Charles Barkley and Gayle King's CNN Show Flops, TV Execs Already Reconsidering Duo: Report
Gayle King and Charles Barkley's CNN show debuted with low ratings.
Dec. 12 2023, Published 6:00 a.m. ET
The TV marriage of Gayle King and Charles Barkley is reportedly already on the rocks. Despite unprecedented pre-launch fanfare, the premiere of hourly talkshow King Charles was a total flop, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The show's premiere garnered fewer than 500,000 viewers, the smallest audience of any new CNN show this year.
King and Barkley's prime time talk show 'King Charles' debuted with less than 500,000 viewers.
CNN had bet on the bizarre combo's current events talk show to help raise ratings, but insiders claim execs are already convinced King and the former NBA star are a bad match — even though the CBS Mornings host, 68, and former NBA champ, 60, have been friendly for years.
"Gayle enjoys being breezy and conversational but she still considers herself a serious journalist," an insider told the National Enquirer. "Meanwhile, Charles has a style he's honed as a TV sports commentator — boastful, outrageous and always with an opinion, even if it isn't factual and he knows little to nothing about the topic!"
Sources claimed low ratings have already convinced CNN execs that King and Barkley are a bad match.
Another source allegedly said King tried to tame Barkley's bite during test runs for the show but hit a roadblock.
"Gayle tells Charles he should really study up on serious topics they discuss on their King Charles show and really pore over the producer's notes to bone up on a subject," spilled the source. "But Charles is like, 'I gotta be me!'"
King reportedly told Barkley to study up on their show's subjects but he refused to change his style.
"CNN wants this show to be something everyone talks about, but Gayle doesn't want it to be at the expense of her reputation." the insider crowed.
RadarOnline.com has reached out King and Barkley's reps for comment.
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Barkley was previously warned to curb his usual name-dropping habits for the sake of the show's success.
The show's disastrous premiere followed reports that King had strict instructions for Barkley to not blab about their behind-the-scenes business before the primetime talk show's premiere.
Back in September, insiders told the National Enquirer that while King was "all revved up and excited" for the show's launch, "there’s still some apprehension because she knows how Charles loves to gab and name-drop about his famous friends."
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With so much riding on the success of the show, sources claimed King was worried Barkley's loose lips would sink their ship before it had a chance to test the rating waters.
"He’s been doing it for years, bragging about his associations with Michael Jordan and others. It may seem harmless enough on the surface — but for Gayle, it’s a time bomb waiting to happen!" a tipster said of Barkley's braggadocios tendencies.
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