So the government shutdown, and you’re probably confused. We’re all confused. The government is confused. Luckily, art imitates life and our favorite television characters have had to deal with this in the past. So maybe you’re being asked not to come into your government job, or you’re having an anarchist party, here’s how TV got through government shutdowns.

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“The West Wing” season 5, episode 8 “Shutdown”

As much of the series was, the government shutdown was modeled after the Clinton Administration, this time mirroring the 1995 government shutdown. President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) can’t come to an agreement with the Republican Speaker of the House over budget cuts, so Bartlet shuts it all down. Who can and can’t work? Who will cook the State dinner the First Lady was planning? These are the important questions.

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“Parks and Recreation” season 2, episode 23; season 2, episode 24; season 3, episode 1 “The Master Plan” “Freddy Spaghetti” and “Go Big or Go Home”

The Pawnee government is pretty faulty, and when the state auditors Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) and Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) come into town to fix the deep budget deficit they shut the government down. Pawnee was shut down for three months, let’s hope the US isn’t that broken.

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“Veep” season 2, episode 7 “Shutdown”

In the most recent of shutdown-themed episodes, Vice President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) tries to stop the president from letting the government shut down, but her efforts are to no avail. The shutdown leads to trash, everywhere, and it’s not pretty. Don’t worry everyone; Chicago’s garbage isn’t affected.