it, and if we can't, you won't see it nearly as much."

One thing viewers won't see, however, is deep exploration of the characters' personal lives, something that's prevalent on Wells' shows "ER" and "Third Watch." Bartlet's eldest daughter, Annie (Annabeth Gish), will be introduced and have a recurring role, but outside the first family, the characters will continue to be married to their work.

"The truth is, the rest of them don't have a home life, just because of their job requirements," Wells says. "There were a lot of people who expressed that would be a fear of where we were headed, but I just don't think that's really what the show is."

Wells and Co. will also address -- at least implicitly -- the oft-leveled criticism that it's a liberal fantasy in which conservatives are often made out to be buffoons. The show's Democratic White House is now dealing with a Republican-controlled Congress, and with that will come more examination of conflicting viewpoints.

"Our characters aren't changing, but the world in which they live [is]," Wells says. "It will force them to have more and more of those conversations and to hear more of other points of view."