Madison West grad J.D. Walsh brings his politically charged series, ?Battleground,? home

The 13-episode dramedy was filmed in town last fall, and Madisonians who watch “Battleground” will see a show steeped in Mad Town culture. There are references to Ancora Coffee and the Farmers? Market, and scenes filmed in instantly recognizable Madison locations, from State Street to Mickie?s Dairy Bar. Walsh even repurposed Badgermania to his advantage. “We have a big (political) rally in the show, so what we did is we just filmed on a football Saturday, and put our actors in the middle of the crowd,” said Walsh, who rented a house with his family in Middleton during the shoot. Via email, Webb said that Madison, which hasn?t had much experience with television and movie productions, was a very accommodating place to shoot a series. “It was out of the pathway of most TV productions where the locals are really resistant to accommodating film crews,” he said. “In Madison, people were generally game.”