blackwalnut

05/20/2026

Come take a tour with Stephen

Stephen Colbert takes Architectural Digest inside the iconic Ed Sullivan Theater for a full tour of ‘The Late Show’ set. From the restoration of the historic...

05/20/2026

Well. It feels like the end of an era. Stephen Colbert and his amazing team and blackwalnut have collaborated many times over the last 20+ years. Their last episodes air this week.

We met during our build of the Daily Show, followed by the Colbert Report and many special events like the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear and their midterm coverage special from Philadelphia.

In 2015 came a rare opportunity, build the new Late Show studio at the celebrated Ed Sullivan theatre. It wasn't just a regular build, it was part of a massive restoration of the space back to its original brilliance. We had one day to come in and survey the space and hope we got everything right. We had a wonderful time working with longtime collaborators, Jim Fenhagen and Larry Hartman of Jack Morton who provided the amazing design as they had in all our previous outings.

Stephen and his team understood exactly the grand scope and vision the project would encompass. They understood that there were a million little details and that we were all collectively trying to get them right. They have been wonderful partners across the years and we wish everyone, Stephen, Tanya, Bjoern, John T and the entire crew all the success in the world in their coming endeavors.

We will miss you immensely. The good news is that Stephen keeps a watchful eye on all the blackwalnut gang. His Ben Franklin portrait hangs proudly in our fabrication shop. And over the years, many set pieces have been part of our shop decor. There was the giant puppet who spent some time sharing space with our General Manager's office. I have the capsule that was used to save the Chilean miners and then Stephen sprung out of in his Evil Knievel/Elvis inspired jumpsuit at the Rally has been a mainstay in my office for ten years.

We have so many fond memories but my favorite is our current cover photo. That was the day we delivered and installed Stephen's desk. He was like a child at Christmas and couldn't wait for us to unwrap it. I still clearly remember the look of pure, sheer joy that bubbled across his face. It's the reason I love my job so much!

Bon voyage sweet prince! We hope to see you again soon
mvd

03/03/2026

Did you know today March third is blackwalnut’s birthday?
We officially started building our first job on March 3,2003
3/3/3
Now you know

02/18/2026

Here are the designer renderings and our finished live photos. You may notice that the wall layout is different in the renderings from the final product. After the entire studio was complete, packed into its sea container and shipped, we found out that the studio itself was being built to a slightly smaller footprint then we were told.

How much smaller you ask? Not much, only 24" smaller.

Even though this was the very final container and we were all taking a much deserved long weekend, we had to jump back into action and rebuild several elements smaller and have them air freighted. Some base sections were cut down and modified to fit onsite. All part of the adventure.

I want to thank all of you for tuning in to the Games and here for our little behind the scenes peek.

Thank you to every single member of our team who made this happen both at home and onsite.

A very special thank you to Mike and Atila from NBC Sports! We love you guys!

Thank you Bryan, Sid and Paul from HD Studio, we literally couldn't do it without you

Thank you to all the blackwalnuts old and new.

02/18/2026

How do you build such beautiful scenery? Its easy, just ask Rosco, follow the directions.

02/18/2026

Today we are going to share the Studio at the Duomo.

Not a terrible view out our window, what beautiful background to shoot. Here are a few quick historical stats. The groundbreaking of the original building was in 1386. The Duomo di Milan was completed in1965. The entire city circles out from the square.

The Duomo was our most paint intensive build for these Games. This studio had a challenging install but really came out beautifully. From the lovingly reproduced floor to the coffered this one is special.

Check back later for our last batch of comparisons to the designer renderings for the Duomo Studio

02/17/2026

Hare are some side by side comparisons of HD Studio's renderings and the finished studio on air.

02/17/2026

Let's take a look at the cozy cabin studio from build to install

02/14/2026

Once the set is installed, our longtime partners at LDG / The Lighting Design Group come in and hang all the equipment to light the studio and finalize this beautiful project.

We pride ourselves on beautiful craftsmanship and delivering exactly what HD Studio and NBCSports imagined how their space to would look for broadcast.

Here are some side by side renderings and final product photos. What do you think, how did we do? Do they look similar to you?

02/13/2026

In Italy, the installation starts with the floor; installing our custom floor system, leveling it, sheeting it, then finally installing the graphic floor. The Install crew starts reassembling the puzzle over the course of about ten days, working to integrate lighting and video equipment.