Video: CNN debuts ‘The Arena,’ shifts ‘The Lead’ to larger space

CNN debuted its new afternoon show “The Arena with Kasie Hunt” March 3, 2025.

The show uses a violet, blue and red color scheme along with a heavy emphasis on circles and curved segments. The imagery of Washington, D.C., is also blended in, often with irreverent details added, such as the American flag sunglasses on Abraham Lincoln’s statue. The show’s theme music was composed by Stephen Arnold Music.

Violet, albeit a deeper shade, was also used on Hunt’s former MSNBC show “Kasie DC.” It also was the dominant color on that network’s now-canceled “The ReidOut.”

The show broadcasts from Studio D at CNN’s Washington bureau with a boxy modular desk for anchor Kasie Hunt and her panel. 

The show opens with Hunt standing between the LED column (a nod to the circular theme) and trio of vertical displays previously used heavily on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” and Hunt ending her cold open tease with the line “let’s head into ‘The Arena’,” echoing similar taglines used on CNN shows (“You’re in ‘The Situation Room‘” and “OutFront tonight…”).

Because “The Arena” moved to Studio D, “The Lead” moved to Studio A/B. The two shows now air back-to-back and it’s likely swapping out talent in the short time between shows, especially in the smaller Studio D, would be too challenging.

The color-coded vertical graphics used to categorize various “leads” on Jake Tapper’s show, which were typically displayed on that three-pack of screens in Studio D, now appear on a curved segment of video wall in the larger space. Tapper also sits in front of a nearby smaller video wall framed out with columns to display topical graphics linked to each lead. 

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The virtual set extensions and graphics remain similar to before, though some of the on-set graphics had to be redesigned to fit in the new screen sizes.