CNN announces limited talk series with Charles Barkley

Once again, Charles Barkley wants to talk to the country about the world outside of the NBA.

On Monday, CNN announced that the Hall of Famer and longtime NBA analyst for sister channel TNT will be the co-host of a limited talk series with veteran news anchor Gayle King called "King Charles." As Warner Bros. Discovery continues to tinker with programming for the beleaguered cable news channel, the media conglomerate hopes that bringing Barkley into the fold can reinvigorate its primetime schedule on select nights.

The network explained the show's focus to Variety's Brian Steinberg.

“‘King Charles’ is different than anything we have on CNN’s lineup,” says Amy Entelis, CNN’s executive vice president for talent and content development, in responses to questions provided by email. “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.” CNN declined to make executives or the new anchors available for a direct conversation."

This isn't Barkley's first attempt at a show outside of sports, and certainly not his first attempt at one under the now WBD umbrella. Back in 2017 while the network was still under Time Warner, TNT debuted "American Race," a four-part docuseries where Barkley famously "hoped to start a dialogue" about racial issues in the United States, with the concept of him speaking with people of different backgrounds to find common ground. 

As noble as the idea was, the show performed quite poorly in terms of Nielsen ratings. Despite being revered at times for his outspokenness, "American Race" was widely panned by those who felt that the subject matter - racism and how intertwined it is in the fabric of the country - was beyond his depth. 

"King Charles" seems to be another attempt for the basketball legend to share his views on the world, with the freewheeling nature of the show intending to mirror what has made him equally as successful as an NBA analyst. It's safe to assume that King has been asked to act as Barkley's traffic cop in the same vein as Ernie Johnson on "Inside the NBA", despite her own bonafides as an anchor on "CBS This Morning."

Whether Barkley succeeds in this new outlet will come down to how much the cable news audience - a polarized and partisan one, at that - is willing to tolerate his tendencies to say what's on his mind even if he's not fully informed on the issue. Though in those regards, he very well may mirror parts of the audience.

The show debuts on Wednesday November 29.