Production Designer Amy Williams on the Ample Easter Eggs in “Master of None” Season 3
Director Aziz Ansari only appears briefly in the third season of Master of None, which turns its attention to the relationship between Denise (Lena Waithe) and Alicia (Naomi Ackie). At first blush, the pair’s marriage appears to have blossomed away from Brooklyn, in their new rambling, historic upstate home. Life seems as full as their charmingly eclectic abode — Denise is working on her second book, Alicia is getting into the antiques business,
Production Designer Fiona Crombie on the Luxe World of “Cruella”
Cruella de Vil is eternally wicked, but she’s also a villain who knows how to have a riotously good time—certainly more than the original heroes of Disney’s 101 Dalmatians, anodyne dog lovers Anita and Roger Darling. And that’s why it’s this id-driven, luxury-loving, would-be dalmatian coat-wearing scoundrel who gets her own live-action origin story. In director Craig Gillespie’s Cruella, she begins life as little Estella,
“WandaVision” Production Designer Mark Worthington on Creating Wanda’s Ever-Changing Worlds
Unlike WandaVision director Matt Shakman or series creator Jac Schaeffer, production designer Mark Worthington does not consider himself a Marvel expert. “I’m not really a big Marvel person,” he says, “but I was curious when Matt first called me about the show. He described the basic story as it being about Wanda’s grief and how the whole series is motivated by that.”
At first blush, WandaVision would seem like an almost straightforward challenge for someone with Worthington’s skillset.
“The Nevers” Production Designer Gemma Jackson on HBO’s Sci-Fi Victorian-Era Series
Bringing unique worlds to life is production designer Gemma Jackson’s stock-in-trade. So, she didn’t hesitate when offered the opportunity to create the look for The Nevers, the Victorian-era sci-fi series that debuted on HBO in April.
“I think what drew me was a remarkably interesting script and an extraordinary storyline that I’d never read the likes of before,” says Jackson from her home in England during a Zoom interview. “It was predominantly women—women-led—which was a bit of a turn-on.
How the DP & Production Designer Behind “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” Met the Moment
It’s not often there’s a Golden Globe nomination for an African American actress playing a famous blues or jazz singer. This year, there are two of them.
One is for Viola Davis, going chop-to-chop with the late, great Chadwick Boseman in the Netflix adaptation of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, playing the titular character. The other is for singer and actress Andra Day,
“Clarice” Producer/Director DeMane Davis on Seizing the Moment
DeMane Davis, co-executive producer/director of the new CBS series Clarice which premieres February 11, calls her career “incredibly fortunate.” But Davis was ready when opportunity arose in the form of Ava DuVernay. When DuVernay opened the door for women directors on her groundbreaking series Queen Sugar, Davis burst through it. On crutches.
“I had broken my ankle and I’d had surgery; the cast had just come off and I was still on crutches,” recalls Davis in a phone interview from Toronto where she is shooting Clarice.
Production Designer Jim Bissell Builds a New Kind of Spaceship in George Clooney’s “The Midnight Sky”
Production designer Jim Bissell landed ET: The Extraterrestrial fresh out of college. His latest, The Midnight Sky (now streaming on Netflix) marks a return to the realm of science fiction, but this time he’s forgoing adorable aliens to picture the end of the world as we know it. Director-star George Clooney plays astrophysicist Augustine Lofthouse, the last man on earth stranded in an Arctic observatory. Meanwhile, a crew of astronauts (including David Oyelowo and Felicity Jones) hurtles through the solar system in the Aether spaceship,
Production Designer Mark Ricker on Creating the Sumptuous “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
During the course of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, based on the 1982 play by August Wilson, blues star Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) reveals the lengths it takes to counter the racial economic exploitation of the 1920s, while down in the practice room, her band members recount the horrors of Jim Crow. The film, directed by George C. Wolfe (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks), which debuted on Netflix on December 18th,
“You Should Have Left” Production Designer on the Lasting Allure of the Haunted House
The haunted house has been a staple of the horror genre since the early days of silent films. There’s just something about creaky doors and shadows dancing around in dimly lit hallways that send shivers up our spines — especially when it’s a dark and stormy night.
And with most of us homebound for Halloween, what better time to celebrate the haunted house?
“You never know what’s around the corner,” says production designer Sophie Becher during a zoom interview.
Production Designer Talks Riots & Courtrooms in Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
The Trial of the Chicago 7 revisits the circus-like legal proceedings that pitted anti-war activists including Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen), Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne), Black Panther Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), and lawyer Bill Kunstler (Mark Ryland) against a hard-nosed judge (Frank Langella) over charges that they conspired to incite violent riots at the 1968 Democratic Convention.
Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, the movie (which came out on October 16 on Netflix) features the dramatist’s famously sharp dialogue along with shots of tear gas,
How Hitchcock Influenced the Bold Design of Netflix’s “Ratched”
Ratched will keep you on edge. The pseudo-origin story follows nurse Mildred Ratched (Sarah Paulson) from Ken Kesey’s book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a character first enshrined by Louise Fletcher in the 1975 film adaption.
Penned as a spec script by Evan Romansky, who’s credited as a creator and executive producer, Ryan Murphy stepped in to purchase the rights and turn it into an eight-episode series on Netflix (it begins streaming today),
Emmy-Nominated Production Designer Monica Sotto on “Drunk History”
Let’s get the sad part out of the way; Comedy Central’s beloved Drunk History was recently canceled, after 6 glorious, inebriated, compulsively watchable seasons. Shortly before that bad bit of news was revealed, we got a chance to chat with the show’s production designer Monica Sotto, whose work on the season 6 finale “Bad Blood,” which focused on the highly infectious Typhoid Mary (narrated by Jackie Johnson) and Cleopatra’s younger sister,
Emmy-Nominated Production Designer Jason Sherwood on Designing the Oscars
At 30 years old, Emmy-winning production designer Jason Sherwood became the youngest person to ever design the Oscars for this past year’s historic ceremony. Sherwood, already a talented theater designer, nabbed his first Emmy just last year for the design of Rent Live (which was also his first foray into major TV production).
For this year’s Oscars, Sherwood and his collaborator and fellow nominee, art director Alana Billingsley,
Production Designer John Paino Snags Dual Emmy Noms for “The Morning Show” and “Big Little Lies”
They might be rich and powerful, but that doesn’t mean the women of Big Little Lies and The Morning Show are content. Production designer John Paino made it his mission to create sleek environments that counterpoint the characters’ well-concealed inner turmoil. His efforts for each series have nabbed him two Emmy nominations this year. “My contribution is mood and atmosphere and continuity,” says Paino. “A lot of design is about finding this sweet spot where something’s so realistic you don’t even bat an eye,
Emmy-Nominated “Watchmen” Production Designer on The Show’s Eclectic Inspirations
Not only did Watchmen top all TV rivals by earning 26 Emmy nominations; the sprawling HBO series also tackled racism in America en route to becoming arguably the most topical drama of the year. Rooted in the horrific 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre of more than 300 Black citizens, Watchmen pits fictional superhero Sister Night (Regina King) against a secret society of white supremacists Hell-bent on taking over the world.
Emmy-Nominated Production Designer Ruth Ammon on “The Alienist”
For Emmy-nominated production designer Ruth Ammon, life as a production designer started when she was waiting tables at the Jersey Shore—and a small, independent film blew into town.
“I’d studied art and art history and I was a painter, and then this little after school special, Mystery at Fire Island, came to the island and I got on the crew, in the art department,” Ammon says. “I knew instantly that’s what I wanted to do.
How the Confined Spaces in “Greyhound” Added Authentic Intensity
In Greyhound, Tom Hanks is a naval captain of a US destroyer that spends three days in the North Atlantic trying to protect a fleet of merchant vessels from a pack of preying U-boats. The script, written by Hanks, is a fictional account that draws inspiration from C.S. Forester’s book “The Good Sheperd” and unravels like a game of chess with life and death consequences.
Directed by Aaron Schneider and lensed by cinematographer Shelly Johnson,
How Space Force Production Designer Susie Mancini Channeled Stanley Kubrick
Steve Carell is at the center of the new 10-episode Netflix series Space Force, which he co-created with Greg Daniels (The Office) and is streaming now. The inspiration for the show is the real US Space Force that was formed last year to ensure American military supremacy in space and was the brainchild of Donald Trump. The series, which also stars John Malkovich, Lisa Kudrow,
Devs Production Designer Embellishes Big Tech Aesthetic in Alex Garland’s Gorgeous, Beguiling Series
What if a Silicon Valley behemoth ran a top-secret project that threatened the well-being of unwitting civilians? That’s the not entirely outlandish premise underlying Devs, now streaming on FX on Hulu. Created by Ex Machina and Annihilation director Alex Garland, the sci-fi limited series largely takes place at a sleek big tech “campus” surrounded by woods.
The exteriors evoke Google, Apple,
How Production Designer Anne Seibel Built a Jazz Club From Scratch in Damien Chazelle’s The Eddy
Contrasting the difficult lives of professional jazz musicians with their joyous, airy music, Damien Chazelle’s (Whiplash, La La Land) new Netflix series The Eddy turns on the personal and professional drama surrounding a titular jazz club in Paris’s down-to-earth 19th arrondissement (premiering on Friday, May 8). A legendary jazz pianist, it’s Elliot’s (André Holland) job to run the struggling club’s musical program until he unexpectedly inherits a backstage mess from his business partner,
