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Staging Saturday Night Live

SNL set designer Eugene Lee takes us behind the scenes of the long-running comedy show.
Eugene Lee is the set designer for Saturday Night Live. (Ron Manville )

Eugene Lee is an integral, if not well-known, figure in American comedy: he has been Saturday Night Live's production designer since the show's very first episode in 1975.

This year, 22 Emmy nominations were heaped on the show, with one of them going to production designer, Eugene Lee. Lee's been recreating living rooms, classrooms, and of course, government offices for SNL since its first episode back in 1975, and he's been nominated for 13 Emmys along the way.

Lee talks to q guest host Ali Hassan about his behind-the-scenes role on Saturday Night Live.

— Produced by Elaine Chau