As has been rumored for months, Charles Barkley will officially host a primetime CNN show alongside Gayle King later this year.
TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley has officially been named co-host of a live, weekly primetime CNN show alongside “CBS This Morning” host Gayle King, it was announced Saturday during TNT’s NBA pregame coverage. Titled “King Charles,” the hour-long show is set to air Wednesday nights starting this fall and continuing into next year.
Under new president Chris Licht, CNN has for months pursued Barkley as a potential host for its retooled primetime lineup. Barkley went on the record earlier this year as saying he would only accept a hosting role if King was involved.
Barkley this year reached a ten-year contract extension with Warner Bros. Discovery that included a CNN component. That is not unusual as his previous deals have also included some CNN responsibilities. He has been an occasional guest on CNN shows throughout his two decades at Turner, and early in his tenure was a regular contributor to the CNN talk show “Talkback Live.”
Barkley has also regularly ventured beyond sports during his time with Turner, at one point hosting a docuseries about race in America with the tagline — referenced not-infrequently on social media in the years since — of “we are going to start a dialogue.” In the 2002-03 season, he and Ernie Johnson hosted a pregame talk show on TNT called “Listen Up!” that discussed general topics in and outside of sports.
Such forays beyond the playing field are not uncommon for Barkley, who at varying points in his career floated the possibility of running for governor of Alabama.
The CNN show will not affect Barkley’s NBA duties on TNT (or King’s duties with CBS News). For her part, King is no stranger to working with sports TV analysts — her CBS morning show co-host is “The NFL Today” analyst Nate Burleson.
CNN does employ at least one other familiar sports media figure, using Bob Costas as a contributor. A decade ago, it aired a regular primetime series hosted by Rachel Nichols. Most famously, it was once home to a regular sports highlight show hosted by a number of luminaries, including the late Fred Hickman and Nick Charles.
(News from CNN/Turner)
