Meet the Visual Masterminds Behind Some of Your Favorite TV Sets

CC: We pitched so many Easter eggs for the show. Even the title cards, you know, in season one, we were brainstorming ideas and pitching them to Robin in the writers’ room. It was great to even have the opportunity to do that. For this season, there were some props that didn’t get scripted that we would pitch and we would execute—like in “The Mange-her” there are these “stone-carved” foam fingers that say “#1 Jesus” or “Baby Jesus.” You could see them in the background. Robin also just loves coming to set and seeing some of them. She likes to be surprised sometimes. Same with the “Snitches Get Cross Stitches” sketch. A lot of those [quilted quotes] were scripted, but she also told us to put other stuff in there so they could run with their improvisation.

MY: I think we have more Easter eggs in [season four] than we’ve ever included, all to encourage folks to sort of find them and make their own connections and theories about what's going on…You should look in the background, pay attention to the set dressing and the props—even something on somebody’s fridge is probably a callback to a different sketch from two years ago…Our set decorator Lizzie Boyle is someone we’ve worked with a very long time now. Her department has such a massive job because we’re on location a lot. That means quick turnarounds, a different set, different location every single day—sometimes. We all have brainstorming sessions about how things should be, but she also has a lot of input into what makes it in.

NL: Right.
MY: And more of a thing we’ve tried to do since the beginning is to incorporate artwork by real Black women artists. As much as we can we and [set decorator Lizzie Boyle] reach out to artists who have interesting work, are up-and-coming, and she sources all of this beautiful artwork created by real artists who are getting to see their paintings, drawings, and sculptures up on the screen. The show is all about celebrating Black women and culture, and so if we have the opportunity to bring a little bit of the real world into it and give folks a bit more notice for their work—it’s like, why not?

NL: Could people see this as a great example of collaboration between Black and Asian communities, especially when there are very specific narratives about us—if not exactly positive—in professional settings?
MY: It’s kind of an interesting question! What Robin has done is hiring a crew that she kind of hand-picked, folks based on the talent she sees in them. It’s a conscious effort to give opportunities to Black women and women of color. But she’s also hiring people, based on who she knows will get the job done the way it needs to get done and will be a good collaborator. As much as our department heads are mostly women of color and Black women, we also have every kind of person in our crew. Behind the scenes, it’s the most diverse crew we’ve ever had.

CC: I think Robin wants to work with people she trusts that she can collaborate with, have a conversation with, because this is her baby. She wants to create an environment where we’re all like family. For every season, we all come back because it’s such a safe, trusting but fun and loving, positive experience. It’s the way Michele and I operate, too, when we’re hiring for our crew.

MY: The show, it is so much about recognizing that very specific programming can be a hit, you know? That speaking to a very specific audience that has not been spoken to, has not had the benefit of its own HBO comedy show, can be very successful. And that you can create a show staffed with crew all supportive of the cause and make it an Emmy-winning hit. All you really need is to have trust in the creative choices of the people you’re hiring, and [to know] there is an audience for these culturally specific stories. 

We think this is a unique show because it has all sorts of people behind the scenes coming together to tell a specific story and experiences [while] also realizing that we can all see ourselves in these stories. There’s so much to celebrate, to laugh about together. Cindy and I are so happy to have been invited to support and contribute to this world.

NL: For aspiring production designers, just a couple of lines as to why they should tune into American Born Chinese to see your work?
CC: There’s so much—it’s literally a show that merges something that’s real, that people can relate to. That was our opportunity to show what an immigrant household looks like with all the details. But then there’s also the fantastical element with Heaven, and the creative concepts we came up with to portray with a contemporary Chinese Heaven.

I think it’s different, and super exciting because a lot of it is stuff we grew up with. Our parents were watching Jade Channel, or those very old soap dramas that took place in period China. I could remember drooling over those sets. And just being able to show that to an American audience is something I’m really proud to share in American Born Chinese. We’ve only really gotten to see that in Hong Kong and international films. I hope that our work nailed it.

MY: It’s so nice that this year Cindy and I get to talk about these two shows that really show how the industry is opening up to new kinds of stories. So, to the folks out there reading this interview and thinking about becoming production designers—but maybe haven’t seen themselves reflected in a lot of media, watch shows like these and realize that there’s a lot of joy in creation, and more projects are being greenlit that reflect different kinds of people. And we’ve been lucky enough to work on two of them, right?

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.