TV Talk: ‘The Pitt’ wins most TCA Awards; Greensburg dog trainer on Prime Video series

The Television Critics Association announced the winners of its 2025 awards with Pittsburgh-set HBO Max ER drama “The Pitt” winning the most trophies — four — taking home honors for program of the year, best drama, best new show and individual achievement in drama for star/writer/executive producer Noah Wyle.

Among platforms, Warner Bros. Discovery topped all others winning seven of 12 awards for the 2024-25 TV season between HBO and HBO Max. Apple TV+, Disney+, NBC, Netflix and Peacock earned one award each.

Here’s the full list of 2025 TCA Awards winners:

Program of the year: “The Pitt” (HBO Max)

Best comedy: “The Studio” (Apple TV+)

Best drama: “The Pitt”

Best movie/miniseries/special: “Adolescence” (Netflix)

Best new program: “The Pitt”

Individual achievement in drama: Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”

Individual achievement in comedy: Bridget Everett, “Somebody Somewhere” (HBO)

Outstanding achievement in news/information: “Pee-Wee as Himself” (HBO)

Outstanding achievement in variety/talk/sketch: “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” (NBC)

Best reality: “The Traitors” (Peacock)

Best family programming: “Doctor Who” (Disney+)

Best childrens programming: “Sesame Street” (HBO)

Career achievement award: Kathy Bates

Heritage award: “Sesame Street”

TCA is comprised of 235 professional journalists, this columnist included, who cover TV in the United States and Canada. 2025 marks the 41st year of the TCA Awards.

‘A Different Breed’

Greensburg dog trainer Britney Imhof and her Miniature American Shepherd, Witcher, are featured in the third episode of Amazon Prime Video’s “A Different Breed,” where Imhof describes Witcher as “smart in a Ken sorta way.”

“You know Barbie and Ken?” Imhof said in a phone interview Tuesday evening. “We always say Witcher’s job is beach [like in the 2023 ‘Barbie’ movie]. He’s not dumb, but he’s just blond sometimes.”

“A Different Breed,” which began streaming Tuesday, offers a deep dive into the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge, including the agility competition Witcher participates in. The competition was held in Clearwater, Fla., in March 2024 and coverage aired on ESPN in July 2024.

Imhof said “A Different Breed” offers a deeper dive than just the competition coverage on ESPN.

“This was a lot more personable,” Imhof said. “It’s more than just the athletic component. They wanted to know the stories behind each trainer and each dog. … I think they were trying to show how dog sports can be accessible to everyone in any walk of life and bringing attention to the stories of the people and dogs behind it.”

Imhof said a production crew from “A Different Breed” flew into Pittsburgh and drove out to her home to film in April 2024, after the competition, interviewing her and eliciting answers that made it sound like the interview took place before the competition, a common practice in reality TV production.

Witcher, who’s named after the Netflix series of the same name, was 2 at the time of the competition. He followed in the paw tracks of Imhof’s older dog, Bilbo Baggins, named after the “The Hobbit” character, who appeared on ESPN’s Incredible Dog Challenge coverage in 2022 and won the 2022 12-inch agility competition at the Westminster Kennel Club show. That’s how Imhof first got to know the production crew that eventually made “A Different Breed.”

Imhof, who graduated from Virginia Tech after studying wildlife management and biology, worked at the Milwaukee Zoo and Aquarium of Niagara before moving to Greensburg.

“You have one of the top dog agility facilities out near Latrobe,” Imhof said. “We moved to be closer to that.”

Steelers player featured

Amazon Prime Video’s “The Home Team: NY Jets,” covering the team’s 2024 season, prominently features Pittsburgh safety Chuck Clark before he became a Steeler.

The six-part docu-series premieres Thursday, in advance of the Steelers’ season opening game against the Jets on Sept. 7.

‘Kingstown’ trailer

Paramount+ released the first trailer for season four of filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Mayor of Kingstown,” which features star Jeremy Renner going toe-to-toe against new cast member Edie Falco (“The Sopranos”).

The new season streams Oct. 26.

Channel surfing

Derek Hough (“Dancing with the Stars”) will be the new host of syndicated news magazine “Extra,” replacing Billy Bush. … NBC ordered a civilian (e.g. regular people, not celebrities) version of Peacock’s Alan Cumming-hosted “The Traitors.” … Former Pittsburgher Tim Federle is showrunner on an upcoming Disney Channel/Disney+ live-action, single-camera series for 2026, “Coven Academy.” … FX’s “Alien: Earth” scared up 9.2 million views globally across FX, Hulu and Disney+ in its first six days of release. … Netflix summer anime hit “K-Pop Demon Hunters” will have a two-day-only, sing-along theatrical release in several local theaters Aug. 23 and 24. Visit https://singkpopdemonhunters.com/ for tickets. … CBS daytime soap “Beyond the Gates” is now streaming on Pluto TV with new episodes arriving on the free, ad-supported streamer eight days after they air on CBS. … Netflix renewed “Dept. Q” for a second season. … National foundations will team to offer emergency funds to PBS and NPR stations that were defunded by the federal government. Initial funding will be aimed at the most at-risk public radio and TV stations, those that received 30 percent or more of their funding from the feds, mostly smaller, rural outlets.