When Jennifer Dehghan, the production designer of ‘Loot’, signed on to produce, she knew it would “bother people with the funny and the beautiful,” but she hoped that the “bigger conversation of the series” [would keep] going on.” Dehghan known for Variety how “‘Loot’ delves into the late capitalist world, the housing crisis, rising poverty and the imbalance of wealth.”
The half-hour AppleTV+ comedy follows billionaire Molly Novak (Maya Rudolph), after her husband John (Adam Scott), leaves her for his secretary and the series continues once Molly reroutes her life. With an $87 billion settlement and newfound time off, Molly heads to the foundation she founded and soon settles down with the staff, Sofia (Michaela Jaé Rodriguez), Howard (Ron Funches), Arthur (Nat Faxton) and her secretary Nicholas (Joel Kim Booster).
To demonstrate the exorbitant wealth, Dehghan had to explore Los Angeles’ multimillion-dollar mansion marketplace and create several sets on sound stages to perfect the image of the divorced billionaire. Finding the Novak’s home led Dehghan to embark on an exclusive house hunt where the 1% shop, eventually discovering and securing the largest home in the US, known as “The One”, as the residence of the Novak.
Apple TV+
Prior to filming, the “Loot” team toured several houses, but Bel Air’s house was one of the first houses Dehghan viewed, and while she was not opposed to continuing to scout locations, Dehghan knew that it was always “the one”. Although the centerpiece of the “Buit”, the series was only filmed for six days on the sprawling 3.8-acre estate. Leading the team to build sets for Molly’s dressing room and living room, as well as her private plane, the plane’s runway, the foundation’s office, the outdoor area in the vineyard, and Molly’s San Bernardino family home.
“Everywhere we went after that. It was like ‘It’s okay, it’s okay’ – and it’s a $48 million dollars At home. It polluted the waters because you couldn’t unlearn That house.”
Dehghan envisioned the Novaks living in a house that resembled the work of famed Los Angeles architect Paul MacLean. But then the “Loot” team struck gold, when they realized “The One” was designed by MacLean. “He’s the architect for the 1% in Los Angeles.” Dehghan continued, “We talked about how we liked Paul MacLean’s style. So maybe we pick a few Paul Maclean houses scattered around Los Angeles and film [each] and combine them into one. That has been on the table for a while.”
Dehghan added: “It had never been inhabited, which was also perfect because we felt there would be no signs of life. It really should be a void and she is in this vacuum trying to figure out how to fill it and become whole again after the split.
With the endless supply of rooms, pools and kitchens, Dehghan revealed that Molly and John’s yacht was actually “The One’s” underground from the opening scene.
“That was an underground swimming pool. There were five swimming pools on this property, including a moat. We felt we could really fake it. It has lower ceilings, it’s squat and flat, so we put blue screens outside the windows,” Dehghan revealed. “The interiors of the yacht were all in ‘The One’ and we recreated all of that in the underground levels.”
Apple TV+
While the yacht was being filmed on location, Molly’s additional status symbols were built by the team, including that private jet, which Dehghan said is “technically a slight variation of a 737” and its private airstrip.
Season 1 of “Loot” is now available to stream on AppleTV+.