TV Talk: Verzsyla to weekends, Hutton to weekdays at WTAE

WTAE will shake up its forecaster assignments, moving weekend evening meteorologist Brian Hutton Jr. to noon and 4 p.m. weekdays beginning Sept. 1. Jeff Verszyla, who had been working that weekday shift, relocates to weekend evenings (and subbing weekdays).

“Brian has been a steady voice for our viewers during severe weather, sharing critical updates with expertise and compassion,” WTAE news director Baylor Long said in a prepared statement. “His commitment to delivering clear, impactful weather information through innovative forecasting has truly set him apart. We are confident his new role will allow him to connect with even more of Western Pennsylvania on TV and digital platforms.”

Long declined to comment further.

Hutton joined WTAE in early 2021 and originally worked the weekend morning shift.

Verszyla came to WTAE in 2020, initially as a freelance fill-in forecaster before he got hired to provide forecasts on weekend evenings in October 2020. When Channel 4 added a 4 p.m. newscast in July 2021, the station moved Verszyla to that weekday assignment.

Verszyla came to WTAE after a 23-year stint at KDKA-TV, which let him go in late 2018. Verszyla declined to comment on his re-assignment at WTAE.

At noon, Hutton will work alongside anchor Elena LaQuatra. At 4 p.m., Hutton will join anchors Kelly Sasso and Andrew Stockey.

ESPN doc with local tie

Hermitage’s Patrick Chovan co-owns Campobasso FC, a football (re: soccer) club in Southern Italy, with about a dozen co-owners, including daytime TV hosts Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa.

Ripa and Consuelos get profiled in “Running with the Wolves,” a docu-series that aired its first two episodes Tuesday night (those episodes are now streaming on ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+). Episodes three and four will air 7-8 p.m. Thursday, July 31.

‘Watson’ casts Holmes

TV series plans can sometimes be fluid.

Last November, when I visited the set of Pittsburgh-set “Watson” in Vancouver, Canada, Pittsburgh native showrunner Craig Sweeny told me there were no plans for Sherlock Holmes, who is believed to be dead in “Watson,” to be revealed to be alive until possibly the end of the series’ run.

But this week, actor Robert Carlyle (“The Full Monty”) was cast as Sherlock Holmes in season two of “Watson.”

Per CBS’s description, “With his eyes fixed on the future, Watson faces an unexpected twist when Sherlock Holmes, who was presumed dead, resurfaces, forcing him to confront a buried secret from his past — one that lies hidden within his own body.”

PBS cuts begin

In addition to this week’s local layoffs at WQED, last week PBS station WGBH in Boston announced it will lay off 13 staff members from PBS series “American Experience” and pause production on new episodes, airing only reruns in 2026, due to Congress’ decision to claw back $1.1 billion in funding previously allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which disburses funds to PBS, NPR and their member stations.

Channel surfing

CBS ordered a pilot from Joe Wiseman and Altoona native Joe Port, creators of the CBS hit “Ghosts.” The proposed comedy series centers on two vampires who have been married for 500 years and their reaction to their daughter dating a human.” … Disney+’s four-episode animated series “Eye of Wakanda” now debuts Aug. 1. … No new “South Park” episode tonight but there will be one next week. … Commentator Shannon Sharpe won’t return to ESPN after settling a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault brought by an ex-girlfriend, per Variety.