TV Q&A: Will Brit actor use American accent on ‘CIA’ show?

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: Do you know if Tom Ellis will be using his natural British accent in the new CIA series on CBS? The British accent is preferable to when he tries on an American accent, but do many Brits work for the CIA?

— Gretchen, Greensburg

Rob: Good question and my guess is that will be addressed in the first episode as Ellis will be speaking with his natural British accent.

“FBI” spinoff “CIA” was originally intended to debut this fall, but a change in showrunners resulted in the series getting bumped to mid-season.

Q: I saw that David Del Rio, who plays Billy on “Matlock,” was fired for alleged sexual assault on a co-star, Leah Lewis.

What is the protocol for investigating these types of allegations within networks? Since he was fired, does that mean they were convinced he was guilty? Or would the bad publicity surrounding a claim like this necessitate the firing (by product of #metoo movement), regardless of actual guilt or innocence?

— Beth, McCandless

Rob: I suspect lawyers advised CBS Studios that this was the least bad option, although that won’t necessarily put an end to legal proceedings.

CBS Studios declined to comment, but we know the studio was alerted to an incident, immediately conducted an investigation and then parted ways with Del Rio. (The LAPD told news outlets there is no record that an assault report was filed for the date and location of the allegation.)

Billy will be written out of “Matlock” when production resumes following a pre-planned October-November hiatus.

Q: CNN carries Bill Maher’s HBO show uncut. It contains many F-bombs. The CNN comedy quiz show that follows has the same language. Are there standards anymore on cable TV?

— Mike, Beaver

Rob: Cable TV has never been the same as broadcast. Broadcast is beamed into your home whether you want it or not. Viewers must invite (subscribe to) cable channels into their homes. FCC rules against profanity apply to broadcast, not cable. While cable networks were once more reticent about airing profanity, that was self-imposed.

Q: Why do the KDKA morning anchors hold their iPads while they are standing?

— Linda, via email

Rob: Because iPads contain the scripts they use as backup if the TelePrompTer they usually read from fails.

Q: Why is it that the hosts of the “Nightly Sports Call” on KDKA+ frequently skip reading viewers’ tweets despite them advertising they do so on the show’s opening narration? This is disrespectful to the viewers who watch and send in the tweets.

— Marc, via email

Rob: This is the third time I’ve received this same question in as many months.

My understanding is it’s simply a matter of there not always being enough time for a show that begins at 10:35 and ends at 10:56 and still has to fit in commercials. With guest interviews, something has to give and sometimes it’s the tweets. And as the show has “call” in its title, it’s logical that they might prioritize calls over tweets.