Carlos King: The Media Mogul Making Diversity Reality on TV

Newsweek

14-05-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
When it comes to reality television, Carlos King is undoubtedly one of the most influential minds in the genre. As the CEO of Kingdom Reign Entertainment, he has produced some of the most talked-about shows shaping the landscape of unscripted television.
From his groundbreaking work on The Real Housewives of Atlanta to creating hit series like Love & Marriage: Huntsville, King's journey from behind-the-scenes producer to media mogul has been nothing short of remarkable. His ability to craft compelling narratives and showcase diverse perspectives has positioned him as a leading industry force.
Profile shot of Carlos King
Profile shot of Carlos King
Kendrick Ken Beauty
King, who had left college after being offered a production assistant job at BET, got his break in the business in 2008 when he became an associate producer on The Real Housewives of Atlanta—"You know, a little show you may have heard about," he told Newsweek. "It was my first reality show. Real Housewives of Atlanta became an instant hit, and I sort of climbed the ladder. I had every single position up until becoming the first Black man to executive produce a Real Housewives franchise, which was in season six. I just kept falling in love with the ladies, the production, the audience."
After accomplishing so much with the franchise, and believing he'd done everything he could with it, King said he felt divinely guided to move on. Despite his success, he felt there was a gap in the industry—there weren't enough Black-owned production companies creating these types of shows.
"I'm very ambitious, but I also believe in God's timing," the Detroit native said. "God has this thing where he whispers to you and you have to be still in order to hear the small, still voice. I was doing that, and God just kept saying to me, 'Carlos, you need to move on. I know you're happy, you're making all this money.' All of that was great, but I knew there was more for me. When I decided to leave the show, I wanted to be somebody who was an agent of change, and that's what led me to create my production company Kingdom Reign Entertainment."
His first major project under Kingdom Reign was Hollywood Divas for TV One. The series gave Black actresses—including Golden Brooks, Paula Jai Parker, Elise Neal, Countess Vaughn and Lisa Wu—a platform to share their personal journeys and ran for three seasons, helping to establish King's company as a major player in the industry.
(L-R) Actress Countess Vaughn and Executive Producer Carlos King attend TV One's "Hollywood Diva's" Reunion Special Filming on July 13, 2016 in Glendale, California.
(L-R) Actress Countess Vaughn and Executive Producer Carlos King attend TV One's "Hollywood Diva's" Reunion Special Filming on July 13, 2016 in Glendale, California.
Earl Gibson III/Getty
He has since gone on to build a diverse portfolio of projects, but one of his biggest successes has been the Love & Marriage franchise, which launched with Love & Marriage: Huntsville in 2019 on OWN. The concept for the show was born from King's vision to make the reality TV landscape richer in representation.
"I am an openly gay Black man in this business where there's not a lot of us, so my mission statement when I created Kingdom Reign Entertainment was to make sure that I told diverse stories—that could be diverse in race, sexuality, but also diverse in terms of an equal playing field when it comes to men and women sharing the spotlight on television," he said.
"Love & Marriage: Huntsville was created because, after coming from Housewives and Hollywood Divas, I wanted to do a show where men have great perspectives too. I don't think husbands are just somebody who comes into the kitchen [to observe].
"One thing I know about couples, pillow talk is at an all-time high. And men have strong opinions about their ladies' friends."
The show became a ratings powerhouse for OWN, paving the way for multiple spinoffs. With Kingdom Reign now responsible for nearly 70 percent of OWN's original programming hours over the past year, King's impact on the network is undeniable.
His work extends beyond OWN. He has collaborated with major networks like Netflix, producing Styling Hollywood, BET with BET Presents: The Encore and Lifetime's My Killer Body with K. Michelle. King's ability to tell diverse and engaging stories has been a driving force behind his success.
"I'm most proud that I have created a safe space to give people of color the opportunity to tell their stories," he said. "I think that's the most fruitful blessing that I have in terms of creating a space for that for people in front of the camera.
"But behind the cameras I have a large, diverse group of producers who come from all walks of life. To know that I've given opportunities to people of color to be first-time executives, first-time producers. I grow my team to excel in their own endeavors."
Stepping in Front of the Camera
In recent years, King has made his own moves from behind the scenes with his hit podcast and YouTube series Reality with the King, a shift that started after he was encouraged to host the reunion for the first successful season of Hollywood Divas.
"That put my face on the map," King said. "I started to ride that wave by doing more speaking engagements. It was definitely something that I said, 'OK, I'm good at this, I think the audience likes me, let me see where this can go.' Thankfully it has been rewarding but also challenging."
The move proved fruitful and now King hosts reunions for Love & Marriage and Belle Collective (which follows the lives of a group of businesswomen), twice-weekly episodes of his podcast—which drop Tuesdays and Thursdays—and YouTube live segments every Monday.
"It's called Monday Night Live," King said. "Every Monday, I talk to my fans, called the 'Reigndrops.' We get 50,000 to 70,000 views per episode weekly.
"So, I drop three episodes a week, I run a production company, we're in current production on my shows right now, I have to do meetings for the networks, do meetings with my producers. I've got to watch these episodes, get my notes on it. But because I love what I do, it doesn't feel like work."
Stepping into the spotlight has not been without its challenges. "Being in front of the camera has a lot of blessings, there's a lot of pros with it; the cons are obviously I wasn't prepared for people just to make stuff up about me," King said. "That was sort of weird. No one prepares you for that until it happens. And it's a gut punch.
"Thank God I'm spiritual and have my faith, so I'm able to understand that this isn't real. These are a bunch of strangers who just want to see you in this way. They may join in on negative conversations, but you know who you are...and you have to always stay focused. So that's something I always tell myself.
"It's easier said than done. However, it's the best advice that I give my reality stars. And when the tables turned, I said, 'Oh, I gotta practice what I preach.'"
(L-R) Maurice Scott, Kimmy Grant Scott, Carlos King, Latisha Scott and Marsau Scott attend OWN's Love & Marriage: Huntsville Event with Carlos King at Nya Studios on November 06, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
(L-R) Maurice Scott, Kimmy Grant Scott, Carlos King, Latisha Scott and Marsau Scott attend OWN's Love & Marriage: Huntsville Event with Carlos King at Nya Studios on November 06, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.for OWN
Staying True to Oneself
Reality with the King continues to be popular in Apple's podcast charts, but the media mogul refuses to chase trends to stay ahead of the curve, instead preferring to listen to his gut when deciding which guests to pursue for the show and which concepts to develop for TV.
"The beauty of my audience, they're very diverse," King said. "It's funny because my audio podcast listeners are largely white people and my YouTube channel is largely viewed by Black people, but in both arenas, I'm myself. I don't code switch for the audio. I'm just me.
"As long as I remain myself, I feel like I can continue to have what we call in the business 'The Oprah Effect,' which is that she had the number one talk show for 25 consecutive years and she never changed who she was.
"I don't want to cater to the younger audience by bringing on this young person who I don't have a connection with. You see a lot of podcast hosts who just interview anybody and I'm sure their team is saying, 'Interview this person. They have 20 million followers and they have a young demographic.' I don't look at myself that way. I look at it in terms of, if I'm not intrigued or curious, my audience [is] going to say, 'Carlos, you are phoning this interview in.' I'm known as the guy who asks the questions for the people."
With the continued success of Love & Marriage: Detroit, which returned on April 12, and new projects in development, King shows no signs of slowing down. "We were greenlit for another season of Belle Collective, so the Belles are back and they are ringing," he teased. "I can't wait for you guys to see that. And of course many other things that I will wait until the network announces because I don't like to get in trouble, but we are cooking up some great things."