‘The Morning Show’ production design draws inspiration from real world of TV news

Real-life technical challenges

One of the biggest challenges of shooting on sets packed with working video panels was that Apple needed the series to be shot in 4K. The video monitors on set and in the control room had to be carefully selected, calibrated and tested to avoid moiré and scan rate issues with the cameras used to capture the action.

An additional layer to the challenge was that the “prop” cameras, and the images they fed to monitors in the control room and other parts of the network’s offices, had to be accounted for as well.

Ultimately, however, all the images viewers see on all of the on-set video panels and monitors are real. Nothing was digitally composited or green screened, Paino emphasized. 

The offices (including that one)

Two other key rooms at the heart of “The Morning Show” complex are Levy and Kessler’s offices.

These rooms sit side by side and are in many ways a mirror image of each other. Both have a makeup chair, seating and a work area as well as an adjacent walk-in closet that doubles as a dressing room.

Levy’s office is heavily inspired by “Today” co-anchor Hoda Kotb’s office — with a cheerful yellow color palette and decor that includes fan art of her and Kessler from over the years. 

The production design and set design team also scattered copies of books Levy wrote as well as framed New York Times Bestseller lists with her titles highlighted throughout the office.

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Mitch’s office, meanwhile, was much more subdued — with a lot of grays and darker colors. And, in case you were wondering, that button that snaps the door closed does actually work.

Paino did note that there was a bit of artistic license taken there. While many executive offices, including those at TV networks, reportedly have buttons that can lock the door when it’s already closed, the show’s writers added the closing effect.

Newsgathering spaces

Other workspaces include private offices for the show’s executive producer as well as a small, open newsroom used by the show’s producers and writers that features a row of desks outfitted with (what else?) Apple computers as well as monitors, phones and other TV news equipment. 

In real life, both “Today” and “GMA” have similar newsrooms dedicated to their personnel apart from their main newsrooms, both of which are located in other buildings.

(“CBS This Morning” broadcasts from nearby the network’s main “news hub” and additional newsroom space but also features a handful of in-studio workstations).

Back in “The Morning Show” complex, scenes are often shot, “West Wing” style, as characters weave through the maze of hallways that connect the studio, newsroom, offices and control room. Many of the spaces have multiple means of entry and exit, giving the production team even more flexibility when creating these fast-paced scenes.

In addition, many of the spaces feature glass windows that give views into other areas of the show’s space — though, notably, Levy and Kessler’s offices don’t have interior or exterior windows.

Paino knows that people who toil in the early morning hours on morning news — both network and local — will likely get a kick out of just how bright, large, nice and orderly “The Morning Show” facilities seem. But he notes that, over the course of filming, the sets took their share of wear and tear.

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Many of the interior sets and filming locations were selected to keep the feel that the spaces could be inside of any office building in New York.

Paino purposefully avoided any references to Rockefeller Center’s spectacular art deco lobby and public places or the dramatic, custom built exterior of the “GMA” studios in Times Square. 

Some of the UBA executive offices and conference rooms were created on soundstages, while others were shot in real office towers in New York.

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At home and around the town

In addition to the hectic hallways of UBA, other parts of the show take place in the key character’s homes and living spaces.

This home in Los Angeles was used for both exterior and interior shots of Mitch Kessler’s home.

Kessler’s sprawling mansion is a real home in the Los Angeles area that Paino found with a distinct east-coast feel. The interiors of Kessler’s home were filmed at the same house.

Levy’s penthouse — or “fortress of solitude” as Paino put it — was built on a soundstage, as were the hotel rooms new co-anchor Jackson calls home during the early part of the series.

“The Morning Show” did also film on location in New York City, including some dramatic and restaurant interiors.