Fake Hot Sauce, Real Cameras: 'Company Retreat' Artistry

The art department for Prime Video's 'Company Retreat' faced the challenge of creating a completely believable fake company, Rockin' Grandmas hot sauce. Production designer Joe Warson and prop master Rebecca Tendick were tasked with constructing sets that felt tactile and real, concealing the show's artifice from the temporary assistant, Anthony Norman.

Every element, including branded materials and functional products like hot sauce bottles, had to be produced at scale and appear authentic. The team focused on personalizing each employee's space to reveal character, with a hand-drawn logo becoming a pivotal backstory element. This personalization extended to integrating hidden cameras seamlessly into uniform desk and cabinetry designs.

The show required props to be entirely finished, as any item Norman might interact with needed to be complete and convincing, such as making sure product boxes looked genuinely full and heavy. This involved detailed creation of paperwork, order sheets, and inventory systems for the fictional business, underscoring the depth of the deception.

This meticulous attention to detail and the high-stakes nature of the production, which was larger in scale than 'Jury Duty,' created an ambient tension. The creative team embraced the inherent risks and fear, driving them to successfully execute the ambitious project.