“Abbott Elementary” garnered a lot of comparisons to “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation” when it debuted in 2021, and for a good reason. The Quinta Brunson-created ABC comedy utilizes the workplace mockumentary format that made those shows stand out, and more specifically, it shares with them a key creative: director and producer Randall Einhorn. But when it came to developing “Abbott,” Einhorn felt that the device needed some updating.
“We wanted the teachers to appear favorably, because they’re doing a thankless task for very little money,” Einhorn says, noting the contrast with Steve Carell’s Michael Scott, whose incompetence anchors the American version of “The Office.” “We wanted them to look like heroes. That’s why this looks different than ‘The Office,’ which comes with low ceilings and floor lights. It’s like a place where you serve time, whereas I really wanted ‘Abbott’ to feel warm and inviting,...
“We wanted the teachers to appear favorably, because they’re doing a thankless task for very little money,” Einhorn says, noting the contrast with Steve Carell’s Michael Scott, whose incompetence anchors the American version of “The Office.” “We wanted them to look like heroes. That’s why this looks different than ‘The Office,’ which comes with low ceilings and floor lights. It’s like a place where you serve time, whereas I really wanted ‘Abbott’ to feel warm and inviting,...
- 8/18/2023
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Retro plastic couch covers are finally getting their due in 21st century pop culture.
Beyond getting referenced on a Beyoncé album, the tacky-yet-lovable fabric shields appears “Abbott Elementary” Season 2 Episode 4, “The Principal’s Office,” when Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) invites Janine (Quinta Brunson) over for a cooking lesson. It’s the series’ first major look at a character’s domestic life, and in an Italian American household in South Philly, a large, welcoming sofa had to be the centerpiece.
“It’s the first thing I asked for,” Walter says about the plastic on the couch, seen here in first look images that Variety can exclusively reveal. “Well, first I asked for plastic on the lampshades, but people might not understand that. An older generation thing.”
“She’s got a fab ‘80s couch, big rolled arms, but we kept it in a neutral, ivory tone,” says set decorator Cherie Day Ledwith.
Beyond getting referenced on a Beyoncé album, the tacky-yet-lovable fabric shields appears “Abbott Elementary” Season 2 Episode 4, “The Principal’s Office,” when Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) invites Janine (Quinta Brunson) over for a cooking lesson. It’s the series’ first major look at a character’s domestic life, and in an Italian American household in South Philly, a large, welcoming sofa had to be the centerpiece.
“It’s the first thing I asked for,” Walter says about the plastic on the couch, seen here in first look images that Variety can exclusively reveal. “Well, first I asked for plastic on the lampshades, but people might not understand that. An older generation thing.”
“She’s got a fab ‘80s couch, big rolled arms, but we kept it in a neutral, ivory tone,” says set decorator Cherie Day Ledwith.
- 10/4/2022
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Sets crafted for television have not traditionally been known for their glamour, says “Fosse/Verdon” (FX) production designer Alex Digerlando.
“TV was always about characters interacting, and sets were something to fill the background,” he notes. “You got close-up and medium shots and you needed some kind of background to make it feel not random. To ground the action.”
But as the action has ramped up, so have expectations for production design, even though networks don’t always make extra room in their below-the-line budgets, leaving the art department with the same funds whether a show is contemporary or period.
That leads production designers including Digerlando — along with his fellow designers Michael Whetstone (ABC’s “The Kids Are Alright”) and Jason Sherwood (Fox’s “Rent”) — to come up with some pretty creative solutions. Whetstone’s Cleary family home on the recently axed “Kids” is an impressive set, a full three-bedroom structure...
“TV was always about characters interacting, and sets were something to fill the background,” he notes. “You got close-up and medium shots and you needed some kind of background to make it feel not random. To ground the action.”
But as the action has ramped up, so have expectations for production design, even though networks don’t always make extra room in their below-the-line budgets, leaving the art department with the same funds whether a show is contemporary or period.
That leads production designers including Digerlando — along with his fellow designers Michael Whetstone (ABC’s “The Kids Are Alright”) and Jason Sherwood (Fox’s “Rent”) — to come up with some pretty creative solutions. Whetstone’s Cleary family home on the recently axed “Kids” is an impressive set, a full three-bedroom structure...
- 5/30/2019
- by Randee Dawn
- Variety Film + TV
The New Girl cast has answered plenty of questions about the Douche Jar over the past two seasons. But it seems unjust (dare we say douchey?) that this prop has been given so much attention when there are so many other fascinating tchotchkes and accoutrements in the New Girl world. What about that weird squirrel photo or that picture of Jim Croce in Nick’s room? Or Jess’s James Brown bathtub art? Or those creepy googly-eyed Jess illustrations? Vulture spoke to New Girl’s production designer Michael Whetstone and prop master Ben Lewis about finding — and in some cases, making from scratch — the stuff that defines these lovable weirdos.
- 5/7/2013
- by Denise Martin
- Vulture
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