Hudson Yards, New York, New York, USA - 2019

CNN’s Studio 19Z at Hudson Yards serves as a shared space for three flagship programs: CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, Fareed Zakaria GPS, and Erin Burnett OutFront. The design prioritizes visual flexibility, enabling each show to cultivate its own distinct identity within the studio’s minimal contemporary palette.

Spanning over 1,000+ square feet 93 square meters (93 square meters) of high-resolution LED screens, the studio’s mutability is amplified by three unique anchor desks and tailored lighting cues. A sleek, bent-steel staircase ascends to a mezzanine and defines the primary shot axis for CNN Tonight, where deep blues and iconic cityscape graphics establish a moody primetime atmosphere.

In contrast, Fareed Zakaria GPS features bright lighting and crisp whites along an alternate camera shot axis, with LED arrays framing a circular anchor platform that sets it apart visually. Meanwhile, Erin Burnett OutFront commands the largest LED backdrop, situating the host within a panoramic New York City view that extends organically from the lower stair landing.

An adjacent studio (19X) for The Van Jones Show provides a venue for the creation of content that hosts a live studio audience. More theater than a studio, this environment supports transforming, backgrounds, lighting cues, and audience configurations to support a wide variety of topics.