‘CNN NewsNight’ gets another generic nighttime look accented with angles

“CNN NewsNight,” the network’s new program at 10 p.m. eastern, debuted Monday, Oct. 16, 2023 using an angular look complemented with a favorite motif at the network — a nighttime cityscape view.

Anchored by Abby Phillip, the show was announced back in August 2023, along with “Laura Coates Live” and “The Bulletin with Pamela Brown,” the latter of which has not debuted yet.

The show’s logo is set in a clean, wide sans serif and often shown with either a glassy effect or light blue gradient. The logo tacked on the red CNN logo at the start and its official name is “CNN NewsNight,” a move that likely, at least in part, helps differentiate from the BBC’s “NewsNight.”

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Her graphics follow a blue, yellow and white palette, with a background of what appears to be a relatively flat section of land sprawling out into the far reaches of the design, with mostly yellow-toned dots in varying sizes meant to represent the various lighting from buildings, vehicles and streetlights. 

This view of a city appears to be generic — that is, it’s not meant to depict a particular locale (or at least it’s not clear which one it might be). A similar look was used for the short-lived “CNN Primetime” that aired until earlier in 2023.

As a whole, CNN has been relying heavily on either more abstract views of a “city” or ones that are obviously New York in many of its looks lately, including shows that are no longer airing. 

There are also hints of more orange and violet shades in the open.

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Meanwhile, a collection of translucent and yellow accents are frequently used and are also used as the basis for animations and wipes. 

Phillip anchors from Studio 21L in New York, which is also the home of “Anderson Cooper 360.” That show airs at 8 p.m. eastern with “The Source” between, so there’s about an hour for the crew to turn around the set for Phillip.

Phillip typically sits with the floor-to-ceiling video walls that normally appear behind Cooper and his guests farther behind her and leverages a set of tracking video panels that have been in the studio since it launched but haven’t been used extensively.

Phillip has used one of the multi-part installations as an OTS element, though many of her shows during her second week were focusing on the ongoing manhunt for the Maine gunman and the eventual discovery of his body, so the show wasn’t using as many of its in-studio setups or open, instead starting its hour with the “CNN Breaking News” stinger.

On-set video wall and panel graphics match the nighttime cityscape design and include angled accents as well.

The riser that normally is home to the “360” anchor desk is mostly empty and bathed in a wash of blue, with the integrated lighting running around the edge of the riser shifted to yellow to match the graphics package.

“CNN NewsNight” also features original theme music from Stephen Arnold Music.