Hot Shots 2023: Sara Hassan

Jax Media’s Channel 4/NBC comedy Everyone Else Burns lived or died not just by its script and cast but by ensuring its unusual setting – an extremist Christian sect family – looked believable, distinctive and unique. Enter costume designer Sara Hassan, who interrogated the characters and the script to ensure the aesthetic choices stayed true to the world of the hit show.

“Sara is a phenomenal talent, who interpreted the brief in such a collaborative fashion,” says director Nick Collett.

Graduating in theatre and screen costume design from Wimbledon College of Arts, Hassan honed her skills as a wardrobe assistant on adverts including Christmas campaigns for Argos, Marks & Spencer and Coca-Cola, and John Lewis’ 2018 Bohemian Rhapsody ad; on TV shows including Black Mirror and I Hate Suzie; and films such as Riz Ahmed’s Mogul Mowgli and Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir and The Eternal Daughter.

After working with him on the taster tape for Everyone Else Burns, director Andrew Gaynord brought Hassan on to series three of Jamie Demetriou’s C4 comedy Stath Lets Flats. This led to Netflix special A Whole Lifetime With Jamie Demetriou, again directed by Gaynord, where Hassan created a string of looks for the comic actor, who appears in guises from birth to death.

Everyone Else Burns star Simon Bird was equally impressed with her work: Hassan is also working on BBC3 sitcom Such Brave Girls, which he is directing.