*Gayle King and Charles Barkley’s new primetime show is off to a rocky start.
According to RadarOnline, the hourly talk show “King Charles” premiered to fewer than 500,000 viewers, the lowest audience of any new CNN program this year.
Amy Entelis, CNN’s executive vice president for talent and content development, said previously that the show offers a twist to the traditional news show format.
“‘King Charles’ is different than anything we have on CNN’s lineup,” Entelis said in responses to questions provided by email, CNN reports. “It’s not a newscast, but rather a talk show centered around the news stories and cultural moments that Gayle and Charles are most interested in.”
Insiders told the National Enquirer that King expects Barkley to remain quiet about what goes on behind the scenes of their talk show. As Radar reports, the tea spiller said, “There’s still some apprehension because she knows how Charles loves to gab and name-drop about his famous friends.”
The source added, “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!”
In a memo, CNN bossman Chris Licht reportedly told staffers that King and Barkley’s show will be “an exciting new way we are delivering culturally relevant programming and unique perspectives to our audience, from two incredibly dynamic personalities.”
As Radar reports, an insider told the National Enquirer that “Gayle enjoys being breezy and conversational but she still considers herself a serious journalist,” while “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!”
“CNN wants this show to be something everyone talks about, but Gayle doesn’t want it to be at the expense of her reputation,” an insider said, per RadarOnline.
“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,” the source revealed, Radar reports. “But Charles is like, ‘I gotta be me!'”
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
