‘Loot’ production designer Jennifer Dehghan on evolving the show for its 2nd season [Exclusive Video Interview]
For “Loot” production designer Jennifer Dehghan the goal of the show’s second season was to track the continued evolution of Molly Wells (Maya Rudolph), the billionaire divorcee who began to take control of her life in ways large and small in Season 1. But the trick of the Apple TV+ comedy series is that despite her good intentions, Molly still exists in a world unknown to 99 percent of the population. So at the start of Season 2 during an interview with Vogue’s 73 Questions franchise, where Molly’s showing off her new home – a massive beachside dwelling that Molly calls a “beach cabana” with a straight-faced earnestness – the residence had to feel both appropriate to Molly’s mindset and still unlike something most people could afford.
“She feels like she’s downgraded and downsized but to plebs like us, it’s spectacular,” Dehghan tells Gold Derby in an exclusive video interview. “So it was fun to kind of suss out conceptually what that meant visually. And we went with less sparkle, less glitz and glamour, all-natural materials and earth tones. The palette was very subdued, nothing too dramatic. She always is the one that pops on the set. So we’re kind of like a platter on which she can shine. And I liked how much her energy and personality show in her clothing. But the idea was to make the house a serene spa-like retreat where she could push out all the noise of society in the world, her divorce, her ex, and all these things, and try and focus on her goals. It’s just that her spa-like retreat is different than ours, you know?”
Created by Matt Hubbard and Alan Yang (both of whom worked together on “Parks and Recreation”), “Loot” is a showcase for Rudolph, a five-time Emmy Award winner, as it follows Molly’s new life following her divorce from a billionaire (Adam Scott) coded as if he were Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates.
“Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard, they have a clear idea of where they want Molly’s character to go in the overall story,” says Dehghan, who, in addition to “Loot” has served as art director on several acclaimed films – including “The Squid and the Whale” and “The Beguiled.” “When I started doing TV after so many years of film, I found it hard to know how to design when I didn’t know where the story and the characters were going. Because I wanted to like set us up for success in that end. And in film, you have the script. Even though things might change, you still can create an arc for the color, palette, mood, lighting, and all of these things to help develop the characters in the story. With ‘Loot,’ because they have most of the scripts, outlines, and breakdowns, they know the end goal for the season. So that helps a lot.”
Dehghan designed numerous incredible sets for “Loot” Season 2, including a wellness retreat venue for the fourth episode. But she’s perhaps most proud of the show’s upcoming season finale.
“The finale takes my heart. It’s really good and beautiful, funny, fun, and ridiculous. But it’s also relatable,” she says, avoiding spoilers. The “Loot” team was in the middle of shooting the episode last spring, in fact, when the writers’ strike shut down production for what ended up being months. “When we got shut down, we didn’t know if we were going to go back [to the location we had built] and do it the way we had envisioned. But our location manager, Jordanna Kronen, she did an amazing job when we came back six months later. She got she got all of our locations back. But that one was like icing on the cake. Because we knew exactly what we wanted to do. We were prepped, we were ready to go. We had even had like a, you know, a dress rehearsal. And we can just go in and do it. It was just fun to shoot it.”
Season 2 ends on a cliffhanger that will leave fans wanting more. Dehghan would love that as well. “I’ve thought about everything,” she says when asked about the possibility of doing more episodes. “Fingers crossed [we’re renewed]. It’s a really fun show to work on.”
“Loot” streams on Apple TV+.
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