Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1544119
how much I could change but how much I could leave alone. Modular Thinking: Storefront Systems One of the unseen successes of the last two seasons has been our modular storefront window system. Rather than designing individual storefronts for each episode, we created a flexible kit of parts: three sizes and three shapes that could be combined into a wide range of configurations. By varying proportions, spacing, finishes and dressing, we were able to create storefronts that read as distinct locations without feeling repetitive. Because the CM reboot has now been running for four seasons, we've also made a point to never discard one-offs if there's a chance they can be reused. As a result of this approach, by the end of season 19, we had fabricated only one entirely new storefront. Everything else came from an evolving inventory of assets that could be recontextualized rather than rebuilt. When Sets Carry History: One Footprint, Many Lives Early in 2025, we received the news that Beachwood Studios was closing and selling off its rental set inventory. Like so many people in this industry, I can't remember a time without Sondra or Beachwood. Their sets have quietly supported decades of television production and the idea of that legacy disappearing was pretty devastating after all we've dealt with in a post-pandemic, post-strike Hollywood. We purchased two existing sets: a morgue and a government building. The morgue, in particular, carried a fun personal history—our construction coordinator Karen Higgins had originally built it seventeen years earlier. Over the course of the season, the morgue became a study in how much transformation could occur within clear constraints. We turned it into five visually distinct morgues and only changed the footprint once. We never touched the ceiling. 9.5 Scale: 3 4 "= 1'-0" Scale: 3 4 "= 1'-0" 9.4 9.3 ELEV DETAIL - EMBALMING ROOM CABINETRY ELEV DETAIL - EMBALMING ROOM CABINETRY 9.2 9.1 9.0 NEW BUILD WITH SET DEC SINK CUT IN 5'-1 1 " 5'-1 1 " 3'-0" 1'-2" 3'-0" 3'-0" 1'-2" 3'-0" 1'-0" 7'-2" USE EXISTING KITCHEN STORE UPEPRS USE EXISTING KITCHEN STORE LOWERS F. & G. LUPOLD COUNTY MORGUE. SET PHOTOS. H. BANCROFT MORTUARY. SET PHOTO. I. BANCROFT MORTUARY. ELEVATIONS BY CHEYENNE BELL. I H F G