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. So, 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. 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: Yes, 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 very grounded. 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 light. It's a dream, an aerie, all those fabulous windows, views. 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 isually impaired person wouldcook? What kind of lighting is appropriate. It was so educational and helpful, and exciting to learn all those things, and bring all of that to Matt's apartment, including special cutting boards, the way spices are placed in cabinets. We  brailled everything in the apartment, and created Braille literature for him. 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 can hang out and 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: The sofa has a texture to it. Is it linen?

Rebecca: Yes, the sofa was uphostered in a linen. There were a lot of different 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: On that note, was there 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.


Editor’s note:
Come back this weekend for more Insider notes...this time about the villainous Wilson Fisk!