TV Talk with Rob Owen category, Page 10
TV Talk: Filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘American Rust’ canceled
Amazon’s Prime Video will not renew the filmed-in-Pittsburgh drama series “American Rust,” whose second season was largely set in Pittsburgh, for a third season. The show’s first two seasons were filmed in Western Pennsylvania. Jeff Daniels starred in “American Rust” as the police chief of fictional Buell, Fayette County, who...
TV Talk: ‘Snowpiercer’ chugs on a new track to AMC for final season
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. There’s probably been no series to live a more tortured, pushed-and-pulled existence than “Snowpiercer,” which returns for its final, fourth 10-episode season at 9 p.m. July 21 on AMC and AMC+ (seasons one through three...
TV Talk: ‘Shōgun,’ ‘The Bear’ sweep Emmy nominations
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Though it may seem like viewers just watched the Emmys — the strike-delayed January telecast honored shows from the 2022-23 TV season — the ceremony will return to its usual September airing as it recognizes programs that aired/streamed between June 2023 and May 2024. FX’s “Shōgun” took...
TV Q&A: Did Celina Pompeani Mathison leave ‘Pittsburgh Today Live’?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: What happened to Bob Pompeani’s daughter who used to always be on Channel 2 news? Did she retire or get another job? — Bonnie, via...
TV Talk at TCA: PBS previews ‘Moonflower Murders’; filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Deliverance’ trailer released
PASADENA, Calif. — This fall “Masterpiece Mystery!” debuts “Moonflower Murders” (9 p.m. Sept. 15-Oct. 20, WQED-TV), a follow-up to 2022’s “Magpie Murders.” Book editor Susan Ryeland (Lesley Manville, “The Crown”) is living in Crete with long-time boyfriend Andreas (Alexandros Logothetis) but a murder at a British hotel eight years earlier...
TV Talk: Chariot races, gladiator battles fill ‘Those About to Die’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. The next few weeks should bring new subscribers to Peacock with its wall-to-wall coverage of the Summer Olympics from Paris beginning July 26, so the streaming service will use those increased eyeballs watching to also...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh native joins CBS’s ‘Big Brother’
Pittsburgh native Leah Peters, a 26-year-old “VIP cocktail server” living in Miami, is among the competitors on this year’s 26th season of “Big Brother” (9 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday beginning this week, KDKA-TV). Peters is one of 16 initial houseguests who will, for the first time, have the power...
TV Talk at TCA: ‘Elevated’ procedurals reign this fall, including Pittsburgh native Zachary Quinto’s show
PASADENA, Calif. — Procedural dramas — episodic shows that tell a story with a beginning, middle and end in one hour — were TV staples from the 1950s through the 1990s. In the ‘80s, serialized dramas with ongoing storylines began to emerge with “Hill Street Blues,” “St. Elsewhere,” and later...
TV Talk at TCA: ‘Tracker,’ ‘Elsbeth’ prepare 2nd seasons; ‘Young Sheldon’ spin-off to premiere
PASADENA, Calif. — CBS enters the 2024-25 TV season this fall from a position of strength thanks to the successful launches of “Tracker” and “Elsbeth” earlier this year. Justin Hartley stars in “Tracker” as a for-hire hunk who tracks down missing people. Hartley describes his Colter Shaw character as a...
TV Talk at TCA: ‘Shōgun,’ ‘Hacks’ win big at TCA Awards; ‘PITT’ adds cast
PASADENA, Calif. — Friday night at the Langham Huntington Hotel the 40th annual Television Critics Association Awards offered the most recognition to FX’s “Shōgun” (best new program, program of the year, best drama and individual achievement in drama for star Anna Sawai) and Max’s “Hacks” (best comedy, individual achievement in...
TV Talk at TCA: Go behind the scenes of latest Disney’s ‘Descendants’ premiere party
PASADENA, Calif. — No two Hollywood premieres are alike but often they are lavish affairs, the swankiest wedding reception you’ve never been invited to, only more extensively themed and entertaining. After all, Hollywood knows how to put on a show, whether it’s on screens — big or small — or...
TV Talk at TCA: FX keeps the quality shows coming; WTAE-TV anchor exits
PASADENA, Calif. – The summer 2024 edition of the Television Critics Association press tour kicked off Wednesday at the Langham Huntington Hotel with Disney-owned properties ABC, FX and Hulu/Onyx presenting panels with the stars, writers and producers of upcoming programs. FX, home to “Shogun” and “Fargo” and producer of “The...
TV Q&A: What’s going on in WTAE’s sports department?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: What happened to all the female sports reporters on Channel 4? The anchors have been doing the sports reporting lately. — Patty via email Rob:...
TV Talk: Shark attack survivor becomes ‘Shark Week’ mainstay
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Shark attack survivor Paul de Gelder has been a mainstay of Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” programs since 2013. For one of the five shows he appears in this year that will air on Discovery and...
TV Talk: Eddie Murphy’s back in 4th ‘Beverly Hills Cop;’ KDKA-TV hires meteorologist
Now streaming on Netflix, “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” is the type of tentpole film that would have been a holiday weekend theatrical release in the pre-streaming era. Despite the rough reception to “Beverly Hills Cop III” in 1994 — 11% fresh among critics, 35% fresh among audiences on RottenTomatoes.com...
TV Q&A: Where can one watch a new classic cartoon network?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: Has any local station become an affiliate for the new MeTV Toon channel in the Pittsburgh area? It’s a channel that plays classic cartoon shows....
TV Talk: Pittsburgh native wants you to guess: Is he ‘The Mole’?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Reality series “The Mole,” which began on ABC in 2001 and then got revived by Netflix two years ago, introduces a Pittsburgh contestant in the show’s second season on Netflix. Now streaming its first five...
TV Talk: CNN’s debate rules keep candidates on track
The first debate of the 2024 general election presidential cycle broke from tradition, albeit in different ways than the 2020 debates that saw then-President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden talk over and sneer at one another. Unlike for the past several decades since 1988, Wednesday’s debate was not...
TV Talk: Shaler grad writes music for ‘Ariel;’ ‘The Bear’ roars again; MeTV Toons launches
For its latest animated series, “Disney Jr.’s Ariel,” inspired by “The Little Mermaid” story, animated and live-action films, producers enlisted Anthony M. “Tone” Jones, a 2000 graduate of Shaler Area High School, to help create one-to-two songs per episode. “Disney’s Jr.’s Ariel” (9 a.m. Thursday, Disney Junior; eight episodes available...
TV Q&A: How can WPXI make its ‘most-watched news station’ claim?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: Channel 11, WPXI-TV says they are the “most-watched news station” in Pittsburgh. What is this based on? One show or newscasts throughout the day? —...
TV Talk: ‘King Coal’ offers an elegy for connection rooted in a controversial industry
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. The critically acclaimed documentary film “King Coal” already played in Pittsburgh cinemas and its initial run was extended due to high demand. This week, “King Coal” is available for home viewing as the first film...
TV Talk: WTAE names South Hills native Ashley Liotus as sports anchor/reporter
Following Emily Giangreco’s departure in April, WTAE named Ashley Liotus the station’s newest sports anchor/reporter. Liotus has freelanced for Channel 4 since 2022, prior to Giangreco’s arrival. “We are thrilled to officially make Ashley part of our WTAE Channel 4 family,” WTAE general manager and president Charles W. Wolfertz III...
TV Talk: ‘Orphan Black’ rebooted
In the 2013-17 BBC America sci-fi serial “Orphan Black,” actress Tatiana Maslany played multiple clones of her primary character, ultimately creating one of the better recent genre series, albeit one that grew overly convoluted as the series’ mythology expanded season-by-season. The new sequel series, “Orphan Black: Echoes” (10 p.m. Sunday,...
TV Q&A: How many sportscasters are on KDKA-TV?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: How many sportscasters are there on KDKA-TV? — Bill via email Rob: Bob Pompeani and Richie Walsh are the full-time KDKA sports reporters/anchors, and freelancer...
TV Talk: ‘House of the Dragon’ successfully toggles between heartbreak and dark humor in 2nd season
The first season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon” was a mixed bag: So many — too many, really — characters with similar-sounding names and blond wigs, a time jump that resulted in the recasting of roles just as viewers started to get to know...
