Pop star Sabrina Carpenter’s A Nonsense Christmas is certainly a holiday special of our time. After all, the Netflix special features sketches about “ghosting” internet dates and Santa’s open relationship. But the show’s musical moments, which make up the bulk of its 50-minute runtime, feature set design that embraces Christmas nostalgia.
When production designer Jason Sherwood joined the project, he had a mere month to turn Carpenter’s vision into a fully functional set, ready for taping in front of a live audience. There wasn’t even a script yet; all he had were a list of references. From Andy Williams to Judy Garland, Carpenter’s team was inspired by those vintage specials of yesteryear. That motivated Sherwood’s design mission to be “both classic and contemporary,” he says.
Where old-school Christmas features operated like one-night cabarets, their new-age counterparts are more artificial. They feature dazzling sets and camera work, but operate more like a collection of music videos than any narrative story. A Nonsense Christmas straddles this time gap; its big moments are canned and clippable, but its commitment to an in-studio audience and contained set make it feel more like live theater. Carpenter effortlessly glides through this balance—much of which is thanks to Sherwood’s work.
When Sherwood first met with executive producer Simone Spira,........