Diane Lederman

The second season of a television show can sometimes be a challenge because the premise can either follow a similar path as the previous season or it can go on an entirely new course. In the case of the hit Netflix show, Russian Doll, the second season took big leaps in terms of its story line, set locations and the overall larger meaning of the show. Some would consider that decision to be a risk, but the creators of the show, along with Production Designer, Diane Lederman, were able to expand on the incredible artistic direction from Season 1 and create something that is equally captivating for Season 2. 

In an exclusive Interview with Interiors, we spoke with Diane Lederman, who is the Production Designer for Russian Doll Season 2.

INT: First off, we were curious how the opportunity to do the second season of the television show, Russian Doll, came about? What was it about it that made you want to work on it?

DL: I would like to think it was fate that brought me to work on Season 2 of Russian Doll. The Production Designer from Season 1 was unavailable to work on Season 2, and the project I was scheduled to work on lost their funding. A big fan of the show, I was enthralled with Season 1: brilliant storytelling, great design, truly a one of a kind show. When the opportunity presented itself to pick up the mantle of the Season 1 design team, I didn’t hesitate to accept.

INT: The second season involves time travel and we see Nadia and Alan travel to New York City in 1982, East Berlin in 1962 and Budapest in 1944. How did you and your team design these different eras and locations? From a Production Design standpoint, what types of things did you do to differentiate each time period?

DL: Consistency in look, style, and palette was paramount when designing across several time periods. The overriding ideology behind the aesthetic for the season was to create sets that were character driven, reality based with a lack of kitsch from each of the time periods. When doing period sets, I like to include elements that create a history for the location and character to help tell their story. I never want to feel that we have been dropped out of the sky, into a time capsule of an era, but rather that the places and characters we are seeing, grew there. Including architectural details and set dressing from previous eras leading up to the moment our story takes place is as important, or more so, as including pieces from that specific year.

Technology is an important time teller, and that needs to be correct. Updating radios, televisions, phones, & cars is a great way to tell the story of when you are as much as where you are. In the case of our story, which is predominantly in the subway, ephemeron was the key to telling time. Period correct ads were a big indicator and great effort was spent on sourcing and producing these.

INT: In Episodes 6 and 7, Nadia breaks the time continuum and we see how it affects physical locations. How developed were these spaces, specifically the void space, when it was first described to you? Did it evolve and change over time?

DL: There were several evolutions that occurred to both story and location while working on how to define, visualize and express the physicality of the idea of broken time. Natasha always wanted a water element to be present, an idea galvanized by the prospect of shooting the underground cisterns of Budapest. Ancient and soulful, when we discovered this location, we knew it was the right place to tell this part of our story.

Anachronistic elements were placed throughout the various sets established early in the story in Season 2 as well as those we revisited in Season 1, as another device for telling the story of broken time. Vintage vending machines in the contemporary emergency room, a turn of the century clock and ticket machine on the subway platform, a hot air balloon in Astor Place, and of course the Yeshiva classroom that re-materializes in the middle of Maxine’s loft, all worked to support this idea.

INT: You mentioned in a previous interview that David Lynch's Blue Velvet was a main source of set design inspiration for Season 2. Were there any other references (Architecture, Literature, Cinema) that you took from as you were planning the overall aesthetic?

DL: Dorothy Vale’s apartment (Isabella Rossellini) in Blue Velvet was the main inspiration for Nora’s apartment set. For inspiration for the entire season, we looked at references from various forums and media. By the time we started shooting, I had a Dropbox filled with hundreds of images. Gritty crime dramas of the seventies played a great role informing the look of Season 2. Taxi Driver, Klute, Mean Streets, The French Connection just to name a few standouts. Photographers such as Nan Golden, Saul Leiter, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Todd Hido, and the iconic punk rock photos of Roberta Bayley & David Godlis were all important aesthetic references. Lina Wertmuller’s Seven Beauties was a great inspiration for how we would style 1944 Budapest.

We compiled loads of historical research photos of downtown NY in the early 80’s, West Germany in the 60’s and of course Budapest in the 40’s. Natasha handed me an extensive reading list when I started the project that ranged from the history of the lobotomy to philosophies of reincarnation. Needless to say, research played an important role in guiding the design for the season.

Diane Lederman is a Production Designer and has worked on various Films and Television Shows.