CNN Has Ended Gayle King and Charles Barkley's 'King Charles' After a Limited Run

The short-lived reign of King Charles seems to have come to an end. CNN announced that the series, which was co-hosted by Charles Barkley and Gayle King, wouldn't be returning following its limited run with the network.

Gayle and Charles signed off from their last episode by thanking the team behind the show and viewers at home for everything they've done to support the series throughout its run. Even as they signed off, though, many wanted to better understand why the show had been canceled in the first place.

In announcing the news that the show wouldn't be returning following its initial run, a CNN spokesperson said that the show had always been planned as a limited series with a defined end date in the spring of 2024.

“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,” told The Hollywood Reporter.

The show was the brainchild of former CNN CEO Chris Licht, who had a famously short and tumultuous tenure with the network as he attempted to pivot the network away from perceptions that it leaned too far in one direction or another politically.

Chris had worked with Gayle before, and the notion was to bring her in with the former NBA star and famously outspoken Charles in order to have them comment on the news of the day.

As the show came to an end, both Gayle and Charles had nice things to say about their co-hosts on the show.

“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,” Gayle said as the show came to an end.

“Call me, Gayle,” Charles replied.

“We will see you the next time whenever we see you,” Gayle told viewers. “Thanks so much for being with us for the past six months. We had a blast.”

While the show was announced as a limited run, it seems likely that CNN would have renewed it had the show been more successful with audiences. The ratings for the premiere were low, and while it seems like the show may have performed well with certain demographics, on the whole, it wasn't a tremendous success for a network that needs good ratings to fund its news arm.

Of course, both Gayle and Charles have other TV gigs that should keep them busy into the future. Gayle remains one of the hosts of CBS This Morning, and Charles hosts an Inside the NBA on TNT. If you wanted to see the two of them together, though, you may have to wait at least a little while.