Gayle King And Charles Barkley’s CNN Talk Show Comes To An End

Gayle King and Charles Barkley have ended their limited six-month stint on CNN following reports of low viewership.

The pair gave their f arewells in their show’s final episode last week with King expressing her hope to work with the NBA star again in the future, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“I will say this: I have loved working with you and something tells me, Charles, this will not be the last time that we’re working together,” King told Barkley.

“Call me, Gayle,” Barkley joked.

Addressing the King Charles viewers, King subtly teased the possibility of her and Barkley’s return to the network.

“We will see you the next time whenever we see you,” King said to the camera. “Thanks so much for being with us for the past six months. We had a blast.”

The limited-edition talk show began in November with a confirmed end for spring 2024. It only aired one night a week due to Barkley co-hosting the popular Inside the NBA on CNN’s sister station TNT.

“King Charles has come to the end of its limited run as we announced when it launched last fall and was a great addition to CNN’s lineup, with the youngest, most affluent, and most diverse P2+ audience in its cable news time period,” a spokesperson for CNN said.

Former CNN CEO Chris Licht came up with the idea for the King Charles show and tapped King whom he worked with at CBS News. But the show was seemingly just a tester as it aired following Licht’s firing from CNN last June after just 13 months on the job.

King Charles aired at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday nights but struggled to attract viewers. Of the 14 episodes that aired, the show drew in an average of 459,000 total viewers and 106,000 in the 25-54 demographic. Nielsen listed it as the lowest-rated prime-time weeknight series debut for CNN in the last decade.