In a remarkable journey, production designer Lisa Ward reflects on her first Emmy nomination for her work on the acclaimed series ‘1923’.
Lisa Ward Reflects on Her Emmy Nomination for ‘1923’
“It felt like a really wonderful way to celebrate,” production designer Lisa Ward declares about receiving her first career Emmy nomination for her work on 1923 with her co-production designer and mentor, veteran designer and four-time Emmy nominee Cary White. Ward explains in Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts: TV Production Designers panel that “this season of 1923 was a real push. We did 136 sets in 90 days of shooting. So many days with multiple sets and Cary’s last show and really my first show as his co-designer. And so, an important one for both of us.” (Watch our full interview above.)
The Expansive World of ‘1923’
The Paramount+ sweeping Western drama 1923 expands Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe, chronicling the trials of Jacob and Cara Dutton (Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren) as they fight to preserve their family’s sprawling Montana ranch in an era defined by drought, Prohibition, and the looming Great Depression. Blending gritty frontier action with intimate character drama, the series explores a world on the brink of modernity, where loyalty and survival collide. Season 2 continues the saga, delving deeper into the Duttons’ fight for legacy and power as old conflicts reignite and new enemies emerge on the horizon.
Emmy Nomination for Best Production Design
Ward is nominated for Best Narrative Period or Fantasy (One Hour or More) Production Design alongside her co-production designer White, with supervising art director Sean Ryan Jennings, and set decorator Carla Curry for their work on the third episode of the show’s second season, “Wrap Thee in Terror,” directed by Ben Richardson and written by Sheridan. The episode spans settings from the immigration halls of Ellis Island and the iconic main concourse of Grand Central Station to the sweeping landscapes of Montana, as Alexandra faces the harsh realities of entry into America while tensions rise across multiple frontiers.
Choosing the Right Episode for Emmy Consideration
“There were sets and pieces that we were proud of in every episode, especially because we covered so much of the country throughout the show,” Ward says of their choice to submit this particular episode for Emmy consideration. “It was really hard to choose, but Cary and I decided on episode three for several reasons, but the biggest of which was that we were really excited to show, in what is commonly thought of as a Western, some of the city landscapes that we tackled in this season and show just the diversity of work. And we felt like that episode really showcased some of that thinking.”
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Designing Iconic Spaces
“It was so fun,” Ward reveals about designing for the episode. “I lived in New York for a long time, and so these really iconic buildings are spaces that I know really well and that Cary and I both felt was really, really important to represent accurately because those are rooms that most people in this country, most adults in this country, have seen images of, if not have experienced. And we really wanted to capture the essence of those spaces,” she explains. “We knew that if we had to build these on stage and we couldn’t shoot in these spaces, that we had to choose really carefully what portion of the rooms we were going to try to build on set. And so we found these hero reference photos from the 1920s of the registry room at Ellis Island, of the grand ticket room in Grand Central, and we really honed in on a particular photograph for each and then designed the portion of the set around that photograph specifically. And that helped us narrow in on what we felt the character should experience and how that would tell the story of those spaces.”
This article and video are presented by Paramount+.
