TV Talk with Rob Owen category, Page 4
TV Talk: Great cast isn’t served by Netflix’s ‘Residence;’ local news race remains tight
On paper, Netflix’s latest Shonda Rhimes executive-produced series “The Residence” sounds like a potential hoot. It’s a comedic murder mystery set in the White House with a stellar cast that includes Uzo Aduba (“Orange Is the New Black”), Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”), Ken Marino (“Party Down”), Randall Park (“Fresh Off...
TV Q&A: Did a WTAE anchor announce his departure?
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: I thought that I read that Andrew Stockey left WTAE after 30 years on the air. When I turned on my TV today, there was...
TV Talk: KDKA-TV GM retires, CBS names replacement
KDKA-TV general manager Chris Cotugno will retire next month and Tuesday, CBS appointed Western Pennsylvania native Julie Eisenman to take Cotugno’s place at the helm of KDKA and WPKD-TV (aka KDKA+). Eisenman, a 1997 graduate of what is now PennWest Clarion, comes to Pittsburgh’s CBS-owned station April 7 from WNEP,...
TV Talk: Emmys honor ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ alum Hedda Sharapan
The National Academy of Television Arts Sciences will honor “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” associate producer Hedda Sharapan, inducting the Pittsburgher into the Gold Circle at the third annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, streaming at 5 p.m. Saturday at Watch.TheEmmys.TV and via the Emmys app (available for Roku, iPhone, Android, Apple...
TV Q&A: Who’s the Channel 11 morning co-anchor?
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: I saw a morning promo for Channel 11 news and Liz Kilmer is not in it. How come? — Robyn, via email Rob: It’s unclear...
TV Talk: ‘White Lotus’ trio steals show’s 3rd season
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. About halfway through the third season of HBO’s “The White Lotus” (9 p.m. Sunday) and the race to steal the most scenes in the show is on among Parker Posey’s Victoria Ratliff and her specific...
TV Talk: Carnegie Mellon graduate competes on ‘The Voice’
Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama grad Olivia Kuper Harris advanced to the Battle Rounds of NBC’s “The Voice” that begin airing at 8 tonight on WPXI. A 2013 CMU grad, Harris performed “Dream a Little Dream of Me” in the Feb. 23 blind audition rounds of “The Voice,” where...
TV Talk: Broadcast bounces back, ‘Doctor Odyssey’ returns
A funny thing happened on the way to the death of traditional broadcast TV in the streaming era: Broadcast rebounded while cable seems to be the patient who won’t make it. Look no further than the fall 2024 broadcast season that produced multiple success stories: ABC’s “High Potential,” CBS’s “Matlock”...
TV Q&A: Did KDKA-TV’s Alexandra Todd exit?
Q: Did Alexandra Todd leave KDKA-TV? — Sam, via email Rob: It appears she did. Todd’s last report was filed to KDKA.com in early January, and her bio is no longer on the KDKA staff page of the station’s website. She hasn’t posted to her professional social media accounts since...
TV Talk: ‘Dark Winds,’ TV’s best current crime drama, back on AMC
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. There are grittier, hipper, more popular crime dramas coursing through the TV/streaming ecosystem – “Tulsa King,” “Presumed Innocent,” “The Rookie” — but none of those shows can match the quality of AMC’s “Dark Winds,” returning...
TV Talk: Winning host Conan O’Brien presides over niche Oscars
It was tough for the 97th annual Academy Awards telecast to put its best foot forward when so many viewers saw so few of the niche movies nominated for best picture, an award that ultimately went to “Anora,” which won five Oscars total. The best Oscar telecast producers could do...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh doctors give ‘The Pitt’ a positive prognosis
For staff in the Allegheny General Hospital emergency room, Max’s Pittsburgh-set “The Pitt” isn’t just a TV show, but an education for friends and family about the work they do every day. “These aren’t things we actually talk about with our golf group or friends group or at the dinner...
TV Talk: Joseph Cannon, Pittsburgh broadcaster’s son, stars in Lifetime movie
Churchill native Joseph Cannon, son of local broadcaster and former PCNC host Ellis Cannon, gets his biggest acting break to date this weekend with a role in Lifetime’s “Abducted in the Everglades” (8 p.m. Sunday). Joseph Cannon stars in scenes with Tori Spelling (“Beverly Hills, 90210”), who plays a mom...
TV Q&A: What happened to a reporter seen on WTAE?
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: Is “Rossen Reports,” with reporter Jeff Rossen, still on WTAE news? I haven’t seen it in a few weeks and the station didn’t respond to...
TV Talk: Why so many national news anchor changes?
Although this wasn’t always true, in the modern era it’s safe to conclude anytime there is an upheaval in the general TV order, the reason almost always comes down to one thing: money. This week, Lester Holt announced his departure later this year from anchoring “NBC Nightly News,” a position...
TV Talk: ‘Born Again’ picks up Daredevil’s story, brings it to Disney+
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Before the arrival of Disney+ in 2019, Disney licensed some of its Marvel characters to Netflix for series that originally streamed 2015-18, including “Jessica Jones,” “Luke Cage,” “Iron Fist,” “Defenders,” “The Punisher” and “Daredevil,” probably...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh native Tamara Tunie leads CBS’s ‘Beyond the Gates’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Nowadays actors cross from one medium to another all the time: Meryl Streep stars in movies, Hulu and HBO series and on Broadway; Harrison Ford returns to Paramount+ this week in the second season of...
Retired KDKA-TV personality Jon Burnett dies
Former KDKA-TV weathercaster and daytime talk show host Jon Burnett died of suspected CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) following a 2022 diagnosis of the disease, according to KDKA. He was 71. Burnett shared his diagnosis with KDKA viewers in February 2024 reports by his longtime “Pittsburgh Today Live” co-host Kristine Sorensen,...
TV Talk: Robert De Niro stars in ‘Zero Day;’ ‘Suits LA,’ ‘Grosse Pointe’ debut
Another month, another American cataclysm as the inciting incident for a conspiracy thriller streaming series. Following Hulu’s “Paradise,” Netflix debuts limited series “Zero Day,” now streaming all six episodes. “Zero Day” marks star Robert De Niro’s first foray into scripted series TV, but one wishes it was in service of...
TV Q&A: What’s up with KDKA-TV meteorologists playing musical chairs?
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 is going on with the KDKA-TV meteorologists? In the mornings, it seems like they are double teaming us, alternating between Ron Smiley and Trey...
TV Talk: ‘SNL’ celebrates 50 years; Pittsburgher back on ‘Jeopardy!’
“SNL50: The Anniversary Special” offered something for all fans: Those who come for the music (Lil Wayne and The Roots; Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard; Paul McCartney), for viewers who love the recurring sketches/characters (Mike Myers’ Linda Richman; Cecily Strong’s Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at...
TV Talk: Max renews ‘The Pitt’ for 2nd season
Midway through its first season, the Pittsburgh-set medical drama “The Pitt” has been renewed for a second season by Max. The series, which films almost entirely in Burbank, Calif., shot at Allegheny General Hospital on the North Side for a week in September, collecting scenes that have been inserted in...
TV Talk: ‘White Lotus’ drips with dread, soothes with dark humor; KDKA-TV hires reporter
Even after the peak of Peak TV, few programs become topics of watercooler conversation because everyone is in their own silos watching their own thing. Still, it’s nice to have a known quantity back on HBO weekly. Not everyone will watch “The White Lotus” season three (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO,...
TV Q&A: When did ‘SNL’ start airing in Pittsburgh?
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: After watching the first two episodes of the “Saturday Night Live” documentary on Peacock, the memory came back: It was the fall of 1975. I...
TV Talk: Western Pa. native competes on Discovery’s ‘Moonshiners’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Belle Vernon native Jason Bartolozzi never made moonshine until he started watching Discovery Channel’s “Moonshiners: Master Distiller” when it premiered in 2011. Now Bartolozzi, 45, competes in an upcoming episode (9 p.m. Feb. 18, Discovery...

