Imagine that you are a production designer for a legendary sitcom so loved that there is a whole pop-up experience devoted to it. And then try to imagine topping it. Greg Grande is the literal architect of Central Perk, Monica and Rachel’s apartment and Joey and Chandlers all over the world in “Friend. “(Grande expressed it correct
Springs, California, homes presented in Hulus “Mid-Century Modern” can win a new legion of admirers and maybe another pop-up at some point-only this one will have a cave.
“The rear history of this set came from Dinah Shore Estate,” said Grande, talking about one of the architect Donald Wexler’s signature Palm Spring -House from the 1960s. The 1.3 acre steel beam oase inspires the appearance of comedy,
created by ”Will & Grace“Showrunners Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. In the series, three lifelong gay male friends (Matt Bomer, Nathan Lee Graham and Nathan Lane) share a home owned by the latter clothing mother (the late Linda Lavin).
“Back on the day, for research you literally had to go to your local bookstore and take some pictures, but now you can just press a button,” he said. “But we wanted to find out how we can make this set of credible and real in the world of TV camera. I loved the old sitcom days of” I Love Lucy “and” The Dick van Dyke Show, “But none of us live that further, right?”
“Mid-Century Modern” is full of unwavering visual references to the comfort clocks in the Posten X-era, namely a famous sitcom about some girls that can best be described as golden. In this case, it includes hot tubs and tennis courts in addition to the common areas we learn so well, right down to the central, omnipotent bowl of tomatoes in the light blue kitchen where all gossip.
“Being so close to Palm Springs is always a nice thing, so you can experience what it is about. My people had a house there when we were growing up,” said Grande of the Strangely Captured-in-time quality in the middle of the century home With the Hybrid decenium’s interiors, many of them are owned by celebrities such as Shore, Elvis Presley and Bob Hope. (Leonardo DiCaprio apparently even owns a Wexler home.) “They have not ripped down many things there, they have just invented it.”
Grande said that sharp-eyed viewers will notice subtle nods to classic TV comedies. (For instance, the sunken Living room and a large “strategically placed on a wall are direct tributes to” The Mary Tyler Moore Show “and the” M “that Mary Richards Proudly Displayed in her Living Room.) Set Were from Max and David’s “Will & Grace,” Odds and Ends, “Said Grande, Who with Decorator Peter
Gurski likes to put small invisible pieces in boxes and shelves for actors to play with, a trick that he learned on “friends.”
“And we have a picture of Linda Lavin Upstage in our little pianoum (painted by his husband, Steve Bakunas), “which is now sentimental to Grande, who remembers Lavin’s passing while filming the show’s first season.” Her sybil is
Such an important character for the scenic design, as one of the very cool things with the show is that you see a purposeful collision of generations. The house is obviously her and decorated its way, but you start to see Nathan Lane’s rabbit character filter through her aesthetics. “
There is still no word on season 2, but Grande is hopeful that it will happen, because we have only seen a fraction of the possibilities. “There is so much opportunity for the set of the set, even the garden,” he said. “The beautiful thing about this set is that we have created this opportunity for the cameras to roll back up into the set and look back in through the back windows, almost create a fourth wall, because we shoot in front of a living audience.”
And Grande promised Lavin’s Sybil will feel deep, right down to the last chip of the Terrazzo floor. “In section 9, when we are in her bedroom, it is full of memories of how beautiful her life was. Now we can add even more Easter egg items to the set in tribute to her.”
This story first ran in the comedy issue of Thewrap’s Awards Magazine. Read more from the question here.
