TV Q&A: Will ‘Deadliest Catch' air new episodes this year?

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 have any info on whether “Deadliest Catch” will be on this year?

— Deb via Facebook

Rob: I hadn’t realized “Deadliest Catch” did not return in April, as it often does, until Deb’s question arrived. Then I went searching and found many folks have been scratching their heads about the show’s absence.

In late June, Discovery Channel finally announced the show’s new season will premiere at 8 p.m. Aug. 1 with this description: “When fishermen discover monster red king crab in the far west, a gold rush-style race ignites among the Dutch Harbor fleet. To claim their share of the billion-dollar bounty, captains and crews must brave unforgiving 50-foot seas to reach abandoned Adak Island, venturing farther west than anyone has dared in over 30 years and beyond the bounds of rescue. Navigating through unfamiliar territory to secure the lucrative haul, the crews face extreme conditions and major ship malfunctions that put them in serious life-threatening situations, leaving the fleet at the mercy of the tumultuous western Bering Sea.”

“Deadliest Catch” featured a ship captained by Westmoreland City native “Wild” Bill Wichrowski in recent past seasons but a Discovery Channel representative said he won’t be in the upcoming 21st season. Wichrowski exited season 20 early to get cancer treatment.

Q: Why is Jeff Glor no longer on “CBS Saturday Mornings”?

— Betty, Greensburg

Rob: Glor was one of several on-air CBS personnel laid off in September 2024.

In October a Buffalo News report suggested Glor, a Western New York native, might become an anchor at a Buffalo TV station, but Glor is not listed on any of those stations’ websites.

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Q: What’s the difference between the “Jeopardy!” episode that is on at 11:30 a.m. on WPXI and the one that is on at 7:30 p.m.? Are they the same episode?

— J., via email

Rob: The premiere, original run of “Jeopardy!” airs in the access hour at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 11. The morning episode is a rerun from the show’s past.

Q: Why is PCN still not available in HD? It looks like their broadcasts are bootleg videos from the 1980s or something.

— Ryan, via email

Rob: Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) is sort of a Pennsylvania version of C-SPAN, although its programming is broader than C-SPAN’s political coverage. It’s a shoestring operation that’s likely had to do some additional belt-tightening of late. Its website notes, “PCN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit television network” that since its inception in 1979 “has relied primarily on cable system revenue to fund the network and has received no state or federal tax dollars. Today’s trend toward viewers cutting cable television has resulted in a decline in revenue for PCN.”