Based on Emily St. John Mandel’s novel “Station Eleven,” the HBO Max limited series “Station Eleven” is a meditation on art, the apocalypse, and how mankind chooses to survive in the face of enormous loss.
The novel is mostly set in a world destroyed by a devastating pandemic, and it follows its characters from their early lives to “year one” after the catastrophe, and eventually to “year 20.” The show follows disparate groups of people surviving in the year 20: the Traveling Symphony, a Shakespearean acting troupe that circles Lake Michigan; the Severn City Airport settlement, a community of people who were stranded at the airport at the outbreak of the flu and remained there; and the Undersea, a group of children led by a miraculous Prophet.
The series was nominated for seven Emmys, including cinematography, direction, single-camera picture editing, music composition, sound editing, and writing in a limited or anthology series or film. His performance as Jeevan Chaudhary garnered Himesh Patel a nomination for outstanding main actor in a limited or anthology series or film.
Ruth Ammon, the show’s production designer, spoke with Insider about creating the show’s gorgeous post-apocalyptic settings, its wandering troupe of Shakespearean actors, the “suburban” airport town, and Dr. Eleven, the series’ central character. This article includes concept art for the show.
Conceptual artwork of an overgrown Chicago train station from “Station Eleven.”
Paramount Television Production Studios
Insider: I originally wanted to inquire about Dr. Eleven’s station in the show. We don’t get many views of it, but when we do, such as with Miranda or in the pilot, it’s definitely rather remarkable. I’m wondering as to how you approached that area, given how detached it is from our very grounded reality on Earth.
Ammon: We didn’t want to be too explicit about Dr. Eleven, since, well, is he real? Is he not genuine? I believe we all carry Dr. Eleven within us. And with the epidemic — I mean, we built him before the pandemic — he was such a crucial figure.
When we discussed the spacecraft, the Thompson Center, a Helmut Jahn-designed building in Chicago, was described as a modernist architecture from the 1980s whose inside is beyond stunning. I had arrived in Chicago a day early to meet [showrunner Patrick Sommerville] and [director Hiro Murai], and I went there to get my phone mended. And I said, “Oh my gosh, Patrick, you must see this structure!”
And in fact, on the first night of scouting, we passed this structure, which he had in mind as a reference for something in the show. Therefore, this extraordinary synchronization occurred amongst everyone of us. And at night, the building resembled a massive spaceship due to the highly reflected mirror. And its form and proportions — I think so much of “”Station Eleven” is about the altering size and perspective of lights, the Earth, and the universe as a whole. Hiro’s strategy of inverting it and never viewing it as a whole spaceship is more about the mood, if that makes sense.
Dr. Eleven looks towards the planet from his spacecraft.
Paramount Television Production Studios
Even if you began working on “Station Eleven” before the epidemic, it is incredibly impossible to avoid mentioning COVID-19. Existed situations in which the epidemic flowed into or influenced your creative process?
Ammon: We filmed the entire first season in Chicago, including episodes one through three with Hiro. I read a New York Times piece about the coronavirus and forwarded it to Hiro. Then, our administrative assistant Jennifer Wilkinson sent us all a text that read, “Ha ha ha.” And it was The New York Times that published the initial report that a virus was beginning to spread in China. And we all just sort of glanced at one another. Hiro has a remarkable face, and I recall seeing his eyes and thought “wow” “Uh huh. Uh yeah. Weird.”
Then it transpired. We returned to Los Angeles, where everyone else was at home. And you know, the epidemic was such a confirmation of all our beliefs and what Emily St. John Mandel had written. Some of her phrases, which I used in my original pitch, were similar to, “Before there were cities. When only stars were seen. When sound was altered.” I mean, there are references in her work that I was aware of, and I just felt like I couldn’t hear people anymore. You hear how peaceful the earth was and how we all began to hear more birds as we aged.
I recall the first time I rode in a car, feeling speed for the first time in three months because I had been staying at home. For me, this confirmed all these intuitions I derived from her work. And Patrick’s amazing script only elevated it further.
Dock concept illustration from “Station Eleven.”
Paramount Television Production Studios
Michael Allen Glover, my supervising art director, and I were alone in Toronto as we regrouped. We arrived in a foreign place, had no family for nine months, and spent the entire day going independently, in separate cars, from set to set and continuing to create. This idea of producing, working, and being an artist every day stopped us from falling into a deep despair, despite the fact that our apartments were small, the food was awful, and I hadn’t seen my husband in nine months.
Consequently, I felt as if we were living parallel lives, and I was able to comprehend how the diverse groups and worlds that we constructed represented distinct survival strategies. Whether you are the type of person who wants to continue living the suburban lifestyle, where everything is safe and identical and everyone’s house, lawn, and car are identical. That was the general concept underlying the Sever City Airport.
These diverse societies and environments that we’ve developed illustrate alternative survival strategies.
Or, if you are a follower of institutions, the Pingtree golf and country club exemplifies how we compared an academic institution to a country club institution. This type of hierarchy remains significant to some individuals in the post-pandemic era. Then there are the inhabitants of the Undersea, who live off the earth and move from place to place. Then, the Traveling Symphony, where they compose, sustains their life and that of the human race by preserving art and the masters of Western civilisation.
Station Eleven concept image of the Severn City Airport.
Paramount Television Production Studios
Regarding the Severn City Airport in particular, I find it fascinating that the show’s most permanent civilisation has settled in a typically transitory area. How did you approach the creation of this community?
Ammon: During the summer, we had a small amount of time — we called it “concept time” — during which Helen, the costume designer, myself, my art department, and Patrick were free to create whatever we wished, regardless of location. Therefore, I constructed it based on a fantasy I had. I believed that we needed to witness the entire airport lingo. That was of the utmost importance to me.
I just adore airports. I typically arrive at airports early, so I am able to sit and observe this type of system for extended periods of time. An airport has a rhythm: a gate followed by a pause, followed by another gate and another pause. The way things are arranged reminds me of suburbia.
This was an extension of American suburbia.
The cottages we had there did not fit as well as I had intended, but the recurrence of them and the way we saw them felt natural to the environment. In a sense, they were all the same, but there were small details that made them unique, but not too unique, lest the neighbors think you have more than the others or are showing off. I believe that the order of that makes individuals feel protected. I believe that is precisely what Clark, Elizabeth, and Miles were doing.
We discussed the fact that the neighborhood was neither socialist nor communist. He was not interested in a community or kibbutz. This was an extension of American suburbia.
In “Station Eleven,” Clark lays on a Great Lakes carpet.
HBO Max
There was a Great Lakes rug and a Michigan-shaped Adirondack chair in the airport, which was my second favorite aspect. What was it like to create these particulars, and why were they essential?
First, Patrick is from that region, but I would have done it regardless. I believe that every airport has a distinct sense of where you’ve landed. With most of the globe having adopted the hipster look, we did a little bit of the same thing with our brewery. It was really important to me that all of the options in this airport were local and regional, as I believe that drives the character and also establishes a palette for us.
I wished to maintain the palette in the blues and greens of Northern Michigan and Lake Michigan, along with these red accents. Thus, there was color, and “Station Eleven” has some references to these hues. We have never genuinely desired a post-apocalyptic world devoid of color and life.
We also began to consider all the enjoyable things that humans may survive on. I had a list of all the businesses that we convinced folks to allow us to use, such as Silver Harbor Brewery, Halo Burger, Mr. Pretzel, and Mackinac Island Fudge.
Station Eleven concept illustration of the Traveling Symphony.
Paramount Television Production Studios
I’m intrigued about the design process for the Traveling Symphony. What were some of the difficulties in designing their appearance and mode of transportation?
Ammon: Emily’s novel provided rules, but then it’s like, “How do you make that look like it belongs in the picture?” We spent a great deal of time on this, and it was in a way my greatest dread. Patrick always emphasized to me that they must be intelligent. Having worked in theater, film, and television, we strive to be extremely intelligent and efficient in order to blossom during the performance.
This was our guiding principle: Be as efficient as possible, and then thrive when the moment is right. I kept the cars in a darker color scheme because it’s dangerous outside. They didn’t want to draw attention to themselves until they were already under attack. The symbol of the Traveling Symphony, which was color, was one of the most prominent features. All of the eye-catching features were modern colors of camping textiles, such as Gore-Tex and Patagonia, as well as hues of turquoise, orange, red, and these wonderful yellows.
Be as productive as possible, and then thrive when the timing is right.
Therefore, we attached these as their carry-on bags, tents, and awning cloth, so that the symphony itself was black, but the accessories on them and the packing up added color. And when they did, the light began to shine. There were four distinct appearances: the traveling appearance, the camping appearance, the backstage appearance, and the performance appearance. And we wanted everyone to believe it could work, so we conducted a number of tests removing engines and weighting automobiles, which revealed that cars are quite light once these components are removed. Those horses were capable of pulling those wagons indefinitely.
Station Eleven concept art of the Traveling Symphony’s stage.
Paramount Television Production Studios
Explain this concept of flourishing in the moment of performance.
Ammon: They reminded me of music boxes, with the three stage elements opening and unveiling themselves. We decorated the interior of the white van with white leather and a cat. In addition, I believe there was a mirror on top for bringing in shining metal, chrome. And that was a representation of something that would be somewhat efficient — a mirror does not become dusty or boring. And the chrome from every truck component.
My favorite piece of scenery that you did not see were the thrones. And the thrones were exquisite. They were fashioned from the lens lights of Priuses, the rear lens of the brake lights for Priuses, as well as the lenses of very modern automobiles. On a weekend, I created them in the office, but they were never viewed.
There was also an aesthetic motif of repurposed antique objects.
Ammon: I enjoy the truck components. I’m not sure if you can see all of them, but we used a lot of chrome accents from trucks and cars. The torches were essentially ornamental exhaust pipes from trucks and automobiles; we had them transported in from Orange County. However, this is what the torches were. And all of the stage lights were truck-mounted mirrors. Some of the sconces were truck components, chromed truck exhaust pipes. You may observe truck drivers customizing and sprucing up their cars, so I chose them because I believed I would never have to repaint them.
Overgrown gas station in “Station Eleven” with a fried chicken bucket sculpture that has since collapsed.
HBO Max
Is there anything else about the show that you’ve been itching to discuss or are extremely pleased with?
Ammon: During my initial meeting with Patrick and Hiro, I included a photograph by the artist Brian Ulrich from his book “Is This a Great Place, or What?” in my interview deck. Actually, it was one of my bibles. And there was an image of an abandoned parking lot: Literally, the sign for Kentucky Fried Chicken has toppled over and is now a bucket. It is a 20-foot-tall bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken on its side.
Because one of our aesthetics was to avoid overcomplicating the frame with too much information, I ached to reproduce it. We were required to make landscape sculptures outside of the one suburban area we visited in the first year; by the 20th year, suburbs are no longer visible. And because of this 20-foot bucket of chicken, we had to design our own fast food, which we named Sizzle Bird.
The conductor is seated in front of it when she first meets Kirsten, and the gas station is in the backdrop. And we constructed the gas station and the bucket. Then, as the 20th century progressed, we rolled the bucket onto its side, carried it across the street, and it became their rain shelter. This is designed to resemble a large, metal, sculptural fast food sign that has collapsed.
It made somewhat of a triangle with the burning billboard and the gas station. And it is intended to be the point that Kirsten meets the conductor for the first time, as well as the point where the symphony divides. Consequently, we see it 20 years later.
It was so enjoyable because Patrick had included it into the screenplay. When I read that script one day, I literally squealed with laughter. Patrick and I would giggle because you can’t explain to a producer, “Oh, we want to make a 20-foot bucket of chicken,” for example.
Gas station concept image from “Station Eleven.”
Paramount Television Production Studios
It is really fascinating to observe this location develop over time.
We had to travel a bit, Ammon. It was an hour distant, and I had another location that I preferred more, but it was an hour and fifteen minutes away, and I was unable to convince them to move. Therefore, I had to make it work. Our building paint staff had to stay in motels for around two weeks due to the small size of the crew. You can see that the individuals who collaborated on this shared a vision just by observing them.
You attempt to persuade others; we did have a concept sketch at the time, but it was before the bucket; however, you must convince others to believe in you. They resemble, “What? You intend to construct a petrol station on a runway?” And everyone just stares at you like you’re nuts. Patrick never for a moment believed I was insane. And I believe that the support of the individual with this kind of vision lifted both myself and the performance. You could absolutely be the performer on that show. You won’t receive a sideways glance unless someone asks, “Why is that bucket of chicken there?”
The ten episodes of “Station Eleven” are all available to stream on HBO Max.