‘Entertainment Tonight’ goes colorful for the big 4-0

Syndicated entertainment news program “Entertainment Tonight” is celebrating its 40th anniversary and made some set and graphics updates for the occasion.

The show officially kicked off its new season Sept. 14, 2020, though it had been producing new episodes the week immediately before (with Sept. 8, 2020) being its first day back in the studio for some time.

That edition features a preview of Drew Barrymore’s show and the teases ended with her, on camera, saying “ET starts now” (Fans of a certain Steve Spielberg film should get why that’s significant).

In its open, the color scheme now includes a mix of orange, fuchsia, gold and violet gradients (sort of like the Instagram logo) and there are plus signs that bounce on screen to eventually reveal the words “Entertainment” and “Tonight” on separate screens with the other word appearing in a thin white outline format behind.

One possible interpretation of the multicolored design is a nod to some of the colors used in past “ET” designs and graphics package (for example, a bright oranges were used in multiple designs for many years along with, during some seasons, violets).

The one color from the show’s history that is missing — as least prominently — is the teal that was the show’s most recent accent. There are elements of the more blue shades that were used along with this design, but it’s a bit of stretch to say it’s found in the gradients.

At the end of the teases, a series of squares with rounded corners bounce up — the largest of which becomes the “ET” gold logo.

Next, a series of the show’s old logo designs bursts out of the icon before getting “sucked” back into it as it flips through a series of quick gradients before revealing the wide shot of the set.

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On set, the video walls often sport 40th anniversary logos with a flat shaw effect with the number in a bold serif and “Anniversary” in a handwritten style font.

The logos on the video walls also change color as well.

The set hasn’t changed significantly, though the color changing backlit panels and other elements are now in the warmer, brighter colors. 

The show also appears to have cut back on the intensity of the “twinkling” lights mounted in its header.

Meanwhile, in show insert graphics mostly retain the gold look but with black lettering.

In a somewhat odd move, the show changed its bug to be a square with 90-degree angles, rather than the rounded ones — though the lower thirds also mostly avoid curved corners as well, so that’s likely a good explanation for that change. 

One thing that didn’t change is the show’s use of the iconic “DaDaDa DaDaDa” music signature.