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 whose daughter, Carli (Tommi Rose), goes missing on spring break. Cannon, who gets fourth billing in the movie’s opening credits, plays Luke, the daughter’s ex-boyfriend who has a hand in Carli’s disappearance.

But, as many actors who play villains will attest, Cannon didn’t see his role as the bad guy — at least not at first.

“In my eyes, he’s not the villain. He’s misunderstood,” Cannon said in a phone interview last week from Atlanta. “You tell yourself that in the beginning, and then we’re on set talking with other cast members and they’re like, ‘You’re the bad guy. It was his plan to do all of this!’ I guess when you say it like that …”

Cannon, a 2018 Woodland Hills High School grad, filmed “Abducted in the Everglades” in Miami and in the Everglades in November 2024.

Cannon graduated from Pittsburgh’s Point Park University in 2022 with an acting degree and got his start with small roles in many locally filmed productions (“Manhunt,” “The Chair,” “Archive 81” and “Dear Zoe”) as well as roles on “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: SVU” in New York his senior year of college.

“Pittsburgh is a tight-knit community, especially when it comes to the arts,” Cannon said. “If you’re good with the casting director, take your time with your work and study, they’ll have no problem calling you back into the room. I give thanks to Donna Belajac for giving me a shot and casting me there.”

Cannon’s interest in acting manifested in high school, although there might have been signs of it earlier.

“My brother would say I was always the talker of the family, and they say I get it from my dad, for sure,” Cannon said. “My dad would take me to see him film his anchor stuff for PCNC or ESPN, and it was always so fun to be able to watch him. I think every actor who loves film also loves behind the scenes — the boom operator, the ADs, the DPs — because, at the end of the day, we’re all just a puzzle piece in this big puzzle.”

Cannon played baseball and golf in high school, but friends in the theater program invited him to join them.

“I think it was ‘Spamalot,’ and I really enjoyed it,” Cannon said of his first acting experience. “Then I went to this acting class in Pittsburgh by Jill Wadsworth. I worked with Jill, and I had never experienced anything like that before. Ever since I took her first class, I wanted to do this.”

A summer program at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York followed. Now he auditions for roles via self-tape and Zoom from Atlanta, a less expensive production hub to live in than New York or Los Angeles. After “Everglades,” Cannon filmed a guest spot in early February in New York for this season’s 15th episode of CBS’s “FBI,” which does not yet have an air date.

“Everglades” is by far his largest on-camera role to date, with more than 100 lines of dialogue.

“I learned a lot about myself and how I handle not only stress but learning six pages of lines overnight for 14 days straight,” Cannon said. “At the beginning, I was so nervous. But, as soon as I got on set, everybody was just so nice.”

That included Spelling.

“She is a powerhouse,” Cannon said. “She was fun to work with and such a hoot. She hung out with you every day at lunch, talked to you every day. If you had any questions, she’d be the first one to answer them. She’s such a kind woman.”

Like many actors, Cannon said he’s his own worst critic. He doesn’t enjoy watching his performances, but he did see a rough cut of “Everglades” in December.

“Watching myself is almost like an out-of-body experience,” he said. “You’re trying to pretend that’s not even you, but toward the end I was just so proud of myself and proud of my performance. I’ve never had so many scenes, so many lines or worked on a project of that size before, so it was a cool experience.”

Curious WQED ‘Conversation’

This may be an unusual first: Rather than having someone on the station’s staff conduct an interview, WQED board chair emerita Millie S. Myers interviews Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra music director Manfred Honeck about his career, family and love of music in “A Conversation with Manfred Honeck” (8 tonight, WQED-TV).

Kept/canceled

Hulu renewed “Paradise” for a second season. The complete first season will air on ABC at 10 p.m. Mondays beginning April 7.

PBS’s “Miss Scarlet” will return for a sixth season.

NBC renewed comedy “Happy’s Place” for a second season.

Nickelodeon ordered “Avatar: Seven Havens,” a sequel series to “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

ABC ordered a new “9-1-1” spinoff set in Nashville.

Amazon’s Prime Video filmed a second season of “Jury Duty,” this time set at a corporate retreat rather than in a courtroom, per Variety.

Fox renewed game show “The Quiz with Balls” for a second season.

Amazon’s Prime Video canceled its continuation of Australian soap “Neighbours,” which will continue streaming new episodes four days per week through December. Prime Video also canceled “The Sticky.”

After the upcoming Major League Baseball season, ESPN will end its current deal to carry MLB games, making the sports rights available for other outlets to bid to carry games.

Channel surfing

Box office hit “Wicked” streams on Peacock March 21 in the original and sing-along versions and with multiple deleted/extended scenes available to view. … “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo will host “The 78th Annual Tony Awards” (8-11 p.m. June 8). … Actor John Lithgow will play Dumbledore in HBO’s upcoming “Harry Potter” TV/streaming series.