CNN canceled Charles Barkley and Gayle King’s weekly talk show “King Charles” after just 5 months on the air.
CNN axed the prime-time talk show due to poor ratings. The show got off to a rocky start when it premiered on November 29.
It was the lowest-rated prime time weeknight series debut for CNN in at least a decade, according to Nielsen.
RadarOnline reported “King Charles” premiered to fewer than 500,000 viewers, the lowest audience of any new CNN program this year.
“‘King Charles’ is different than anything we have on CNN’s lineup,” said Amy Entelis, CNN’s executive vice president for talent and content development.
“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,” Entelis said in an email to reporters.
King, 69, and Barkley, 61, have been friends for years, but there were rumors of tension behind the scenes.
A source said Oprah’s bestie grew wary of Barkley constantly name-dropping his famous friends.
“He’s been doing it for years, bragging about his associations with Michael Jordan and others,” the insider said. “It may seem harmless enough on the surface — but for Gayle, it’s a time bomb waiting to happen!”
