Chris ForanMilwaukee Journal Sentinel
If you were seeking evidence of the Badger State on television this year, you didn't have far to look.
Two Wisconsin-tied performers were on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in 2022: Appleton's own Willem Dafoe hosted the show in January, and Milwaukee-born musical duo SistaStrings performed with musical guest Brandi Carlile on "SNL" in early December.
And one of the state's most-Emmy-nominated talents finally took home a trophy this year. In September, Milwaukee native Noah Mitz, a lighting designer who went to Nicolet High School, won his first Primetime Emmy in 23 nominations for best lighting design/lighting direction for a variety special for "Adele: One Night Only," which aired late the previous year.
Another Emmy winner with local ties this year was "When Claude Got Shot," the 2021 documentary about Milwaukee native Claude Motley and his journey toward justice and reconciliation after he was shot while home for a high school reunion. It took home the award for exceptional merit in documentary filmmaking.
There's more where those came from. Here are another 11 TV programs with Wisconsin connections on screen, on camera or behind the camera, in 2022.
Chris Smith directing 'Bad Vegan'
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee film school alum Chris Smith had another busy year, starting with "Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives," a four-part Netflix documentary series telling the crazy but true story of a vegan restaurateur whose life went very, very wrong after she married a man who claimed he could make her dog immortal.
'Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes'
The three-part Netflix documentary by Joe Berlinger, based in part on recordings of the Milwaukee serial killer's interviews with one of his attorneys, provides a less melodramatic, though maybe more powerful, look at the story dramatized in Netflix's other series (see below).
'Dahmer. Monster — The Jeffrey Dahmer Story'
Evan Peters plays Dahmer in Ryan Murphy's not-always-accurate drama about the Milwaukee serial killer's murderous life and times. Among the show's standouts was Niecy Nash as Glenda Cleveland, the Milwaukee woman who tried to get police to investigate Dahmer. Milwaukee's 1980s gay nightlife scene and the city's police culture are in the spotlight for much of the series, one of Netflix's most-watched shows in 2022.
RELATED:What's real and what's fiction in Netflix’s Jeffrey Dahmer series, ‘Monster’
John Ridley writing and directing 'Five Days at Memorial'
Oscar-winning screenwriter and Mequon native John Ridley co-wrote, co-directed and was executive producer on this powerful Apple TV+ limited series exploring the circ*mstances around the deaths of dozens of people in a New Orleans hospital after Hurricane Katrina.
Teen singer Liamani Segura on 'High School Musical: The Series: The Musical'
Thirteen-year-old Liamani Segura of Racine joined the popular Disney+ series' third season as Emmy, a quiet girl trying to find her voice.
Adam Ciralsky producing 'The Recruit'
This Netflix series, about a young lawyer thrown in the deep end at the CIA, was inspired by the early career of Milwaukee native Adam Ciralsky, a writer and filmmaker whose Milwaukee-based company P3 Media co-produced the show. (Ciralsky is also an executive producer on the show.)
RELATED:Milwaukee writer's days as a CIA lawyer inspire hit Netflix series 'The Recruit'
Neil Gaiman's 'Sandman' on Netflix
"The Sandman," based on the beloved graphic novel series by Menomonie-area resident and fantasy master Neil Gaiman, finally landed in live-action form on Netflix.
Mark Ruffalo as Hulk on 'She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'
Tatiana Maslany plays the title lawyer in this Marvel series on Disney+, but she got that way thanks to an accident involving her cousin Bruce Banner (aka The Hulk), with Kenosha native Mark Ruffalo reprising his Avengers character.
Patrick Somerville, showrunner on 'Station Eleven'
Based on Emily St. John Mandel's dystopian novel about life after a fast-moving pandemic wipes out most of the world's population, "Station Eleven" was adapted as an acclaimed limited series for HBO, guided by showrunner Patrick Somerville, who grew up in Green Bay. The series finale aired in January 2022.
Former Bucks, Marquette stars Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Chones characters on 'Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty'
Not everyone was thrilled with the HBO series about the Los Angeles Lakers and their game-changing play in the 1980s, but the team did have two key Milwaukee connections: Bucks legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (played by Solomon Hughes) and Marquette University star Jim Chones (Newton Mayenge), a key role player on the Lakers.
John Emmet Tracy on 'Yellowstone'
Ellis Steele, a real estate maven who is one of several thorns in the side of the powerful Dutton family in the modern Western series, is played by John Emmet Tracy, who spent part of his growing-up years in Milwaukee.
What shows with Wisconsin ties did we miss? Let us know at chris.foran@jrn.com.
