‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Production Design Spotlighted in Emmy Consideration Video

CBS Television Studios is spotlighting the production design of Star Trek: Discovery in a “For Your Consideration” video aimed at Emmy Awards voters.

“We wanted to build massive sets that you felt you were inside of that were immersive and beautiful and detailed and shoot them in a way where you ask the audience to pay attention to those details,” series co-creator and executive producer Alex Kurtzman says.

Production designer Tamara Deverell tells her own story, saying, “When I was first shown the set, I was so excited by the look of the show that I really felt like I wanted to be of that.”

Deverell then went into more detail about how the look of the series was established over the first season.

“The story sort of evolved together with the writers,” Deverell explains. “First we went to the Vulcan planet, then we went to the rebel planet Harlak, and then we decided to go to Kronos. Let’s try to do something a little different. Let’s make it a black market because it gives us something to dress too and we did it on our backlot, so the building you see is actually our studio. It’s an interesting departure, but canon comes from Star Trek doing what it does best, telling stories.

Kurtzman then emphasized the reverence for Star Trek felt throughout the production team.

“You can talk to any department head and you will feel the love that they have for the world,” he says. “So many of us have been waiting for the opportunity to be able to work on something like Star Trek, let alone to work on Star Trek.”

Deverell adds, “Good design is good design, and Star Trek is more and more about that. The paint and scenic work and layers upon layers to me is what Star Trek is about…just your dream as a production designer.”

Outstanding Production Design For a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program is one of several Emmy Awards categories that Star Trek: Discovery is hoping to be considered for. Others include Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup, Outstanding Sci-Fi/Fantasy Costumes, Oustanding Music Composition, and Outstanding Special Visual Effects.

Emmy Awards voting is now officially underway. The nominees will be announced on July 12th.

Do you think Star Trek: Discovery‘s production design is worthy of an Emmy nomination? Let us know in the comments!

The first season of Star Trek: Discovery is available to stream in its entirety on CBS All Access in the United States, through CraveTV in Canada, and through Netflix in other international markets. Star Trek: Discovery Season Two is now filming in Toronto.