The first time Marvel has shot in New York for New York!
Set Decorator Rebecca Meis SDSA and Production Designer Michael Shaw take us through their process of avoiding the comic book cliches, instead giving accuracy and style combined.
SETDECOR: How did you come to this production...have you Marveled before?
Production Designer Michael Shaw: They wanted somebody who was not a Marvel person. That worked out really well, because I was not very familiar with the Marvel Universe. They wanted to bring a whole new look...after all, it’s called “Born Again”. So, they assembled a talented team of people who were not in the Marvel Universe, and it worked out. Becca and I had one meeting, and I knew immediately, “Becca is the one.” We hit it off right away. And she brought her dog Otto to the office. That was a huge bonus. Big dog, Otto.
SETDECOR: With the range of TV and film you’ve both done, it makes sense that you could just jump in, whatever the setting.
Rebecca Meis SDSA aka Becca: I do feel that way. One of the things that I think was really good for this particular series is the amount of "real" TV and movies that I've done, creating spaces that seem authentic. I love adding the layers of reality where it's little simple things, like a ring of keys hanging on a nail. That's the fun part of it, and that was, I think, what brought Michael's attention to what I do.
Michael: The intention was that Marvel was coming to New York to shoot a New York show, and that is unusual for Marvel. They're often shot in Atlanta, or LA, or other parts of the world. So, it was super important to capture New York, and have New York be a character that's very also grounded and real, not a Gotham.
And the current state of New York City facilitates the story, because it's also been reborn, it's also under transformation. Much of Hell's Kitchen is no longer what it was. It's hard to find a lot of the older coffee shops and other neighborhood places that had been there forever, because they've been turned into chain stores or more generic-feeling places. Finding that authenticity of the old New York is harder, but it was important, so we had to see what we could resurrect, and create the rest.
Opening shot, the three friends in front of their law offices in Hell's Kitchen. Matt Murdock aka Daredevil has given up his vigilantism and now fights for justice through his law work. Deborah Ann Woll as partner Karen Page, Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, and Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, their partner and dear friend. Photo by Giovanni Rufino © 2024 MARVEL/Disney+.
SETDECOR: And your process?
Rebecca: Michael and I like to see and touch the fabrics and see surfaces together, have paint samples on hand. We had what Michael termed the Set Decoration Command Central in the back of our office...a giant wall of homasote that we would pin all of our ideas and inspiration onto, as well as wallpaper samples and fabric. We also had a table laid out with all of our different surfaces. We moved things around, crafted and created, and really worked it to see what exactly we wanted.
Michael: That was a very fun part of our collaboration. It was like a puzzle, like one of those crime walls where you have strings that suggest connections, and we were trying to solve a puzzle of what the show should look like.
SETDECOR: So, you're not just peering at computer screens, you're experiencing aspects of it. Not just a mood board, but a mood wall.
Michael: Yeah, that's right. Maybe that's the new term for it: mood wall,
SETDECOR: And “mood’ is significant here. The characters are thematic, but as you pointed out, you are really grounding this, which allows the story to take off from there.
Michael: Yes, it opens with Matt and Fisk going away from their superhero/villain worlds into a more real world. And that's where we started, that's what we were bringing for them.
Rebecca: The mandate from the very beginning, from the studio, but also within our own conversations about the design, was that everything wanted to be super real and grounded, because it helps contrast the kind of superhero/fantasy element. But mostly this is a very contemporary drama about people trying to push their past away, and we wanted everything to feel like they had...at least for that moment. They had turned a corner, Matt Murdock had turned a corner. Wilton Fisk had turned a corner. They were no longer the dark vigilante or the crime boss, and that's where the show starts. So, throughout the season, the acting is very grounded, and, obviously, the look is as well. Everything feels very real, and you feel like you're watching kind of a procedural that changes as the show progresses.
Matt Murdock’s home, a rooftop aerie...
SETDECOR: Matt Murdock’s home...It's a light-filled dream, an aerie...all those fabulous windows, views, even at night with the city lights from below. We might think it's ironic, but he does have sense of light and dark, doesn't he?
Rebecca: Yes, Michael created Matt’s home to be on a rooftop, which is what Daredevil is associated with—being on rooftops. So, even though he is blind, he has this expansive view with lots of light. There's a feeling that he does see in a way. That it is his space, and that's where he belongs.
Michael: It is a perch above the city. It's important that the audience sees the view, and on some level, realizes that this is something he doesn't see. That was a theme in all of his locations...in his offices and in his home...that he would have big expanses, big windows and views, so he's surrounded by this very visual world that he will never see.
SETDECOR: Please tell us about your research for the living and workspaces for someone visually impaired, and how you incorporated it.
Rebecca: That was the first thing that I thought about, Matt's apartment. An essence of his character is that he is blind. What does that mean? I started right away, reading articles, doing online research, and delving into Lighthouse for the Blind, an organization for visually impaired people, and that included information like the detaiils of how a visually impaired person would cook? What kind of lighting is appropriate, etc. It was so educational and helpful, and exciting, to learn all those things and bring that to Matt's apartment, including special cutting boards, or the way Braille labeled spices are placed in cabinets. Consistancy is key. Everything has its place and is always put back into its place.
We Brailled everything in the apartment, created Braille literature for him as well. It was many very tiny, nuanced things for Charlie coming in as Matt, to be inspired by. I feel that's one of the most important parts of my job, to make sure the actors feel completely in their character when they walk onto a set. I put games, like a scrabble game designed for the visually impaired on his coffee table, along with Braille dice, so it seems like he does have guests and they hang out and can play games.
Margarita Levieva as Matt’s love interest, therapist Heather Glenn, and Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil enjoying an evening in Matt’s apartment. Photo by Giovanni Rufino © 2025 MARVEL.
Michael: One thing that Becca did that I loved, was in the kitchen of Matt's apartment, she created a scented garden, this little windowsill full of herbs. And from that, the writers actually wrote into a scene that he would take a little piece of herb and smell it when he was cooking. [See photo at top of page] That was the kind of nuance that you don't get all the time, only from the best. And it helps the actor.
SETDECOR: Ah! Scents and textures. The upscale sofa has a texture to it. Is it linen?
Rebecca: Yes, the sofa was uphostered in a linen. There were a lot of different fabric textures that we used in his space, like his dining area seat cushions were almost a corduroy, and we had a Boucle chair that was nubbly and really delicious to touch.
SETDECOR: And there is that bittersweet aspect throughout, as conveyed through the set. It's also an impeccable space and yet welcoming. So congratulations, both of you and your teams, you definitely did it.
Michael: The idea was that everything was purposely designed for his office and his house, that there were a lot of textures and a lot of glass and reflection...and a lot of things that he might never touch actually on screen, but we wanted all the surfaces to feel like they had a unique personality.
Murdock and Associates Law Office. Niki M. James as Kirsten McDuffie, ADA, Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Clark Johnson as Cherry, former NYPD detective, now private investigator. Photo by Giovanni Rufino © 2025 MARVEL.
Rebecca: I think Murdoch and Associates [the office he opened much later after his dear friend and partner was killed] was definitely a top favorite. Actually, they all were my favorites, but that was a very special one, with the vaulted brick ceiling and all the glass, and again, a beautiful view of Manhattan from the large factory windows.
SETDECOR: It had an openness of every sort. It didn't have that closed corporate feel. Instead, it gave the message that these lawyers would represent you well, would connect with you.
Michael: It was important that it was warm. They're defending, for the most part, clients who are not wealthy. We wanted it to feel warm and welcoming and also, like it could be a fun place to work.
Murdock and Associates Law Office. Behind-the-scenes. Photo by Giovanni Rufino © 2025 MARVEL.
SETDECOR: And now we come to the major plot point, Fisk’s smear-filled, insidious fear-mongering campaign was successful: he became Mayor of New York. When we first see him at City Hall, he looks out of place, somewhat like a bear in a crystal shop.
The gray-blue palette was refined. When he walks to the window and we see in close-up the seemingly gray draperies are an elegant striped silk, a beautiful silvery blue, with that gorgeous passementerie...so sophisticated, so cultured.
Rebecca: That’s one of the many wonderful things about doing this show, the various styles and themes of sets we were able to decorate. And, you know, creating a Federal building such as City Hall in New York City was an honor, and it was a challenge. We did our research, and I thought it turned out pretty great.
Buck Cashman [Arty Froushan], Commissioner Phil Gallo [Michael Gaston] and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin [Vincent D'Onofrio], newly elected Mayor of NYC. Note the desk is too small for the Big Man...Photo courtesy of Marvel Television © 2025 MARVEL.
SETDECOR: And a significant piece of set dressing became part of the script! Fisk is sitting at the desk, rubbing his hands over it as if he’s trying to make it his, talking about all the important people who had sat there before him and made important decisions...but he’s hunched over it, somewhat awkward...again, as if he didn’t really belong in this environment.
Michael: Yes, it was super important to create the contrast of him coming into this world where he is out of his element, and feels uncomfortable in it. So, when we chose all the furniture, we made sure that the furniture was slightly undersized...he's a very big actor, and when he sits in a chair in his world, he has to squirm. Normally, if an actor is uncomfortable, that's the last thing you want. But this was actually important, and he embraced it. We wanted his furniture to feel like it could collapse under his weight. Those are all Set Dec moments that you never really would see, but behind the scenes, it's an important element that you feel.
Rebecca: As Michael said, that was very important for Vincent as well, and I would always
make sure I had multiple chairs for him to make sure he had the right one that felt just right for him, for any scene. And so that was, that was, that was always a fun thing.
Zabryna Guevera, [Sheila Rivera], Fisk’s campaign director and political advisor, discussing strategy with Wilson Fisk/Kingpin [Vincent D'Onofrio], newly ensconced in the Mayor’s office. Note the cannons in the windows, the passementerie on the draperies. Photo courtesy of Marvel Television © 2025 MARVEL.
Michael: Also, you know, all those things that we always strive for, making sure that when the actor opens a drawer, there's a life inside the drawer that the camera will never see, but the actor does. That was super important to us. Right off the bat, I said this has got to be that level of a show. We don't want this to feel like TV. We want it to feel like a film.
SETDECOR: Well, you achieved that goal, it does have a film quality to it. film level. And, that level of attention to detail is the essence of fine Set Decoration, the behind-the-scenes collaboration of building a character...those extra details are a gift to the actors and to the director.
Rebecca: Yeah, we're all working for the same goal, to get the best on screen...and really, what we do is not that different than what actors do. We're just telling a more silent story.
SETDECOR: That's right, you're providing the visual story, whether on camera or not.
Rebecca: I remember...this is a side note, but I was doing a movie called FUNNY GAMES with Director Michael Haneke, and we had to do a working kitchen. And he said, “I want you to cook two meals in this kitchen.” And I was like, “Are you kidding me?” But I learned from that.
So, sitting down and working at Fisk’s desk was really important. And you have to do it before every episode. You have to go out there. I think that's really important.
Michael: And when we walk into Murdoch and Associates, or really, any office environment, the first thing to do is to sit down at any desk at random and say, “Okay, if I were working here, does this feel correct? Can I reach everything? Does everything make sense?” Because even the extras who are going to be sitting at those desks need to have feeling like they're contributing.
SETDECOR: Yes, definitely. And if you're doing the follow-through days of the storyline, then did would that character have left something on their desk when they left that day, that wasn't there before or was in a different place? As we know, OnSet dressers are always making certain of those details.
So to return to Fisk’s office, it seems he doesn’t really personalize it...
Rebecca: We did put the pair of small antique cannon sculptures on the window ledges, but that’s all. He's always a little uncomfortable in that space.
Michael: Yes. He's really spending a lot of time trying to assimilate into this new version of himself, which we find out as the series progresses, that it's not working well.
SETDECOR: Meanwhile, we visit him and his wife at Gracie Mansion, the Mayor’s residence.
Rebecca: Michael, I know you went to the real Gracie Mansion before I came on, and then we had the Gracie Mansion* book, which shows all the all the transitions of mayors and the changes that they made. The mural wallpaper in the dining room was one of the first things that we decided that we really wanted to do, which was sort of a nod to the Bloomberg administration of Gracie. We had it made in France...it turned into several iterations of FedExing back and forth!
Michael: It was important to capture the sophistication of Gracie Mansion, and there was no reason why we would have to reinvent something that would be so perfect. So, we didn't exactly re-create it, but we definitely borrowed heavily from the design of what is actually there, because it IS so perfect to see Wilson and Vanessa in that room that's so uncomfortable for them...unlike anything that we have ever seen them in before.
Gracie Mansion. Crime boss, now Mayor Wilson Fisk/Kingpin [Vincent D'Onofrio] and his wife Vanessa [Ayelet Zurer], uncomfortable in this dignified setting. See article for the story of the French wallpaper! Adding to the discomfort is their strained relationship...while he was absent, she took over and expanded his criminal empire, and their associates prefer to do business with her. Photo courtesy of Marvel Television © 2025 MARVEL.
And one of the things that was important in that world was to lower the ceilings to make it feel a little more claustrophobic and even more uncomfortable.
During all of this we had the process of getting the wallpaper, and getting it right. I think we were down to the fourth version. They sent us what was to be the final, and that was when the decision was made to lower the ceiling! So, we had to cut the paper down, the scenics cut it down. So that was a little tight on timing, but it was the right thing to do. Obviously, it worked.
SETDECOR: And for the opposite, the dark subterranean world of those vigilantes seeking justice meted out from their own perspective and the criminals that deserve it.
Michael: That was a really important thread throughout the entire season, because we're talking about characters who have a public persona and a private persona, They have a subterranean core to their being, which they're trying to push down. So we visit the subterranean world of Frank and Muse and others, certainly Fisk, you know, the dark side, basically.
Significant messaging appears overnight...Photo courtesy of Marvel Television © 2025 MARVEL.
Rebecca: And Frank's kind of a little bit in both worlds. He’s avenging his family’s murders, but he is honorable. So he had the windows in his basement lair, the windows that were, you know, the clerestory windows in his half world. That was a very fun set to do as well. Actor Jon Bernthal was very collaborative with that, he's special because he really wants his space to be perfect in reflecting his character. The Punisher has such a long story that is continuing, and he wanted to make sure that the depth was there. He is very, very dialed into his character, and had a lot of notes. He walked through that set with his advisor, his military advisor and it was amazing. And so was our set.
Sometimes it’s the smallest thing, that little dose of realism.
Michael: And those little moments are one of the things that Becca and I share the love of...the beauty of the banal. It's really important, because that's what makes it real, that when you see somebody who's plugged in a fan and then there's the cord going down to a plug in the middle of the wall. That's super awkward. That's it's like anti-design, which makes it real. That's one of the things that we captured very well in most of our sets, real people living in real space. Awkward. It's not designed or decorated, just human.
SETDECOR: Now, there’s always the classic question: What was your biggest challenge?
Rebecca: I mean, there's always challenges. Everything is, you know, every day, but I feel like I love a challenge probably more than anything. Like, Michael would have a dream and wake up and let me know, “Hey, I'm thinking about this thing.” And I'd be like, “Alright, let's do it.”
Although he had tried to step away from that part of him that would come to people’s aid through the use of violence, Matt [Charlie Cox] is compelled to again become the masked Daredevil. Photo by Giovanni Rufino © 2024 MARVEL.
And I never was really going to lose it, because I couldn't if I’m doing something I love.
Sometimes, you know, I remember, I would have a little few minutes before I would go into a budget meeting...meditate, do some breathing. But that would that probably was my biggest challenge, is staying within a budget or trying to...
Michael: One of Becca's big strengths, and really, it’s so for the best decorators...they're unflappable. You can get frustrated, but you know, the process is organic. It isn't a straight line, and you have to be flexible. And I had this kind of term for Becca, which was that she's surfing on a tsunami. She does it well, she's always just managing to stay above the curl.
SETDECOR: That’s rather perfect! And lastly, wondering if there was something serendipitous, something that turned out even better than you expected? Or that you were you glad you brought to this production?
Rebecca: I am so glad that I have a sense of humor and that Michael is hilarious, because so many moments when we were opening sets or dressing sets, something would happen, and Michael would turn to me and say something, and I would just die laughing, I would literally be in tears. This happened more times than I could count.
We were serendipitous! It was joy.
*GRACIE MANSION: A Celebration of New York City's Mayoral Residence
by Ellen Stern
Finding the balance is an elusive key. Photo by Giovanni Rufino.© 2025 MARVEL.
