Chicago’s creative fingerprint is all over the Art Directors Guild’s 30th Annual Excellence in Production Design nominations, with locally rooted work spanning commercials, prestige television, and feature film, earning national recognition.
Among the most high-profile nods is State Farm’s “Batman vs. Bateman,” the blockbuster commercial created by our friends at Highdive. The spot, which pits the Dark Knight against Jason Bateman in a pop-culture mashup that only State Farm could pull off, was nominated in the Commercials category, with production design credited to David Skinner.
The campaign has become a defining example of Chicago-led advertising breaking through on a global stage, blending spectacle, humor, and craft at Super Bowl scale.
Television was another strong showing for Chicago-connected projects, led by FX’s The Bear, which landed two nominations in the Half-Hour Single-Camera Series category. The episode “Bears” was recognized, underscoring the show’s meticulous approach to environment and realism.
While the series has been widely praised for performances and writing, the ADG nominations spotlight the often-unsung work of production design in grounding its high-pressure kitchen drama in a deeply authentic Chicago visual language.
The city’s darker history also found its way into this year’s nominations, with Monster: The Ed Gein Story nominated in the Television Movie or Limited Series category. Shot in Chicago and across Illinois, the series taps into Midwestern locations and textures to tell the chilling story of one of America’s most infamous figures. The nomination highlights how Chicago continues to serve as a flexible and compelling production hub for prestige television, particularly for projects requiring atmospheric realism.
On the feature side, Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, earned a nomination in the Period Feature Film category. While not a Chicago-specific production, the film’s narrative includes Chicago as a meaningful part of its story world, extending the city’s cultural presence into one of the year’s most anticipated films. The nod reinforces how Chicago continues to serve not just as a filming location but also as a narrative touchstone in major studio projects.
Taken together, the ADG nominations reflect the breadth of Chicago’s influence across the production design landscape, from advertising and television to feature filmmaking. Whether through locally produced work or stories that carry Chicago into the wider cultural conversation, the city’s creative community continues to show up in categories that reward both scale and detail.
PERIOD FEATURE FILM
- Frankenstein
Production Designer: Tamara Deverell - Hamnet
Production Designer: Fiona Crombie - Marty Supreme
Production Designer: Jack Fisk - The Phoenician Scheme
Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen - Sinners
Production Designer: Hannah Beachler
HALF-HOUR SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
- The Bear: “Bears”
Production Designer: Merje Veski - Hacks: “A Slippery Slope”
Production Designer: Rob Tokarz - Murderbot: “FreeCommerce”
Production Designer: Sue Chan - Only Murders in the Building: “The House Always…”
Production Designer: Patrick Howe - The Studio: “The Note”
Production Designer: Julie Berghoff
COMMERCIALS
- Anderson: “Trust Your Home to Anderson”
Production Designer: Natalie Groce - Prada: “Galleria Bag”
Production Designer: Florencia Martin - State Farm: “Batman vs Bateman”
Production Designer: David Skinner - Target: “Step into the Holidays”
Production Designer: Nelson Coates - Xbox: “ROG Xbox Ally – Dancing in the Dark”
Production Designer: Florencia Martin
TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
- Adolescence
Production Designer: Adam Tomlinson - Black Mirror: “USS Callister: Into Infinity”
Production Designer: Miranda Jones - Black Rabbit
Production Designer: Alex DiGerlando - Death By Lightning
Production Designer: Gemma Jackson - Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Production Designer: Matthew Flood Ferguson
Winners will be announced at the 30th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on February 28, 2026.
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