Stars ‘King Charles’: Barkley to reign CNN airwaves
‘King Charles’: The reign of “King Charles” is upon us — in this case, not the British monarch but the former NBA player-turnedTNT and CBS Sports analyst, Charles Barkley, and his upcoming show.
Barkley is set to become a key player at CNN, where he’ll soon co-anchor the new weekly primetime program “King Charles.” But Barkley won’t be working alone: he will jointly lead the show with CBS News correspondent Gayle King (“CBS Mornings”), who publicly commented that the one-hour, live discussion program will simply offer “a good conversation without tearing other people down.”
CNN’s negotiations with the two personalities had been something of an open secret in the past few months.TheWarner Bros.Discovery-owned news outlet has been overhauling its programming of late, experimenting with different formats and rotating anchors in an effort to reverse a marked downturn in viewership.
In a town hall meeting with CNN staffers in November, CEO Chris Licht indicated the big plan for prime time was to focus on “perspective programming” and “informed opinion” (as reported by Variety) and to introduce a host that could counter talking points without advocating an ideology.
They seem to have found their person in Barkley, who announced his new CNN project during an airing of TNT’s “NBA Tip-off.” According to Sir Charles himself, the show aims to avoid accusations of clickbait journalism and hints of bias: “We don’t want to say, ‘We’re a liberal, conservative, Republican,
Democrat’ — that’s one of the things that’s already ruined television in general.”
Look for “King Charles” to launch this fall and air on Wednesdays.
Playing ‘Games’:
Last year was a productive one for Josh Duhamel (“Transformers,” 2007), who counted roles in the mini-series “The Thing About Pam,” the (now-cancelled) Disney+ series “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers,” the films “Bandit” and “Blackout” (both released in 2022), and more recently, opposite Jennifer Lopez in “Shotgun Wedding” (2022). Oh, and he lent his voice to a video game, “The Callisto Protocol,” too.
Will he be taking it easy in 2023? Hardly.
CBS has ordered a new reality competition series executive-produced by Duhamel, who gets to add yet another project (and a third producer credit) to his evergrowing Hollywood resume.
Set to premiere later this year, the new series is titled “Buddy Games,” and it is said to be inspired by the actor’s annual tradition with friends. As CBS explains it: “For the past 20 years, one weekend a summer, Duhamel reunites with his childhood friends to compete in a variety of competition-style games. ‘Buddy Games,’ based on Duhamel’s own experience, will bring together best friends from different backgrounds and offer them the same opportunity to live together, compete in wild challenges and prove their bonds run deep.”
If the title sounds familiar, it’s because the show shares the same title and basic premise as the 2019 film “Buddy Games,” starring, written and directed by Duhamel.
The TV competition will feature six teams of four friends who reunite at a stunning lakeside location that has been transformed into an adventure-themed summer camp for grown-ups. After a series of challenges designed to test their bonds, the last buddies standing will win a cash prize and the Buddy Games trophy.
Duhamel is involved as both host and executive producer. “Being able to bring ‘Buddy Games’ to CBS is truly a dream come true for me,” Duhamel said in a statement. “This is something my buddies and I have wanted to share with the world for a long time as we knew there was a relatability to it with other people doing similar things to strengthen their friendships. For me, getting to executive produce and host ‘Buddy Games’ while observing these groups of friends let loose and become part of this big family has been an honor and will be a lot of fun for viewers to watch.”
Union with Amazon: Fresh off her role opposite Octavia Spencer in the third/final season of Apple TV+’s “Truth Be Told,” Gabrielle Union (“Being Mary Jane”) has lined up her next TV project, and it seems she’s sticking with streaming for now.
The actress is reportedly attached to star in Amazon’s upcoming series adaptation of “Pretty Little Wife,” the 2020 novel by Darby Kane. The project hails from screenwriter Meredith Lavender and producer/writer Marcie Ulin, who previously worked together on “The Flight Attendant” and “Nashville,” and who are sharing writing and executive producing responsibilities alongside Kristen SaBerre (“4400”). Union is also on board as an executive producer.
The official description touts the TV version of “Pretty Little Wife” as “a cat-and-mouse thriller with a pulpy edge and some sexy soap that centers around two brilliant — and very different — Black women.”
Union will play the role of Lily, a wife suspected of murdering her husband, while the other yet-tobe-announced series lead will star as Ginny, the detective assigned to the case. The logline goes on to explain that “upon entering each other’s lives, they begin to crack open each other’s facade to reveal what really lies beneath.”
This project is still in development. Expect more news to come.