Snapchat has done political coverage before, but never like Good Luck America, a new show in its Discover tab focused on American politics and the 2016 presidential election.
Unlike the user-submitted live stories Snapchat has curated for past debates, Good Luck America is heavily produced and narrated by Peter Hamby, a former politics reporter for CNN and Snapchat's head of news.
"Good Luck America aims to provide young voters with an informative and entertaining glimpse into what life on the campaign trail is like for the candidates, their teams, and the many reporters and voters who participate along the way," a Snapchat spokesperson told Tech Insider.
More episodes of Good Luck America will air in the Snapchat app and be timed with major moments in the presidential race.
In the first episode, which is available now in the top Discover tab of the Snapchat app, Hamby explains the Iowa caucuses, has an exchange with Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie, interviews the teenage candidate known as Deez Nutz, and explains the campaign trail in a simplified, engaging way.
Hamby has led Snapchat's political coverage during the election and has often appeared in the app's curated live stories for debates, but he's never editorialized as strongly as he does in Good Luck America.
This is not Snapchat's first foray into original programming. In October 2015 the startup shut down its in-house Snap Channel, which was formatted like a lighthearted talk show with a mix of inspirational quotes and live music performances.
Good Luck America is an interesting show for Snapchat. It's dabbled in covering national news many times, including a gripping story of the San Bernardino shooting, but this is the first time it's really shown its teeth as a journalistic entity.
