TV Q&A: Will new episodes of ‘Doc Martin’ ever air on WQED-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: Will PBS run new episodes of “Doc Martin” soon? I assume the pandemic has held up production.

— Kathy, Allegheny Township

Rob: Technically, “Doc Martin” is not a PBS show. It is distributed in the U.S. in a second window by American Public Television and local stations can buy it but the show is not distributed nationally by PBS. This is a technicality but helps explain why the ninth season has been delayed coming to PBS stations.

The ninth season of “Doc Martin” became available on streaming service Acorn.tv in September 2019. Acorn owns the first-run rights to the show in the U.S. and gets to decide when to make the show available in a second window of distribution to APT for PBS stations.

Given how season eight rolled out, the timeline for season nine of “Doc Martin” to become available to PBS stations should have been January 2021. That didn’t happen.

A representative for Acorn said when “Doc Martin” season nine will get released to APT depends on movement on season 10, the show’s final season, which has been delayed due to the pandemic. Acorn did not provide an update on when production will begin. Reporting in the British press last year suggested the 10th season would film in 2021.

My best guess is season nine will make it to WQED-TV and other PBS stations in 2022.

Q: Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” has been on retro stations for many years. Why hasn’t David Letterman’s “Late Night” been available?

— J.T. via email

Rob: For this one I consulted late-night talk show expert Bill Carter, author of “The Late Shift” and the former New York Times TV beat writer.

“It’s notable that Carson Productions owns the rights to (Johnny Carson’s) shows, while NBC retains the rights to Letterman’s NBC shows — and they have never really taken advantage of that product,” Carter explained. “You would think that with (NBC-owned streaming service) Peacock now a main property for them they would stock their library with those old Letterman shows, which have — at the least — a cult following. And whatever bitterness toward Dave lingered there ought to be long gone now.”

A representative for Peacock did not respond to my queries but there are some Letterman “Late Night” episodes uploaded to YouTube.

Q: Any idea if or when the Animal Planet channel will once again televise either “Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet” and/or “The Vet Life” shows? I really enjoyed those and haven’t even seen reruns!

— Saundra, Springdale

Rob: After five years, “The Vet Life” ended but reruns can be seen on streaming service discovery+. “Dr. Jeff” will return for a new season in 2022.

Q: Please tell me no one else at KDKA-TV is retiring? With all these new faces, I’ve taken to watching other stations more. I miss the old ones. OK, they’ve been there a long time, but I’m comfortable with them.

— Cheryl via email

Rob: The most likely candidates for the next round of retirements from KDKA-TV are probably John Shumway, Andy Sheehan and Jon Delano.

Shumway just got a weekend anchor gig and Delano is gearing up to cover the 2022 governor’s race so it may be a bit before more veterans depart.

“I’m not aware of any pending retirements,” said KDKA news director Kathy Hostetter, “and yes, the folks you mention will be around.”