Production designer Rob Tokarz and his team recreated a fictional 1970s sitcom, "Who's Making Dinner?", for HBO's "Hacks" as part of a storyline celebrating the show-within-a-show's 50th anniversary at a PaleyFest event. The set had to look authentically period while conveying the backstory of the fictional programme, which was reportedly created by Deborah (Jean Smart) but credited solely to her late husband Frank after he took the credit from her. The challenge mattered because the set needed to feel as culturally significant as real classic sitcoms to sell the show's fictional legacy.

Tokarz drew visual inspiration from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "All in the Family," settling on a palette of avocado, orange and cream tones with wood panelling to evoke the era. Set decorator Jennifer Lukeheart sourced the pivotal couch from Facebook Marketplace, while other elements, including a pass-through and doors, were repurposed from the "Will and Grace" set's own homage to "I Love Lucy." The team also created hidden background details, such as an estate sale purchase date for a clock, and photographed the original set to make blown-up elevations for the PaleyFest sequence, before later reworking the set to appear more contemporary for a scene in the series finale.