Gayle King & Charles Barkley Announce New CNN Weekly Primetime Show ‘King Charles’
22.04.2023 - 17:49
/ deadline.com
Gayle King and Charles Barkley made the official announcement Saturday of a new weekly primetime series for CNN: King Charles.
The show is set to debut this fall and run through 2024, and is a central feature of CNN boss Chris Licht’s efforts to revive the network’s primetime schedule. Its 9 PM ET hour has lacked a permanent host since Chris Cuomo was fired in December, 2021.
King and Barkley, though, will fill one night of the week — Wednesday.
Licht has been taking a different approach to programming the 9 PM ET slot, with a mix of shows and formats rather than giving one personality a five-night-a-week gig. The network has been trying a mixture of live events, like town halls, and one-on-one interviews, like Jake Tapper’s sitdown with Bill Maher, in the slot.
King and Barkley made the announcement on TNT’s pre-game coverage.
“What I think is so great for the both of us is that it’s live TV. To me, live TV is like working without a net. So whatever happens, happens. I like that,” King said.
She said that she “wasn’t looking for another job,” as she remains under contract for CBS Mornings, and Barkley will continue on WBD Sports.
Barkley said that he also didn’t “want to be on TV more,” but agreed to it when offered the opportunity to team with King.
King Charles is being billed as a discussion show. In a memo to staffers, Licht wrote that the show will be “an exciting news way we are delivering culturally relevant programming and unique perspectives to our audience, from two incredibly dynamic personalities.”
King said that on the show, they will talk about politics, but Barkley said, “but we don’t want to say we are a liberal, conservative, Republican, Democrat. That is one of the things that has already ruined