Good Luck America
Good Luck America is a documentary-style original series from Snapchat about U.S. politics. It is produced by Snapchat and hosted by Snap's head of news Peter Hamby, a former political reporter at CNN. The first episode of the series was published in January 2016, and is in its eighth season, reportedly reaching roughly 6 million viewers per episode.[1][2] The show won an Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Innovation in 2017.[3]
| Good Luck America | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | News |
| Created by | Snapchat |
| Starring | Peter Hamby |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 32 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Sean Mills, Drew Bierut, Dan Szeto, Seth Goolnik, Ray Timmons, Scott Brooks, Sun-Ho Pak |
| Production location | United States |
| Cinematography | Luke Catena, Drew Bierut, Joel Jares, Derek Bauer |
| Running time | 4–6 minutes |
| Production company | Snap |
| Release | |
| Original network | Snapchat |
| Original release | January 28, 2016 – present |
Good Luck America was the first "show" created by Snapchat, which has since developed similar programming with ESPN, NBCUniversal, Turner, the NFL, ABC and other major networks.
Availability
The show is made available to users in the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia.[4]
Each episode is available for 48 hours on Snapchat and past episodes are searchable in the app as well.
Season One of Good Luck America had 22 million unique viewers on Snapchat. In Seasons 2 and 3, the show was receiving roughly 6 million views per episode.[5] Roughly 75% of the show's viewers are under the age of 25.[6]
US election
After Snapchat hired longtime CNN journalist Peter Hamby to be head of news, it was speculated that the company would work on their own election coverage.[7] During the election Snapchat offered many live stories and the separate show "Good Luck America", hosted by Hamby, in the Discover-section of the app. Hamby's snaps were also featured in several of the live stories, adding context and explanation to various snaps submitted by users.
After the election Snapchat announced the return of the series, now focusing on U.S. politics under President Donald Trump.[8]
Concept
The series follows Hamby as he travels throughout the country, promising to show viewers "the people and places that really matter" in American politics. Episodes usually focus on issues rather than news-of-the-day and often feature interviews with major political and media figures including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Steve Bannon, Joe Biden, Paul Ryan, Bernie Sanders, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tomi Lahren, Elizabeth Warren, Scott Pruitt, John McCain, Kamala Harris, Lindsey Graham, the hosts of Pod Save America and others.
The show is aimed at young people who are increasingly not watching TV news but are instead spending time on mobile platforms like Snapchat.[5] On any given day, Snapchat reaches 41 percent of U.S. 18- to 34-year-olds.[9] An average individual TV network only reaches 9 percent of the same demographic.
According to a report from the Knight Foundation, "More than any political effort on Snapchat, 'Good Luck America' took a bold point of view. While it can’t be described as partisan, it often offered an unabashed critique of traditional media and establishment politics — taking a playfully snarky tone that syncs with Millennials’ well-documented growing mistrust of institutions. The tagline 'Let me show you the people and places that really matter' also acts as a dig on other media outlets, implying that 'Good Luck America' pulls back the curtain for an unvarnished view you can't find elsewhere."[10]
Episodes
Overview
Season 1
Season 1 consists of election coverage with a range of well-known guests. The last episode of the season is devoted to an interview with President Barack Obama, who Hamby follows on the campaign trail.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Duration | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "(Iowa Caucuses)" | TBA | January 28, 2016 | |
| 2 | 2 | "(Republican Party unraveling)" | 6 min | March 23, 2016 | |
| 3 | 3 | "Feeling The Bern" | 6 min | June 8, 2016 | |
| 4 | 4 | "Are We Doomed?" | 6 min | August 12, 2016 | |
| Hamby looks at two of the most unpopular frontrunners in a presidential election. | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "The Media's Strange Turn" | 6 min | September 1, 2016 | |
| Focusing on the media coverage of Donald Trump, and how "sensationalism over substance" gives high ratings that earn big TV-networks advertising money. | |||||
Season 2
The second season changes from focusing on the election to focusing on US politics. Description of the show in the app reads: "This United States is in a pretty weird place right now. Good Luck America has you covered."
Midway through the season, poll questions were added. Typically at a clip featuring Hamby talking to the camera, the viewer is encouraged to "swipe up to vote" and is asked to answer questions about their opinions of political topics related to the episode.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Duration | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | "Which Trump is The Real Trump?" | TBA | March 4, 2017 | |
| Hamby speaks with commentators from both sides of the aisle, as well as senators Cory Booker and Steve Daines. Also featured are GOP strategist Tim Miller, George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum and strategist for the Democrats Symone Sanders. | |||||
| 7 | 2 | "Trump: Life of the Party" | 4,5 min | March 21, 2017 | |
| At the Conservative Political Action Conference, Hamby interviews White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Ken Bone, Matt Boyle of Breitbart News and Jon Ward of Yahoo! News. | |||||
| 8 | 3 | "The Resistance: How to Stop Trump" "Inside The Resistance" | TBA | April 4, 2017 | |
| About "the resistance" taking cues from the Tea Party movement. Interviewees: Bernie Sanders, Cecile Richards and Killer Mike. | |||||
| 9 | 4 | "Trump's War on Information" "Trump vs. The Media: It's War" | TBA | April 18, 2017 | |
| On the media and its role under Trump. Interviewees: Matt Boyle of Breitbart News, Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Jon Lovett of Pod Save America, Michael Scherer of Time, Keith Olbermann of GQ, Matthew Continetti of The Washington Free Beacon. | |||||
| 10 | 5 | "How To End Partisanship" "Gerrymandering Sucks" | TBA | May 2, 2017 | |
| Peter looks at gerrymandering and the outlook for ending political partisanship in the US. Interviewees: Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, South Carolina Republican Chairman Matt Moore, South Carolina Democratic Chairman Jaime Harrison and Republican politician Chad Connelly. | |||||
| 11 | 6 | "Why did Putin help Trump?" | TBA | May 16, 2017 | |
| 12 | 7 | "Yes. Young People Like Trump" | TBA | May 30, 2017 | |
| 13 | 8 | "What Can Democrats Learn from Trump?" | TBA | June 13, 2017 | |
| Democrats are viewed almost as unfavorable as Trump. Interviews with Elizabeth Warren, Terry McAuliffe, Neera Tanden at Center for American Progress and Roy Cooper. | |||||
| 14 | 9 | "Trump's Deportation Nation" | 4,5 min | June 27, 2017 | |
| Hamby's intro: "Trump energized his base to build the wall, and the crackdown has already begun. What does it mean for the people who live there?". Interviews with locals living near the border and in Austin, Austin City Councilman Greg Cascar, Texas governor Greg Abbott. | |||||
| 15 | 10 | "Are There Any Good Jobs Anymore?" "Can He Bring The Jobs Back?" | 4:37 min | July 11, 2017 | |
| Hamby discusses the state of manufacturing jobs in the country. He visited Galesburg, Illinois and interviewed residents of the town, where a Maytag plant once located. | |||||
| 16 | 11 | "Climate Change: Bye Bye Beaches?" "Trump's Risky Climate Decision" | 4:30 min | July 28, 2017 | |
| The causes and impacts of climate change are discussed. Hamby visited the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where rising sea levels are starting to flood the islands. | |||||
| 17 | 12 | "🌎 + Pollution = 💀 ?" "Is This Guy Destroying The EPA?" | 4:35 min | August 4, 2017 | |
| Having energy jobs while protecting the environment can be tricky. Hamby interviewed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and discussed environmental issues caused by coal mining in West Virginia. | |||||
Season 3
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Duration | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 1 | "Is This the Next Charlottesville?" "Should We Tear Them Down?" | TBA | September 26, 2017 | |
| Hamby discusses the issue of removing Confederate statues in light of the Charlottesville attack. He focuses on Richmond, Virginia, where many statues remain. Residents and local government officials of the city were interviewed, where there is debate on spending money towards statues being torn down or on public schools. | |||||
| 19 | 2 | "Trump's Biggest Fans" | TBA | October 3, 2017 | |
| 20 | 3 | "DACA Doomsday" | TBA | October 10, 2017 | |
| 21 | 4 | "Trump's War on Drugs" | TBA | October 17, 2017 | |
| 22 | 5 | "The Election Nobody's Talking About" | TBA | October 24, 2017 | |
| 23 | 6 | "The Issue Democrats Can't Agree On" | TBA | November 1, 2017 | |
| 24 | 7 | "Can Local News Save Our Country?" | TBA | November 7, 2017 | |
| 25 | 8 | "Joe Biden's on a Mission" | TBA | November 14, 2017 | |
| 26 | 9 | "Alt-Right Delete?" | TBA | November 21, 2017 | |
| 27 | 10 | "Steve Bannon's War on Republicans" | TBA | November 28, 2017 | |
| TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | December 5, 2017 | |
| TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | December 12, 2017 | |
References
- Corasaniti, Nick (28 January 2016). "Snapchat Offers Original Political Coverage, 'Good Luck America'" – via The New York Times.
- Perlberg, Steven (28 January 2016). "Snapchat Debuts Political Campaign Show". The Wall Street Journal.
- "Winners".
- Flynn, Kerry (8 March 2017). "Snapchat's political show 'Good Luck America' returns with Donald Trump's 'golden shower'" – via Mashable.
- "Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie - The 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media". HollywoodReporter.com. 13 April 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- "Exclusive: Snap's first original series grew 45% in 2 seasons". 8 August 2017.
- Mahler, Jonathan (3 May 2015). "Campaign Coverage via Snapchat Could Shake Up the 2016 Elections". The New York Times.
- Spangler, Todd (8 March 2017). "Snapchat Brings Back Peter Hamby's Politics Show to Try to Make Sense of Trump Presidency" – via Variety.
- "Facebook shouldn't worry about Snapchat — yet". CNBC. 9 June 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
- "Chat the Vote". Medium.com. January 18, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.