THE NIGHT AGENT is guaranteed to keep your attention! As Netflix points out,
“It wouldn’t be THE NIGHT AGENT without multiple layers of malfeasance...”
This new season quickly globe-trots to Istanbul & back, ending up with two hugely significant sets here in the US...which we will visit below!
Set Decorator Carrie Stewart SDSA and Production Designer Andrew Bernard obviously have established a deep collaboration, working together for years on multi-season series and action-shows, providing high caliber sets that give credibility to the plots and secrets that are eventually divulged. We caught up with Carrie as they had just wrapped the shoot for Season 3 of this sophisticated action thriller that's on everyone’s top lists right now!
One of the most important sets for this season is the headquarters of the stalwart financial media outlet The Financial Register, where journalist Isabel De Leon [Genesis Rodriguez] has been analyzing monetary intelligence.
SET DECOR: We understand that the set for The Financial Register was shot on location, which can be challenging in itself. We hear stories sometimes regarding access, for instance.
Set Decorator Carrie Stewart SDSA:
“Hah! I know those stories. They usually involve a 5th floor walk-up. Or they are locations that are so small that I am glad to be moving onto the next set as the crew arrives and realizes they are in for a challenging day.”
Set Decorator Carrie Stewart SDSA points out, “Today, so much secondary research is done online that one can have a truly minimal office or desk space. Isabel’s desk reflects that. To personalize it, we brought in a touch of her Mexican heritage.” Photo: Greg Leshé Studio.
“The Financial Register was shot in the Starrett Lehigh Building in Chelsea, NYC. The Locations Department arranged for us to be there for the season. Designed by the same architects who designed the Empire State Building, the Starrett Lehigh Building was a ground-breaking edifice for its time, because of the windows and the open floor plan. The upper floors have their own loading dock, where trucks were brought up in special freight elevators. Those are no longer in use, but I can actually say that I do remember when they were.”
Location shooting—there’s always something...
“One challenge in The Financial Register location was the windows. Two walls of the set were windows to the outside world. Choosing the solar screen fabric with a density that worked for the DPs was the easy part.”
“The challenge came with trying to use the existing hardware which was installed in unforgiving concrete. Because we were not able to use new shades with the existing hardware, we decided to replace the fabric.”
“We worked with Bruce at AMCO to figure out the dimensions of the fabric for the various window sizes. The set dressers carefully removed the existing fabric from the shades, and replaced it with our fabric, and then restored each window shade back to its original state when we left. I love our world, in that we go into a location, turn it upside down and inside out, and then leave without a trace of us being there.”
The Financial Register, reverse. Isabel’s desk is at the far end, with two actual walls of windows, shot on location at the iconic Starrett Lehigh Building in Chelsea, NYC. The editor’s office is the glassed-in room on the right. Photo: Greg Leshé Studio.
“Because The Financial Register was in a location with existing desks, we spent a lot of time there figuring out how to arrange rows of desks, and glass partitions, to create a more dynamic bullpen. We also had to figure out how to bring in elements to echo Andy’s research, which was based on the Wall Street Journal. We used a mix of monitors and monitor arms to break the monotony of the desks.”
SET DECOR: In veteran TFR Editor Mike Fonseca’s office, the detail is absolute! As is the juxtaposition of the old-school aspect with piles of books, research and bits of ephemera on his desk or stuffed into bookshelves in his office...and the new generation, Isabel’s pristine desk & limited file folders...her computer is essentially her office. Mike's reveals his history, his personality.
The Financial Register, veteran Editor Mike Fonseca’s office. Photo: Greg Leshé Studio.
CS: “We wanted Mike’s office to feel different from the bullpen, but also as if furnishings came from within the building.”
“Spoiler alert: Because of Mike’s early demise in the series, his character is really represented through his office. We wanted to reflect his career as a journalist who has traveled the world as a correspondent before becoming an editor at The Financial Register. The books and stacks of papers bring an old school quality to Mike as someone who still likes the feel of opening a book, or flipping through a newspaper. It brings me back to my time in college, studying biology where I spent lots of time in the library, combing through the stacks, and looking for primary research sources to support my own papers.”
Editor Mike Fonseca’s office. Photo: Greg Leshé Studio.
Editor Mike Fonseca’s office. Brilliant analyst Jay Batra [Suraj Sharma] is in danger having uncovered suspicious financial activity linked to terrorism. On the run, he and Isabel De Leon [Genesis Rodriguez], equally brilliant financial journalist, track research Mike had been doing when he was killed by an assassin, and try to find the encryption that will break the code on the Monroe Drive. Watch this season to find out what we mean! Courtesy of Netflix © 2026.
SET DECOR: Aspects of the White House have appeared in previous seasons...after all, the Night Agent began his job with a single phone in a room in the White House basement! But this season jumped fully into the White House Residence...Where was this filmed, and what was your and Production Designer Andrew Bernard’s approach?
CS: “The WHR was shot on the Netflix stages in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Andrew did a deep dive into research, exploring how each presidential family decorated the space to make it their own. Laura Bush and Michelle Obama became our inspirations for the design and decoration, which seems appropriate for President Richard Hagan’s character, whose party affiliation is never identified.
Both first ladies styles were similar because of their elegance, but Laura Bush’s taste was more traditional while Michelle Obama brought more modern pieces and art into the residence. We decided to bring in more western art to reflect the Hagans’ home state of Kansas. For the art, I drew inspiration from my mother in law, whose career focused on selling western art in both Wyoming and Arizona.”
White House Residence, Center Hall. Stage build. Photo: Greg Leshé Studio.
There is a distinctiveness of the individual seating and conversation areas in the White House Residence corridors that still allow a flow and cohesiveness.
White House Residence. Above, L/R: West Sitting Hall; West Sitting Hall looking towards Center Hall. Below, L/R: Center Hall looking towards East Sitting Hall; Center Hall looking towards West Sitting Hall. Photos: Greg Leshé Studio.
“When each family comes into the WH Residence, they bring their own vision to the space. Much of the furniture and art is chosen from the White House Collection. Pieces will be reupholstered to suit their tastes. The Central Hall and West Sitting Hall were a challenge as each is its own space, yet they are connected by a large archway and architectural elements throughout. We used similar wallpaper and carpeting in each space to make them feel cohesive.”
White House Residence. West Sitting Hall. Photo: Greg Leshé Studio.
“We brought more modern touches to the West Sitting Hall to make it feel more like home. And because one sees into the Master Bedroom and the Dining Room, the décor in the West Sitting Hall sets the feeling for those rooms.”
Challenges...
“One challenge we’ve had on the series is continuity with floral arrangements. Season 2 and Season 3 take place over the course of two to three weeks. We try to anticipate maintaining continuity, especially with flowers, but sometimes those flashbacks happen. Tess Casey with Aisling Flowers has been so instrumental in helping us with that. We’ve used a mixture of real flowers (for sets and scenes that happen once) and silks for when we know that a day or two will be shot over weeks. When those flashbacks do arise, Tess always has photos of the arrangements she has provided and has been able to recreate them.”
White House Residence. Dining Room. Note the florals. Photo: Greg Leshé Studio.
“Oddly, one of our biggest challenges was finding a Damask style wallpaper for the Master Bedroom [also interchanged as The Lincoln Bedroom] in a neutral tone where the pattern was not so large as to call attention to itself, nor so small that the pattern would get lost.”
“We looked at so many wallpapers, including some hand printed papers that are based on historic White House patterns. Nothing was quite right. Andy, the Production Designer, was in Ghent, Belgium with his wife, who is from there, and they happened upon Priem, a family-owned wallpaper shop. The store was closed, but looked promising.”
“Andy went on to Turkey to start filming, and Patricia, Andy’s wife, brought back some samples based on what we were looking for...and, of course, they had the perfect wallpaper. The people at Priem were so helpful and lovely to work with, and had the wallpaper shipped from the Netherlands, which worked beautifully for us.”
White House Residence. Master Bedroom/at times reformatted as the Lincoln Bedroom. Photo: Greg Leshé Studio.
One of the more historically significant rooms in the White House Residence is the Treaty Room, which was originally part of the President’s offices, often serving as an audience or waiting room. Another aspect of the Treaty Room that inspired us was the passageway from the Treaty Room to the Yellow Oval Room, which Abraham Lincoln used to avoid encountering anyone. In our WHR, it became a passageway between The Lincoln Bedroom and the Treaty Room to help the story line.”
White House Residence. Treaty Room. Photo: Greg Leshé Studio.
“One fun challenge was trying to re-create the Treaty Table, brought to the White House in 1869. President Grant used it for his cabinet meetings. The table has 8 locking drawers, so each cabinet member could store important papers. The treaty ending the Spanish American War in 1898 was signed on this table, as was the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963.”
White House Residence. Treaty Room. Note how the mirror perfectly reflects the opposite wall, with the presidential portrait over the fireplace. Photo: Greg Leshé Studio.
“We looked at many options for this table, and nothing was quite right. However, as often happens in this business, just as we are about to completely pivot to something altogether different, we found this table in PA. It was similar enough in style, with the trestle base being the most important element to match, that our carpenters were able to add the eight drawers to create our own Treaty Table.”
Editor’s note: For close-ups of the Treaty Table, click on the SHOW MORE PHOTOS button below.
Additional note from Carrie...
“I use ‘we’ a lot, and I truly mean it. Each set is such a team effort, and I feel so fortunate to have worked with the same crew for the past two seasons of THE NIGHT AGENT.
...Sarah Fredericks (SDSA) and Walter Pluff, the Assistant Set Decorators, have been so great in taking on sets and running with them. They are both talented and resourceful, and I feel that I never have to worry.
...Lisa Nilsson (SDSA), the Set Decorating Buyer, has such a vast knowledge of styles and fabrics, and has cultivated a huge network of resources over the years. She can pull stuff out of a hat.”
“It’s so much fun to see what inspires everyone, and how that sparks creativity that leads to well realized sets.”
“This season we also had Alex Mazur (SDSA) with us. As Season 3 was starting up, I was still on THE RIP. Fortunately, Alex was available to start the season as Set Decorator. Since Alex knew the sets, we were really lucky that she was able to stay on as a Buyer. The rest of the ‘we’ includes the Set Decorating Coordinator, the PA’s, the Leadman and the Set Dressers.”
“Everyone has something to bring to the table. THE NIGHT AGENT is a fast moving and busy show, and I am so lucky to have a crew that is supportive and that I have fun collaborating with—the sets become the sum of the talent that makes up the team.”
Editor’s note: Set Decorator Carrie Stewart SDSA would also like to acknowledge the SDSA Business members...
The Tri-State area is large, but small when it comes to our vendors. It’s wonderful to have people that I have worked with for years and feel like there is always a bit of “catch up” time when I haven’t been in for a while...
Aisling Flowers | Astek Wall Coverings | Alpha Medical |AMCO – American Window Screen and Window Coverings | Bridge Furniture and Props | Carpet Time | City Knickerbocker | Eclectic Encore Props | Fabric City | Fennick Studio Props | Gotham Props | Newel Props| propNspoon | Visual Alchemy
