When it comes to The West Wing’s mix of family, service, and politics (fictional and otherwise), one August day in 2012 stands out as especially memorable. In that case, the trusty West Wing bat signal drew former colleagues from in front of and behind the camera. It all began with a pair of state supreme court vacancies and a “West Wing–in–law” (Mary’s sister, Bridget McCormack), an associate dean at the University of Michigan’s law school, who was vying for one of the open seats. (It’s Melissa. As a fan of both Bridget and Mary—I see myself as the missing McCormack sister—I’ll take the lead in this proceeding.)
Weeks before that fateful Saturday in August, Mary and her husband, Michael, had been brainstorming creative ways to help her big sister. Given that Bridget was running in a state election and that her name would appear in the oft-overlooked “nonpartisan section of the ballot,” even the faintest spotlight could provide a game-changing bump. So maybe Brad or Richard could record a video endorsement on their iPhone. Or Allison. And…could they possibly get Martin to lend his voice to the cause? So they reached out.
In what should have come as no surprise, but did, everyone said yes. Which is great, of course, except that all of a sudden, the McCormack team realized they were going to need a director. Former West Wing director of photography and all-world good guy Michael Mayers signed on. And, oh yeah, what on earth were we going to say? Mary called up her old In Plain Sight colleague John Cockrell, who scripted a snappy public service announcement / campaign short called “Walk-and-Talk the Vote.” (MARY: John has been one of my best friends since we were seventeen and both in the a cappella group the Pipes, in college. Even then he was the smartest, quickest writer I knew. He and I have worked together wherever possible ever since. The fact that he was never on the staff of The West Wing is one of those small wrinkles in the fabric of space-time. John is a true Wingnut [and SportsNut? if that’s a thing?]. I’ve never met anyone who loves the show as much. He was a natural choice to write “Walk-and-Talk the Vote”—which at the time was the most significant “new” West Wing incarnation yet. In fact, the first new West Wing scenes since the end of the show. The look on John’s face as the cast assembled that day is about as great a memory as you can have. Imagine a six-year-old stumbling onto a walk-and-talk between Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and you can begin to picture it.)
From there, Mary remembers, “we got crewed up. All of a sudden, what we’d initially pictured as a fast-and-loose, half-assed iPhone video had morphed into a full-fledged day of filming—with a crew and call sheets…craft service…That level of generosity from my West Wing family, and also just the comprehensiveness of it…I was so touched. I still am.”
The ten-hour shoot took place in a Burbank postproduction facility dressed up as a makeshift West Wing. What made this event extra special is that it boasted a nearly all-volunteer cast and crew. Every actor, writer, and producer, all the hair and makeup people, lighting and sound, set designers and dressers, electricians and prop masters—even crafty and the catering services—worked for free. All for a good cause, a great candidate, and the very best reasons.
While Allison, Mary, Janel, and I got finishing touches on our makeup and hair, we sat in an office going over our lines. Brad and Richard grazed over at craft services. Just a stone’s throw away, Malina was rehearsing the first scene, throwing a tennis ball, Toby-style, against the wall of his office. (“For the record,” John Cockrell said to us, “a decade later I still hate myself for not specifically scripting the ball as a ‘PINK SPALDEEN.’ It haunts me to this day.”)
With all the creativity that went into every aspect of “Walk-and-Talk the Vote,” it was the production designer, Denny Dugally, who had to get above-and-beyond inventive. She and her team raided storage units at work and home and brought set dressings and props—an American flag here, an eagle statuette there—and, in the Mickey Rooney / Judy Garland spirit of yesteryear, embraced their inner “We’re gonna put on a show!” Drab postproduction offices, editing suites, and conference rooms transformed into a remarkable semblance of The West Wing.
Meanwhile, as other cast members trickled in, Mayers strategized his opening shot, Mary’s husband, Michael Morris, showed up with their three daughters in tow (one of them, Lillian, brand-new!), and Mary and Malina got ready to roll. Oh, and the candidate we were there to endorse thanked everybody in sight as production geared up for the day. The next several hours resembled a rowdy summer camp reunion as we caught up with one another and reacquainted ourselves with the characters we’d last played five years before. Walking-and-talking, passing the baton, battling busted coffeemakers and bantering with friends, we had the time of our lives…again. (And in a subtle homage to Tommy Schlamme, the day went long.)
It was a total dream. We instantly fell back into old habits: the fast and easy on-set conversations, the constant teasing and fits of laughter, Brad and Allison goofing off while going over lines…and all of us rolling our eyes at Malina and what one can only loosely refer to as his “jokes.”
I don’t know why, but nothing makes me feel quite so good as the sight of colleagues enjoying each other outside work.
—PRESIDENT BARTLET TO JOSH AND LEO, “THE CRACKPOTS AND THESE WOMEN”
It culminated in shooting a scene around a conference table, talking about issues we care about, issues that state supreme courts take up every day: civil rights, the environment, workplace protections, voter protections. As if that weren’t enough, we were graced with the presence of legends Lily Tomlin and Martin Sheen, who both prioritized this get-together because they believed in the candidate, the cause, and the family of friends who asked for their help. Then, as Martin closed out the video with a trademark flip of his blazer and his trademark line, “What’s next?” we were finished. Almost.
At the end of the day, the final setup and shot came down to…the candidate. Poor Bridget—the one on-camera presence who wasn’t an actor had to film her piece of the ad in front of the remaining cast and crew. “I’m Bridget Mary McCormack, and I approved this message.” And yet…after a few takes, the future state supreme court justice nailed her line, blushed at the applause, and that was that. CUT TO…
Several weeks (and many hours of editing footage) later, the four-minute video went viral on social media, generating millions of views across multiple platforms. (It lives on, as everything does, thanks to YouTube.) Just days after that, we eagerly tuned in to MSNBC’s late-night cable news show, The Last Word, hosted by former West Wing writer-producer Lawrence O’Donnell. Thanks to Lawrence, viewers got to see not just a clip of the video, which is what we had hoped for, but the entire thing! He also interviewed Bridget for a segment, during which she made the case for her candidacy while underscoring the importance of nonpartisan elections like the ones for state supreme court.
“Walk-and-Talk the Vote,” it’s worth noting, was as much a public service announcement as a campaign ad. And the subject of that PSA remains a legitimate issue—not a major one, but not a minor one, either. Many state and local election ballots include sections that even savvy voters remain unaware of. As Martin’s President Bartlet points out in the video, “If people fail to realize a straight-ticket-vote doesn’t count in the nonpartisan races, if they just casually vote the party line, their interests will continue to go unrepresented!”
On November 6, 2012, Barack Obama and Joseph Biden won reelection over their GOP challengers, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. Meanwhile, in the great state of Michigan, Bridget took one of the three open supreme court seats while earning more votes than any other candidate, the incumbent included. In 2018, Bridget was selected by her peers to serve as chief justice and remained in that role until she retired from the court in 2022, having won reelection in 2020. Her legacy is best characterized as one of bipartisanship, of fundamental change, of increased citizen accessibility to the court, and of giving voice to disenfranchised people in search of more equitable outcomes. Bridget is also a champion of treatment courts and a member of the board at All Rise. The West Wing’s Evelyn Baker Lang would be proud.
Looking back more than a decade later, it would appear the whole chaotic, fun-filled enterprise undertaken on that summer day went off without a hitch. And it did. Except…
Between coordinating production, acquiring network and studio approval, and the race to get all these people together in one place on one day, one thing got lost in the shuffle. And it was sort of a big deal…which Mary realized less than an hour after we wrapped. Her urgent text to one of the producers went a little something like this:
“Ohmyfuckinggod! We forgot to ask Aaron!!!”
(Oops.) Yes, the one permission we had neglected to lock down was the one that mattered most. So Mary wrote him a panicked mea culpa. (MARY: Just popping in to say that I was literally sick with worry. Okay. Back to Melissa.) Here’s how Aaron replied:
Mary,
You’re so sweet to write. Bridget sounds awesome and I wish I lived in Michigan so I could vote for her. I’m very flattered that you and she would want to use The West Wing to help her campaign and I’m proud that the gang can always be counted on to pitch in. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.
Aaron
Two more emails and four months later…
Dear Mr. Sorkin,
I want to thank you for your incredible generosity in allowing us to use your characters and your intellectual property for the campaign video we made. Over a million people saw the West Wing video, and the earned media around it was unbelievable. In a name recognition race like the state supreme court race, this truly might well explain the outcome. I am so grateful for your kindness in permitting us to run with it with your blessing. And I promise to make the Michigan Supreme Court a fairer institution while I serve on it, and to improve the way justice is done in our state. Thank you.
Warmly,
Bridget McCormack
Justice McCormack,
I was so happy that Mary and the cast were able to help in the election of such a worthy jurist. I don’t envy you your job but I wish you the wisdom of Solomon and I look forward to breaking the law in Michigan so that I can meet you someday.
Best,
Aaron