‘E! New comes back from an existing set with new modular pieces to give it a unique look

After an absence of more than two years, “E! News” is back on the cable channel, using the same space of video walls as “Access Hollywood” and “Access Daily” on the grounds of Universal Studios Hollywood, but with additional elements to make it your own.

The new “E! News” is a late-night offering that’s produced inside Studio G, with additional sets and furniture that make it hard to tell it shares space with other shows.

The “E!” and “Access” trademarks are owned by NBCUniversal.

JPConnelly, who designed the original “Access” franchise set, has returned to help reinvent the space for “E!”

Connelly’s original design for the space included large floor-to-ceiling video walls interspersed with stage elements – some permanent and others that could be moved in and out to vary the look of one or of the two “Access” shows.

These elements tended to be more open, such as tall panels with horizontal slats and open shelving.

For “E! News,” the look focuses on harder stage elements that are introduced and placed in front of the video walls, creating the illusion that the show has a more structural custom space with video walls integrated into the design, a similar approach to how NBCU’s Telemundo upgraded a sports studio with additional sets and furniture for daytime gossip and an MSNBC show on weekends.

These elements include solid wall segments clad in gold grid panels and dark gray faux marble surrounds with integrated footlights and edge-lit vertical columns.

That said, the curved video wall in one corner of the studio has been left mostly unobstructed, making it an ideal way to showcase video-style news footage.

There is also a large, solid scenic element with a dark wood frame and a horizontal textured background with an “E!” oversized backlit. logo on it. One side of it is a semicircle projecting outward in a convex format, a shape that deliberately disrupts the rectangular shape of the video wall and adds a layered look.

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The other outline, meanwhile, also has the semi-circle pattern, although it is done in a concave style, creating contrast with the solid wall segment and adding an additional unique way to frame the video wall. behind.

“E! News,” like “Access,” uses a variety of wide shots shot in the video-on-video style with a floating or floating camera approach, so there are plenty of opportunities to see the space, and an observant viewer. can sometimes spot the casters and other supporting elements that allow the set to be easily moved in and out when the show is taped.

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Since most sets appear to be placed at least a few feet in front of video walls, when video-on-video shots are used with on-air camera movements, images subtly change perspective depending on the location. camera angle and the relationship between the hard landscape and the video wall change.

Overall, the space is darker and more dramatically lit, reflecting its late-night time slot. Notably, the space’s flooring is done in a warmer-toned wood than the one used by the new decor, but the lighting goes a long way to tone down the color here as well.

The show also has a new bar-style desk that is prefaced with an “E!” logo mounted on the front of the unit’s vertical support pole.

The logo is also prominently featured on one of the gold grid wallcoverings.

At the top of the show, co-anchors Adrienne Bailon-Houghton and Justin Sylvester, who have both worked for “E! News” in the past, are featured against a dramatic video wall backdrop depicting shining beams of light and particles moving vertically up and down.The look is somewhat reminiscent of the very vertical mid-2000s look created using multi-colored slats.

For studio interviews, teams can bring a collection of plush white chairs, sofas and ottomans with interlocking circular coffee tables set atop a circular rug that resembles a geode or other geological formation. . In the first edition, this was placed before the large “E!” wall, usually placed between the guest and the hosts.

The one-shot for the guest cleverly features a subtle backdrop with medium and dark gray walls and a bit of edge lighting, keeping the focus on the celebrity.

However, the two co-hosts are facing the opposite direction, with portions of two different video walls behind them. These were fueled by large footage of the celebrity being interviewed on the first show, which didn’t fit as well on the host one and two shots as it did on the three wide shots.

Along with the new set, the show also features a graphics package that uses a flat style with influences from short-term social media apps such as TikTok.

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The opening features a variety of shapes, some solid and some filled with images, which resemble digital stickers and popular accents in these types of applications. Gradients are also used and the color scheme is a mix of dark colors with pops of bright and trendy shades.

The show uses a “Hot 10” recap style graphic in sidebar format to tease what’s going on throughout the show, and this, along with the rarely used lower third inserts, uses a mix of round corners , polygons and starburst style shapes.

Celebrity images can be displayed against a variety of simple colored backgrounds, just like the poster and key art of the shows that are mentioned, with text-filled shape accents used to indicate how and when to watch. Similar forms are also used to house credits for drawn quotes.

Often these full screens slowly shrink and grow in a subtle loop, another nod to the near-constant motion that many video-sharing apps often feature.

The show also uses the ‘sticker’ approach to cover celebrities’ faces in an effort to keep viewers guessing the topics of upcoming stories – although it’s often not hard to figure out who the person is thanks to the clues. verbs given by the anchors.

A similar layout is used to feature images pulled from social media, although a photo from Kim Kardashian’s Instagram that included her handle on the purple arrow-shaped platform in the lower right was not shown. accounted for the “E! News” bug that stayed on the air for most of the show.

“E! News” was once a hot franchise that accompanied a series of other original programs produced by E!, often from the same stuffy studio.

The show announced in 2019 that it would move most production from Los Angeles to New York in 2019. These programs were produced both inside and outside of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, NBC’s headquarters , including sharing studios used by other NBC productions.

The move included expanding offerings and rebranding shows, including the launch of the morning show “Pop of the Morning”. “Daily Pop” continued to originate on the West Coast, while “Nightly Pop” returned with plans to expand from two nights a week to four.

Although these shows did not include “E! News” in their names (instead using the “pop” motif), they were essentially the same offering as “E! News” with a few changes in look and feel. hosts.

“In the Room” was also released later.

In March 2020, production of “E! News” was put on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This hiatus was initially described as “indefinite,” but eventually all “E! News programming has been cancelled. This was done, at least in part, as part of a larger cost reduction initiative across NBCU.

NBCU continued to operate the E! Information site in the meantime.