TV Talk: WTAE-TV's Kasey Reigner announces exit

WTAE-TV weekend morning meteorologist Kasey Reigner, who joined the station two years ago, posted to her social media accounts Thursday that she chose not to re-up with the station and will depart Channel 4 on Nov. 30.

Reigner, who became the fifth member of the WTAE weather team when she was hired, didn’t explain her decision beyond that she is “exploring new opportunities at this time.” Reigner said she was not available for an interview.

A native of Franklin, Pa., who lived in Oil City before growing up mostly outside Chicago, Reigner said she’s not leaving Pittsburgh.

“My Pittsburgh born and raised fiancé has convinced me to stay and start our lives together here, but the truth is it didn’t take much convincing,” Reigner wrote. “It didn’t take long for this Chicago girl to fall in love with the Steel City. While I will always consider Chicago home, I now call Pittsburgh home!”

Reigner majored in meteorology and atmospheric sciences at Penn State, graduating in May 2020. She previously worked at TV stations in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and was a forecaster at WAND-TV in Decatur, Ill.

Following Reigner’s hiring at WTAE, KDKA-TV added a fifth meteorologist. WPXI has a roster of four forecasters. It’s unclear if Channel 4 will maintain its five-person weather team; WTAE news director Jim Parsons did not respond to a query about the station’s plans.

Channel surfing

Apple TV+’s “Masters of the Air,” a World War II-set companion series to “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific,” showed off its first trailer in advance of its Jan. 26, 2023, premiere. … Netflix’s live-action “Avatar: The Last Airbender” will premiere Feb. 22, 2024. … Starz ordered a “Spartacus” sequel series, “Spartacus: House of Ashur” with returning cast member Nick Tarabay reprising his role as Ashur from the 2010-13 premium cable series. … All 20 episodes of former Paramount+ animated series “Star Trek: Prodigy” will stream on Netflix Dec. 25 with season two launching on Netflix sometime in 2024.