Interview
Production Designer
Designated Survivor‘s Production Designer on Creating a Dystopian D.C.
Production designer Cabot McMullen has created the settings for television series from Saturday Night Live to Scrubs, Smash, and Cougar Town. Before the audience hears a line of dialog, sometimes before they even see a character, McMullen has to let us know immediately what world we are in. That is not just identifying the story as gritty reality or heightened humor or fantasy; he shows us who the characters are by letting us know how they create their home and workspaces...
Designated Survivor Premieres on ABC
The conceit for Designated Survivor is a chilling one, especially in a time of ambient anxiety over of terrorism. A low-level cabinet member named Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) is whiling away the 90 minutes or so while the president is giving his State of the Union Address in a secure location, serving as the country's "designated survivor." In the unlikely event that something happens during the State of the Union and, say, everyone there is eviscerated, Kirkman steps into the role of the presidency. ...
