'The Buccaneers' Production Designer Talks Creating a Period World with Modern Flair

Apple TV’s The Buccaneers is something of an unconventional adaptation of Edith Wharton’s final unfinished novel, a series that rejects prestige stateliness for a distinctly youthful attitude and contemporary feel. A show that’s often as brash and messy as the girls at its center, it’s certainly not perfect, but its determined, intersectional focus on female empowerment does manage to feel like a rather groundbreaking step for this genre at times.

The story of five best friends who are invited to England to search for husbands after one of their number marries a British lord, The Buccaneers explores the cultural clash between the nineteenth century American nouveau riche and the staid British aristocracy even as it allows its young heroines plenty of space to grow up and make mistakes along the way. Its youthful focus and more modern approach to storytelling add a delightful shot of excitement and genuine fun to a genre that often gets unfairly derided as staid and slow.

We had the chance to chat with The Buccaneers production designer Amy Maguire about how she and the rest of the series’ creative team came up with the world of the show.