‘AC360′ Gets Studio Audience Tonight

CNN’s Anderson Cooper anchors a unique “AC360″ tonight: the show was taped in front of a studio audience, something we’d heard was in the works in the past few months.

Mediaite reported this morning of an “AC360″ producer’s tweet about a “different format” tonight and noted, “While CNN described the tone of the specials as “conversational” [when first reported], we hear the tone is mixed — with some harder news segments and other lighter segments. In fact, it sounds like it could be similar to the traditional AC: 360 episode — except with pauses for applause..”

A CNN spokesperson confirms that a studio-audience version of “AC360″ will air tonight at 10 & 11pmET, adding that it was taped yesterday and is not the “AC360 Live” tapings we posted about last month.

In March, a CNN insider told us that the network was “looking at doing a few specials on Fridays at 11pm later this spring.”

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