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by Jim Longworth
 When first arriving in New York City as a struggling actress, Mary McCormack accepted a strange part in a strange play.
“It was a musical in a tiny theatre near Columbia University. The show sucked and I still don’t know what it was about, but it ended with me in a chair, dead, with a red bandana in my mouth. And at the end, the other actors stood around me singing, ‘So sad she had to go, sad that they took her tongue.’”
Fortunately for millions of us fans, Mary kept her tongue and, over the years, has used it to deliver memorable performances on television and in film. She appeared as Howard Stern’s wife in Private Parts, and later headlined her own TV series, In Plain Sight, in which she played a tough as nails U.S. Marshall. Before that, Mary was a regular on The West Wing, portraying deputy national security advisor Kate Harper. Now she and pal Melissa Fitzgerald (who was also a series regular) have co-authored “WHAT’s NEXT: a Backstage Pass to The West Wing”. The book is chocked full of insider stories about the making of the iconic prime time drama which was created, written and produced by Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, An American President).
I first met Mary when she participated in a TV Crimefighters event that I moderated for the Television Academy back in 2010, and we have stayed in touch ever since. We recently spoke about her new book, her career, and why The West Wing was so special, and still has widespread appeal 25 years after it first aired.
Jim: When you and Melissa wrote the book, was it timed to coincide with the 2024 election?
Mary: I wish we were that clever. But no, it was supposed to be done a year before, but we just couldn’t get started (laughs). Thank goodness it worked out the way it did. You know once in a while you get lucky with these things. And now there’s this moment (the election) and the two are coinciding. Aaron calls The West Wing a love letter to public service, and our book is also a love letter to public service. We wanted to write a book for the fans, but really, we also thought if we can do that and also shine a light on a bunch of really wonderful organizations at the same time, then that would feel like the book aligned with the message of the show.
Jim: Is the book just for hard core fans of the show?
Mary: Wingnuts love it, thank God, because we really wanted to please the Wingnuts. They are serious about the show, so we didn’t want to get it wrong, and we feel really proud of that. It’s filled with photos and stories, and because
Melissa and I were in the cast, we had great access. We were there and the cast is still all very close. But I hope other people will read it and enjoy it. I think it’s fun to read about Allison (Janney) and learn what she’s passionate about, and Richard Schiff, and Martin Sheen whose life is fascinating. So, I think there’s enough in there for hard core fans and future Wing Nuts as well.
Jim: Why the title of the book, “What’s Next”?
Mary: In the original pilot, it was supposed to end like a play, but our director Tommy Schlamme had visited the White House many times, and the thing that stuck with him was the energy. There was constant movement and constant work, someone was always handing something off to someone else. It had that walk and talk energy. So, he didn’t want the first episode to end like a play. He wanted it to feel like the audience is leaving, but the activity in the White House will continue. So, he asked Aaron if he could just pull back on the last scene and let the activity continue. And Aaron said, “Of course, but let me add a line.” And the line he added was, “What’s next?” And in those two words he nailed what Tommy had in mind, that the work just continues, and service continues. There’s always something else to tackle.
So, we thought that would work for the title of the book.
 Jim: The Peabody award committee once referred to The West Wing as, “a show about ideas and ideals.” I would think you agree with that. Right?
Mary: I do. Before The West Wing no one had made a political show work, and I think that’s because government and policy were considered boring, but Aaron is so talented that he was able to take policy and make it high stakes. Hour dramas are usually about hospitals and life and death stories, and he managed, because he’s Aaron, to make policy feel like life and death. And it is. It took someone like Aaron to make that work and thank God he did.
Jim: Would The West Wing work today as a prime time drama?
Mary: That’s funny Jim because Aaron answered that question at a book event recently. He said “I think it would work except for one thing. There’s no reasonable Republicans anymore.” You know because on the show, it was aspirational, it did take both sides of each issue, and it showed Republicans as reasonable people. They believed in their side of the issue because they felt it would do the most good for the most people. And now it’s so polarized in Washington that they are voting just for winning, just for point keeping. When you reject an immigration bill which was bi-partisan just because it would be a win for Biden, then what are we doing?
Jim: Melissa describes you as a real activist. When you and I met while doing the “TV Crimefighters” event I asked if actors should risk their careers by taking a stand on issues or endorsing candidates, and you told me then, “People get involved where their heart is.” At the time, though you weren’t into endorsing one candidate over another. Has any of that changed?
Mary: I wrestled with that for a long time. I was raised to believe that actors are not special. Not to take up so much attention in a room, not to think you’re all that. Growing up, we sort of had to know our place in our house. We didn’t get over-the-top praise all the time, so as an actor I always thought, “Well, I want to know my place, I want to be grateful, I want to not over step.”. I’m lucky to be doing this. I’d do it for free, and I still feel that way. But I’m also a mother. I’m also a citizen. Sure, actors’ opinions are no more important than anyone else’s. Ours are no more important than the opinions of an athlete or a plumber, or the lady who lives next door to me, but it is AS important, because I’m also a lady who lives next door to her. As I said, I’m a mom and a citizen. So, I’ve sort of come to terms with the fact that democracy only works when we all participate.
Jim: Of course, the difference is that you’re very famous and you have a platform that most people don’t have.
Mary: Yeah, and I feel lucky for that. I feel blessed for that.
Anthony Edwards (“E.R.”) said something to Bradley Whitford when he was starting The West Wing. He said, “Brad, you’re about to have a ton of capital, and you can spend it on yourself, or you can spend it on others.”. And talk about an activist, Brad has spent most of his life trying to do good. So yeah, I think about that. We’re very lucky. Anyone in the public eye is lucky to be able to affect change, to amplify a cause, or an issue, or a candidate. And I think those of us who were on The West Wing, we get even more opportunity to do that because of the nature of the show. But I feel like that’s an honor and an opportunity that I welcome.
Jim: Why have you never run for office? And would you run in the future?
Mary: I don’t think that interests me, but in another life I would have loved to move to Washington and be a strategist. That would be exciting.
Jim: Give me a final comment on why you think The West Wing was so special, not just as an actor who appeared in the show, but as an American.
Mary: It was a perfect storm of a lot of really talented people coming together and that leads to good storytelling. But also, people keep finding it. My daughters are finding it, so there is a whole new generation of young people who are really into The West Wing. I also think it’s really comforting to remember that there are people in our government who are there for the right reasons when they could be making a whole bunch of money doing a whole bunch of other things, and they’re not because I think they believe that their ideas can do the most good for the most people. You know The West Wing was criticized by some as being too aspirational or too hopeful, but in the world that we’re living in right now, a little joy and hope is exactly what we need and want.
“WHAT’s NEXT: a Backstage Pass to The West Wing” is available in bookstores and on Amazon.com. The West Wing is now streaming on a number of channels, and the complete television series will be available on Blu Ray October 1.
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