The National Broadcasting Channel (NBC) has planted the seeds for success with Grosse Pointe Garden Society, a darkly comedic drama blending mystery, social intrigue, and high-stakes personal drama. Set in an affluent suburb of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, the series follows four garden club members entangled in a murder. Teacher and aspiring writer Alice (Anna Sophia Robb), real estate agent Catherine (Aja Naomi King), father of two Brett (Ben Rappaport), and socialite Birdie (Melissa Fumero).
On February 4, The Atlanta Voice visited Assembly Studios in Doraville for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the production.
Created by Jenna Bans and Bills Krebs, the show was developed in 2022, with a writer’s room being formed in 2023. Early on, Grosse Pointe Garden Society was buzzing in the industry as one of the hot pilots, drawing attention from all corners of Hollywood, said Melissa Fumero, who plays one of the lead characters, Birdie.
“Everybody knew about it, and everyone, myself included, was calling their reps, asking, ‘Who are they seeing?’ “ she said. “And it was, ‘Everyone is being seen.’”
The excitement around the project piqued her interest right away, making it a standout opportunity from the start.
One of the centerpieces of the Grosse Pointe Garden Society pilot is Catherine, a real estate agent from a prestigious family whose obsession with control masks an inner turmoil. Reflecting on her personality, King admitted, ” I love control, so it was easy to tap into that. Since becoming a mom, that has just hugely expanded my world.”
Unlike her peers, Catherine approaches the garden club with the same meticulousness she applies to her career and personal life—never getting her hands dirty, always dressed to perfection, orchestrating rather than executing.
“She would not go out in a bonnet,” King laughed. “Even her loungewear is perfectly put together because it doesn’t matter who might come to the house—she will look a certain way.”
King, no stranger to on-screen high-stakes drama, drew comparisons between Catherine and Michaela Pratt, her previous role on How to Get Away with Murder. However, she noted key differences:
“Michaela was a young girl, a law student learning to make her mark, while Catherine was already established. She’s a grown woman with a family, responsibilities, and a legacy to uphold.”
This distinction informs Catherine’s struggles—not with attaining power but maintaining it, even as the weight of societal and familial expectations threatens to unravel her.
Production was shooting episode 8 of the series during The Atlanta Voice’s visit.
Designing the World of Grosse Pointe Garden Society
The world of Grosse Pointe Garden Society is just as essential to the story as its characters. Production designer Adam Davis was tasked with transforming Atlanta into the high-society enclave of Grosse Pointe. Since he couldn’t travel there for research, he relied on online sources—Google searches, real estate listings, and input from executive producer & creator Bill Krebs, a Grosse Pointe native—to capture the town’s distinct architecture and atmosphere.
“Grosse Pointe has a history of old-money wealth,” Davis explains. “The architecture is well-preserved Tudor mansions, which must be reflected in our locations.”
Many of the grand homes on-screen were real, while others were meticulously recreated on soundstages to ensure seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor settings.
At the heart of the show’s visual storytelling is the garden itself. Finding the perfect filming location proved challenging, with Davis and his team scouting across Atlanta before selecting a lush garden commonly used for wedding photography. However, the space didn’t have the vibrant colors needed for the show’s aesthetic. The production brought in over 1,000 plants to fix this, transforming it into a rich, blooming oasis.
When the show was greenlit, the team faced an even bigger challenge—creating a permanent, controlled version of the garden at Assembly Studios.
“Bill and Jenna [the showrunners] called me and said, ‘Hey, we want to do this, but we want to build the garden at Assembly,’” Davis said.
That meant constructing a 360-degree environment outside the studio gates, masking nearby buildings to maintain the illusion of an endless estate.
Beyond aesthetics, the garden serves as a narrative device, marking the passage of time within the story.
“We use the garden as a clock,” Davis explains. “As it grows and changes, time moves forward in the show.” But filming across seasons presented challenges—especially when capturing summer scenes during Atlanta’s winter, “Nothing’s in bloom, so what do you do?” Davis said. “You bring silks, spray-paint grass, or synthetic turf.”
A Beautifully Dark Drama
As secrets unravel and the garden grows, the show promises to keep audiences guessing—not just about the murder at its center – after all, even the most beautiful blooms can hide the deepest roots of deception.
