Late Night TV Set Design: Carson, Letterman, Colbert & the End of The Late Show
About this episode
Kim Wannop explores the design history of late-night television sets from iconic hosts.
With The Late Show with Stephen Colbert coming to an end, Emmy-winning Set Decorator Kim Wannop looks at the design history of late-night television through the rooms we know so well: the desk, the guest chair, the skyline, the curtains, the bandstand, and the host’s chair. In this episode of Decorating Pages , Kim breaks down late-night TV set design from Johnny Carson to David Letterman, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers. She looks at Carson’s iconic command-center set, Letterman’s strange and brilliant NBC office energy, his move to CBS and the historic Ed Sullivan Theater, Colbert’s grand restoration of that theater, Kimmel’s Hollywood-after-dark lounge, Fallon’s warm New York variety show, and Seth Meyers’ writer’s room with a view. This is a set decorator’s look at how late-night shows use similar design staples but create completely different identities for each host. Because in late night, the desk is not just furniture. The room tells us what kind of night we’re about to have. Listen to Decorating Pages for production design, set decoration, TV design, film design, Emmy FYC interviews, and behind-the-scenes conversations about the worlds built…
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