News organization CNN has launched a new FAST channel called CNN Originals with a focus on long-form content. It debuted in the U.S. this week — available on the web, connected TV devices and mobile apps through Amazon’s Freevee, Prime Video and Fire TV as well as Plex (with availability on more platforms to come). The service draws from the CNN Originals library, which includes series from notable personalities such as Anthony Bourdain, Christiane Amanpour and Dr. Sanjay Gupta. The launch coincides with a new six-episode travel series that will alternate celebrity hosts including Alan Cumming, Billy Porter, Octavia Spencer and Questlove.

Ordered under the working title “My Happy Place,” the new show is set to debut on CNN Originals next year, featuring celebrities as “they venture to a personally meaningful place in their lives,” reports Deadline.

Phil Nelson, EVP of CNN International Commercial said in a blog post that CNN Originals will feature “some of the very best, award-winning long-form content in the business, adding that it joins CNN’s current FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) offerings, CNN Headlines in the U.S. and the global CNN Fast, “with additional channels planned to launch in the months ahead.”

CNN’s third FAST effort “reflects the organization’s growing emphasis on its digital product,” writes Tech Xplore, citing a July memo to employees from CNN’s new CEO Mark Thompson stating a key goal of finding “a clear pathway to migrate the TV experience into the digital future.”

Tech Xplore said the memo also outlined plans to create a digital subscription product by the end of the year.

CNN in April 2022 saw its subscription streaming service, CNN Plus, killed four months following its launch by new owner Warner Bros. Discovery after being developed and promoted at a cost of $100 million, according to The Washington Post.

The Wrap reported last month that Thompson plans to lay off 100 staffers as it merges its three global news operations, comprised of 3,500 workers, as part of its late 2024 digital expansion.