How It Works: Production Designer Paul D. Austerberry Embraced Americana for Derry's Welcome

      When Paul D. Austerberry took on the role of production designer for HBO’s It: Welcome to Derry, his aim was to achieve the same cinematic quality for the series that he had established in director Andy Muschietti’s 2019 It: Chapter Two. However, he underestimated the challenges posed by television's strict production schedules, particularly regarding the finer details that breathe life into a set.

      “In hindsight, there are aspects I wish I could have dedicated more time to,” Austerberry reflects. “I attended a screening recently with an audience and was concerned about whether it would hold up. But everything seemed to look just as it did on the big screen.”

      The production designer shares that having a larger team for the eight-part series alleviated some of the “time shortages,” especially concerning the expansive carnival set that was crucial to the origin story of Bob Gray, or Pennywise. He credits having early access to the scripts for aiding in creating an authentic environment.

      “A scaled-down version of the digital backdrops from the film was provided to scenic artists, theatrical painters, and sign painters. There were always banners hung around the studio, with someone working on them,” Austerberry explains. “While we did a few minor tasks on the computer, the majority were executed by hand.”

      Paul D. Austerberry on drawing from historical influences for It: Welcome to Derry

      It: Welcome to Derry captures the early era of the Cold War.

      Additional elements that enriched the scenes included wooden animals and simple theatrical elements reminiscent of a 1900s carnival, such as shifting clouds and backgrounds.

      These features contributed to narrating Pennywise’s story in a manner appealing to both the fictional children within the show and the audience.

      “It was all quite low-tech, yet the special effects team, accustomed to large explosions, really enjoyed figuring out how to set everything up,” Austerberry adds. “They took great pride in it due to the many moving components involved.”

      Austerberry utilized imagery from 1950s and '60s Americana, along with the color palettes of that period, to evoke the feeling of a small American town.

      “My responsibility was to evoke a sense of reality for the audience, making them believe in the setting and time they are experiencing,” he states. “This way, the supernatural and eerie elements become even more impactful, rooted in this very ordinary slice of historical Americana.”

      He also highlights several small details on the sets that enhanced the actors' immersion, from parachuting soldiers and airplanes, as well as Flash comics in the treehouse, to 1950s-style spaceships in a bedroom, and the historic convent in Niagara Falls, Ontario that stood in for the sanatorium.

      The main street of the show featured hand-painted signage and around 35 businesses, including the grocery store. Preparation took months, particularly due to the need to accurately depict products and packaging from the era.

      “The items on both the lower and upper shelves are as detailed as those at eye level,” he points out. “Since we can’t predict what may occur during shooting, part of my job is to ensure everything captured by the camera is ready. When filming on location, your view is limited to what has been meticulously prepared.”

      It: Welcome to Derry is currently available for streaming on HBO Max. For more of our Emmy contender interviews, you can read here.

      Editor’s note: Headline corrected.