Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1539634
H A C K S S E A S O N 4 | P E R S P E C T I V E 3 5 the exterior of CBS Television City, another of our exteriors. The set decorator reached out to individual cast members for their input. Naturally, she received a flood of thoughtful, though often unclearable, intellectual property that fell victim to the abattoir that is clearances. Two weeks later, the writer's bullpen would be transformed again into a clean, bare-walled conference room. The crew would push and pull the walls again to accommodate the conference table, repaint the hallway blue to feel closer to the stage, hang some TVs, and though we'd keep the backing, we changed the greens. The job of designing Hacks is to remain firmly fixed in reality, to play straight man to the humor. The design team is there to ground the world and let comedy come from the scripts and the actors, but every so often we get to have a little fun beyond that reality. Where there was class, there was also the Slippery Oyster, where there was grace, there was also a Zamboni sex scandal, where there was restraint, there was also the Americana. In our fifth and final set changeover, we got to play broad in a strip-mall based attorney's office. Unable to accommodate a move or find a location on the lot that worked, the crew made a challenging six-day changeover, we ripped apart the conference room, added in a diamond window and doors from assets, wood paneled the walls, aged everything, and let set dec cook, resulting in one of my favorite sets of the season. We wanted the space to reflect Deborah approaching her rock bottom—and in the end, every department delivered. E. THE BOILING CRAB CONCEPT SKETCH. F. THE BOILING CRAB SET. SET PHOTO. G. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. SET PHOTO. The Art Department had a lot of scenery to get creative with this season. We had massive mansions to dress, rooftops to elevate, tram stunts, smashed kitchens, press conferences, strip club scenes split amongst three different locations, jets, party buses, impound lots, churches, a two-walled crab restaurant and an Oscar red carpet built on stage. Even the added challenge of managing an Art Department in Singapore on opposite work schedules. It was a big season. Another set that allowed the team to show the passage of time—and highlighted what we were able to pull off—was Jimmy and Kayla's new office. Officially, Schaefer & LuSaque, it was first glimpsed as a raw space at the end of season 3. That scene was shot on location at the American Cement Building near MacArthur Park, and the plan was originally to return there for season 4. I had a strong vision for the interior when the curveball arrived: "Oh, and by the way—we're building it on stage now." E F G