Wisconsin election storyline becomes heart of 'Succession' episode

An election storyline with Wisconsin at the center? Art imitates life.

HBO's "Succession," the Emmy-winning dark satire immersed in its fourth and final season, turned its attention toward the Midwest on Sunday night in an episode set during a presidential election.

As the episode tracks the chaotic machinations inside the newsroom at ATN, a fictional network under the umbrella of the Waystar Royco company at the center of the series, word begins to spread of a fire at a Milwaukee voting center.

The word "Wisconsin" gets used 28 times and "Milwaukee" another 13 on the New York-centered series.

Here's what happened in the episode and how Wisconsin was heavily involved

(Warning: Spoilers follow for the May 14 episode of "Succession.")

Initially thought to be an electrical fire but possibly an act of arson by those supporting far-right candidate Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk) to "protest voter irregularities," things get complicated quickly. Word surfaces that 100,000 absentee votes were lost or destroyed in the fire, leaving the state's election outcome in doubt.

Inside ATN, the show's main characters clash as to whether the network should call the state for Mencken, citing favorable numbers from ballots already tallied, or wait until Wisconsin can properly account for the lost ballots.

"While we theoretically know everyone who requested an absentee ballot, we don't entirely know how many turned them in, and there's nothing in Wisconsin law that really covers what to do," says ATN election specialist Darwin, a character played by guest star Adam Godley.

Shiv (Sarah Snook) points out since they're Milwaukee ballots, they're more likely to favor the left-leaning candidate Daniel Jimenez (Elliot Villar), thus leaving the state's election outcome in serious doubt. Her brother, Roman (Kieran Culkin), already aligned with Mencken, seeks to use ATN as a tool to promote Mencken's interests and pushes for the network to call Wisconsin on Mencken's behalf.

Both siblings must then convince older brother Kendall (Jeremy Strong) on the best course of action, knowing an early call could prematurely declare Mencken as president and give him a leg up in what's sure to be a contested outcome.

Milwaukee's Claire Woodall-Vogg consulted with writers on the show

How would a similar situation be handled if it happened in real life? Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, said she consulted with the writers to give them more background on central count and Wisconsin law.

"We would know with 99% accuracy who returned a ballot because it is tracked in WisVote," she said, in response to the idea that there would be no information on who voted absentee. "However, we make occasionally data entry errors where a ballot here or there gets scanned incorrectly. This is something we normally correct after the election with envelope in hand.

"Everything else was pretty accurate. The Milwaukee EC and WEC would both likely go to court to request a revote for those who returned their absentee ballots (or voted at early voting). There would likely be a jurisdictional debate because it had federal and state contests and would drag on for months."

If there was any doubt that the show did its homework, it correctly identified the correct plural "Wisconsin Elections Commission" and singular "Milwaukee Election Commission."

Woodall-Vogg said she first spoke to the writers in October, connected through friend and conservative political consultant Ben Ginsburg, who was involved in the litigation that surrounded Bush v. Gore.

"It was great contingency planning going into the general (election) as they asked me questions," Woodall-Vogg said.

Episode consultant Eric Schultz, a former Obama White House aide speaking to Charlotte Klein of Vanity Fair, discussed the careful choice of Wisconsin for the episode.

"Obviously, the fire being located in Wisconsin was not an accident," he said. "We had looked at other states but wanted to find a place that fit into the timing of the evening, and that would also be a venue that had a sufficient number of votes to be determinative. … The banter that Shiv talks about — in terms of proposing a revote and the Milwaukee County Board of Elections — all of that stuff is not shooting from the hip. It was material that we looked into."

How has Wisconsin been in the national election spotlight (in real life)?

In real life, Wisconsin's position as a swing state made it a central player in the 2020 presidential election, and incumbent Donald Trump wanted to throw out absentee ballots from Milwaukee and Dane counties in the aftermath. Wisconsin's spotlight in elections didn't stop there; the 2023 state Supreme Court election also drew attention around the nation.

The Republican National Convention selected Milwaukee as its home base for 2024, four years after the Democratic National Convention chose Milwaukee in an event dramatically reduced in scope by the coronavirus pandemic.

RELATED: 14 TV shows with Wisconsin ties in 2022, from 'Dahmer' to 'The Recruit'

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin election storyline becomes heart of 'Succession' episode