Sorkin's declaration was made in May to a reporter from The Los Angeles Times but the remark has only just been published.

Asked this week to clarify it, Sorkin reiterated: "All these months later, I still don't see another series in my near future. But, again, you never know. Maybe I'll get another idea."

"I've loved every minute I've spent in television," Sorkin said. "And I've had much more failure, as traditionally measured, than success in television. I've done four shows, and only one of them was The West Wing."

Sorkin's other three shows were Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and HBO's The Newsroom.

In addition to writing the play A Few Good Men, and the feature film which was adapted from it, Sorkin's work has been primarily in film, notably The American President, Charlie Wilson's War and The Social Network.

In television, Sorkin has developed a reputation for delivering scripts within a whisker of their deadline.

"The thing I learned about Aaron over time is that the procrastination is not because he is sitting at home reading the newspaper. It torments him. But that is his process," HBO executive Michael Lombardo told The Los Angeles Times.

Sorkin was interviewed by The Los Angeles Times for the return of The Newsroom, the third and final season of which launches in the US and Australia this week.

Sorkin told the newspaper he found it difficult to let go of stories, and that he hoped to have another chance to write some of his most successful projects.

"I've never written anything that I haven't wanted to write again," he said. "I want to, and still am, writing A Few Good Men again. I didn't know what I was doing then, and I'm still trying to get it right.

"I would write The Social Network again if they would let me, I'd write Moneyball again. I would write The West Wing again. And, yeah, I'd write The Newsroom again."