Fans of the marijuana-laced Showtime show Weeds might have noticed a rather progressive plot line weaving through this season’s hazy drug deals. When the character Andy Botwin moves to Copenhagen, he learns about a product called the Copenhagen Wheel, a bright red hub that can turn any bike into a electric hybrid. Botwin (who is played by Justin Kirk) brings the wheel back to New York City with plans to launch the wheel in the U.S. at his new bike shop–which fronts a weed dispensary, of course.

The writers liked promoting an innovative, sustainable new concept.

As any reader of Co.Design knows, the Copenhagen Wheel is a real product developed by MIT’s SENSEable Lab that won the prestigious James Dyson Award in the U.S. last year. So how did one of 2010’s biggest design stories end up on a show about a pot-hustling mom?

Christine Outram, the Copenhagen Wheel’s product manager and MIT graduate who we interviewed last year, says she was contacted in March by the show’s executive producer, who wanted to feature the wheel as part of the story–with her blessing, of course. “They were definitely interested in representing it fairly,” she tells Co.Design. “They sent us copies of the script and were very open about how it would be used.” Soon Outram found herself visiting a faux-Copenhagen at the set in Studio City, where she answered questions from the writers and even assembled a prototype onto a bike to show them how it worked.

Executive producer Mark Burley tells Co.Design that the idea originated from the show’s writing team, who thought it was a perfect fit for the Copenhagen setting and Andy’s ecologically minded character. But they also liked the thought that they were promoting an innovative and sustainable new concept. “There’s definitely a tendency among the production and writing crew to be aware of these environmental features and be interested in cutting edge ideas,” he says. “The fact that the storyline worked for Andy Botwin is convenient, but there’s definitely a certain attitude that’s held by the team.” In earlier seasons, he notes, the team specifically chose to have the character Nancy Botwin, played by Mary Louise Parker, drive a Prius.

Design fans and bike geeks who watch Weeds may have rejoiced at the mention of one of the most exciting transportation announcements of last year. But those not familiar with the Copenhagen Wheel–likely, most of Weeds’ viewers–were left wondering: Was this thing real or a product invented by a Hollywood writers’ table? The curious found their way online, Googling themselves onto to the Copenhagen Wheel’s website and Facebook page, where some still wondered if this was part of creator Jenji Kohan’s universe.

Since season seven began airing in late June, Outram has seen a dramatic uptick in interest. “It has picked up incredibly,” she says, noting that pre-Weeds she got about two inquiries per day through the site, now she gets an average of 10. “I’m always surprised that there are people who see products on TV and then look them up.” Since the wheel is not yet commercially available, she says the Weeds appearance has been like free market research, proving that it’s a desirable product and that people understand how it works.

Burley says the team makes an effort to use real products whenever possible to help contribute to the authenticity of the show. But not all companies are as thrilled to have their brands appear in the same scene as a bong. “We’ve been rejected by a lot of companies for that reason,” he says. “Some people will say, yes, you can use it, but we don’t want it associated with a scene with drugs in it.” In this case, it was MIT’s cooperation that gave the wheel a more important role. “Once MIT allowed us to use the wheel, it became this whole storyline,” he says. “It became a bigger part than was expected at the beginning because they were so positive and fairly liberal about how we were able to present it.”