Starting anew...again!
But this time, a dream seems to be coming true...
“LA is the place where Deborah’s dream has been made.” --Paul Downs, Showrunner
Las Vegas comic Deborah Vance [Jean Smart] gets her own Late Night show, the first woman to do so.
“LATE NIGHT With Deborah Vance”... “The idea was to try to create a monument to Late Night,” Production Designer Rob Tokarz reveals. “We wanted to honor what it was, but we also needed to make sure that it had Deborah's layer of glitz.” Note the Art Deco nod to the Golden Days of Hollywood. Jean Smart as Deborah.
Courtesy of HBO Max. All Rights Reserved.
We checked in with Set Decorator Jennifer Lukehart SDSA and Production Designer Rob Tokarz at the beginning of HACKS Season 4 about creating the sets for Deborah’s dream show, and now we’ve decided to put together a little album for Deborah and all of us to remember.
We’ll revisit Jennifer and Rob in the next few weeks to catch up with the entire season – so many sets! So many twists!
For now, the very tasteful new “LATE NIGHT With Deborah Vance”...
Jennifer searched for and found fabulous fabric for the center stage curtains, in a pink that was a perfect backdrop for Deborah’s complexion and costumes. She recalls, “We didn’t want the set to feel alienating for male guests, so the guest seating is neutral. The curtain was our chance for the pink.”
The sequin wall and gorgeous curtain in an earthy pink. Jean Smart as Deborah. Courtesy of HBO Max. All Rights Reserved.
Reverse shot: The footlights are considered essential for all of Deborah’s performances. Jean Smart as Deborah. Courtesy of HBO Max. All Rights Reserved.
Rob explains, “We wanted to make sure that the scale of the set for Deborah’s version of LATE NIGHT would tie together to the space that she took over, so we ended up at Stage 1 at Universal, which was the first stage for Kelly Clarkson’s talk show”
Jennifer notes, “It was built for Conan, when he came to LA.” Rob concurs, “And it had the pedestal cameras, so we had a lot of the bones of a LATE NIGHT stage, and then we were able to bring in the risers and audience seating and more of our details.”
Jennifer was delighted to discover that the control room upstairs was still operational, her team could update where necessary. Both she and Rob were careful to let aspects reveal that this was a show and stage Deborah had inherited. Thus, particularly in the backstage areas, the age would be more obvious.
Backstage...
Rob imparts, “Behind the LATE NIGHT stage, it was a black box. There was nothing there. We wanted to be able to look at the backstage, directly in the wings, and where the gold rooms are. And we wanted to make sure that it felt like it was as old as LATE NIGHT would be...to feel 30-40 years of grips and people that have retired, that had their entire career on the show. We had the whole crew sign the back of one of the gold rooms, so that it felt like the layers of people who have finished their time there and moved on. We wanted the paint shop to feel that smell of moldy paint when you walk into an old paint shop.”
Jennifer laughs, “We had random pieces, like an ice cream neon that keeps appearing, a spinning wheel that gets moved around, weird inside jokes, you know, like set dressing that accumulates over the years and just gets placed somewhere, and no one ever thinks about it again. And somtimes we discover something new that someone has tucked into a space.”
Onstage...
But in front, it was all glamour.
Rob points out, “The Art Deco arches above the set were a direct nod to the Johnny Carson set when he moved from New York to Burbank, in 1972.”
Tiffany’s in Beverly Hills was the inspiration for the papyrus scrollwork inside of the lightboxes. Jean Smart as Deborah Vance, new host of LATE NIGHT. Courtesy of HBO Max. All Rights Reserved.
Rob continues, “ We have the arches that scroll across the top, and then there's a cityscape behind her, from right to left, moving from Las Vegas to LA.”
Ava’s ex-girlfriend, Ruby, is a guest on LATE NIGHT. Definitely not invited by Ava. You must watch the show to know more! But do notice the striking cityscape background, with the star drop that was a call out to Deborah’s Las Vegas residency at the Palmetto. Lorenza Izzo, Jean Smart. Courtesy of HBO Max. All Rights Reserved.
The desk...
As part of the storyline, the producers of LATE NIGHT hold a focus group session. The resulting shallow comments include a dislike of her hairstyle, the opinion that her perspective is too sophisticated, and one man says, “They should cut a hole in the desk so we can see her legs.”
And that’s what they did, on camera.
Thus, the desk in its current iteration.
Deborah reacts, and quickly retorts to the misogynistic Ethan Sommers.
Note she has placed herself as far away from him and his insensitive remarks as possible. L-R: Eric Balfour, Jean Smart. Also note the Griffith Observatory as part of the LA section of the cityscapes background, with the Las Vegas depiction directly behind Deborah. Courtesy of HBO Max. All Rights Reserved.
Deborah makes an entrance. Jean Smart. Courtesy of HBO Max. All Rights Reserved
Deborah’s new office, with variations of the dusty rose pink of her distinctive LATE NIGHT stage curtains. Jean Smart as Deborah & Hannah Einbinder as Ava. Courtesy of HBO Max. All Rights Reserved
Deborah’s new office. Jean Smart as Deborah. Courtesy of HBO Max. All Rights Reserved
Behind-the-scenes: Set Decorator Jennifer Lukehart SDSA tweaking the set for Deborah’s new office. Courtesy of HBO Max. All Rights Reserved.
The End of the Album of Deborah’s dream come true....for the moment, that is...
Editor’s note:
Set Decorator Jennifer Lukehart SDSA would like to acknowledge her entire crew, especially her keys: Jill Carvalho - Assistant Set Decorator | Amy Strong – Buyer | Billy Baker – Leadman | Craig Stoa - Gang Boss
She would also like to give a shout out the all the SDSA Business members, with special thanks for this season of HACKS to:
Advanced Liquidators Office Furniture & Studio rentals - so many offices thus season! |
Ob-jects | Omega Cinema Props | Warner Bros | Sandy Rose Floral | FormDecor Furniture Rental | Town & Country Event Rentals | Lennie Marvin’s Prop Heaven | Art Pic | Hollywood Studio Gallery ...and, of course, Universal Property and Drapery!
