Kasie Hunt landed at CNN in August 2021 as the first official anchor hire for the CNN+ streaming service. She was brought on because of her deep experience covering presidential campaigns, Congress, and the Washington, D.C. establishment.
Her time at CNN+ didn’t last long, though, as the streamer was shut down a month into its existence by the network’s new owner, Warner Bros. Discovery. Since then, Hunt had been filling in on CNN’s Washington-based shows and appearing as an analyst during election programming.
The CNN anchor and chief national affairs analyst also underwent a four-hour surgery to remove a benign brain tumor in 2021.
Before joining CNN, Hunt served as NBC News’ Capitol Hill correspondent and host of MSNBC’s weekday 5 a.m. hour Way Too Early. She also moved to mornings on CNN in 2023 and added additional responsibilities like anchoring the short-lived political show, State of the Race, on CNN International.
Nearly 18 months later, Hunt is on the move again to the more favorable time slot of 4 p.m. ET. Starting today, she’ll anchor The Arena with Kasie Hunt, in the network’s latest programming revamp.
Ahead of the show’s premiere, Hunt spoke with TVNewser about her plans for the show and why The Arena will be the program that helps “people understand why things are happening—and what is going to happen next.”
What is The Arena with Casey Hunt about?
This is a show where the conversation that we are having in Washington—but also across the country— about politics and culture will play out. We’re planning for this to be a panel-driven show that also hopefully welcomes newsmakers on set where we can make news in the arena. Ultimately, [the show will] be a place where we are reflecting and pushing forward what is happening in Washington, in the country, in our politics, and in our culture.
We don’t just want to be a political show—although, of course, considering the new administration and the news, there’s obviously going to be a ton of politics. We want to be a place where people start to feel like they need to tune in to hear what our panel has to say, and to feel like they really are on top of where the narrative is going.
What will make The Arena different from CNN’s other programs in terms of news and political coverage?
First of all, I think my colleagues put on great shows. Dana Bash, at noon has all reporters on her panels. Abby Phillip in the evening is very opinion-driven. We plan to have both. We plan to have reporters, big picture voices, and then also strategists from both sides of the aisle. My interest is in talking to people who are actually out there doing the work, who are in the arena, right?
