Rob Owen stories, Page 11
TV Talk: ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ seeks season 4 extras
Paramount+ still hasn’t made an official announcement that “Mayor of Kingstown” has been renewed for a fourth season, but it’s clear the show will be back and a decision was made in the affirmative behind the scenes, given that a production office opened for the filmed-in-Pittsburgh series last month. Now...
TV Talk: Amazon’s ‘The Sticky’ has its moments, doesn’t entirely stick the landingVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. There’s a welcome efficiency to “The Sticky,” Amazon Prime Video’s story of a Canadian maple syrup heist that tells its story in six tightly constructed 30-minute episodes, yet its reach exceeds its grasp as it...
TV Q&A: Who will replace David Johnson on WPXI?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions weekly at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: Who replaces David Johnson as the main anchor at WPXI? — Mike, Beaver Rob: I noted in the story about Johnson’s retirement last month that Channel...
TV Talk: ‘Skeleton Crew’ charts younger ‘Star Wars’ courseVideo
Disney+ has churned out “Star Wars” series for five years now, sometimes winning with audiences (“The Mandalorian”), surprising critics (“Andor”) and occasionally polarizing fans (“The Acolyte”). “Skeleton Crew” probably leans more toward “The Acolyte” because it’s wholly disconnected from the long-established elements of the “Star Wars” saga, unlike “Obi Wan...
TV Talk: Steelers get ‘Hard Knocks’ treatment on HBOVideo
Keith Cossrow, a 1993 Mt. Lebanon High School grad who’s vice president and head of content at NFL Films, said getting the Steelers on HBO’s long-running NFL docuseries “Hard Knocks” (9 tonight, HBO and Max) was a matter of finding the right format. In the past, “Hard Knocks” has done...
TV Talk: From ‘Blue Bloods’ to ‘Bluey’ to ‘Seinfeld,’ there are plenty of gift ideas for TV fans
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers gift-giving ideas for the TV fan in your life. Seeking a Christmas or holiday present for the TV fan in your life? This guide to new TV-themed gifts offers ideas by series titles: “Blue Bloods” will end Dec. 13, but fans can...
TV Talk: Hallmark courts NFL fans, Swifties with ‘Touchdown;’ ‘The Agency’ stunsVideo
PASADENA, Calif. — The road to Hallmark Channel’s Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce romance-inspired “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” (8 p.m. Saturday) began in January when the Kansas City Chiefs posted a Hallmark movie parody trailer that starred Tyler Hynes, who’s now also the star of “Holiday Touchdown” with Hunter King...
TV Q&A: Where do TV stations get their filler news stories?
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: In a previous article you explained that the reason KDKA (and to a slightly lesser extent WTAE) mix in 3½ hours of filler material with...
TV Talk: Netflix delivers Christmas Day Steelers game; new Tamburitzans special on WQED-TVVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers local viewing tips for the holiday season. As the number of locally produced holiday specials continues to dwindle, Netflix enters the fray to gift Steelers fans nationwide by streaming the Steelers game (against the Chiefs) from Acrisure Stadium at 1 p.m. on...
TV Talk: ‘The Pitt’ to premiere in January on Max
Max announced its Pittsburgh-set, Noah Wyle-starring medical drama “The Pitt” will premiere on the streaming service in January. That’s a little bit of a surprise given that the 15-episode first season won’t wrap production until February, suggesting, perhaps, that the first season will debut in two batches of episodes. Or,...
TV Talk: ‘Pradeeps’ stars visit Penguins game; more ‘Kingstown;’ ‘Man on the Inside,’ ‘Cruel Intentions’ debut
It’s been about a month since “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh” premiered on Amazon’s Prime Video, and this weekend two of the show’s stars will be in town for an appearance at Saturday’s Penguins game against Utah Hockey Club (7 p.m. PPG Paints Arena). Ashwin Sakthivel, who plays Vinod, the garbage...
TV Talk: KDKA-TV’s Jon Delano retires
After 30 years as KDKA-TV’s political analyst and 23 years as the station’s full-time money and politics editor, Jon Delano will retire from the station Dec. 1, with his last day on-air next Monday. “I have always said that you should retire when you’re at the top of your game,...
TV Q&A: How did a reporter’s hairstyle change so quickly?
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: I noticed a while back that all of a sudden Trisha Pittman’s hair was longer than the day before. Has she been wearing a wig?...
TV Talk: Netflix’s ‘Spellbound’ seeks to cast a spell on viewersVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Netflix’s new animated musical “Spellbound” introduces a soundtrack of songs by Alan Menken (“The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast”) and Glenn Slater (“Tangled”) in a tale that emphasizes the need to accept change. Ellian...
TV Talk: ‘Landman’ marks Taylor Sheridan’s best series yetVideo
“Landman,” streaming Sunday on Paramount+, is Taylor Sheridan’s best series yet. It’s even more entertaining than “Yellowstone.” Partly that’s the perfect match of actor and material — Billy Bob Thornton was born to play oil company fixer Tommy Norris. But it’s also the subject matter — West Texas oil, but...
TV Talk: WTAE announces new weekend morning anchor
WTAE general assignment reporter Lily Coleman will become the station’s new weekend morning news anchor effective Nov. 23. Coleman, who reported weekday mornings before most recently filling in as morning traffic/noon anchor while Elena LaQuatra has been on maternity leave (LaQuatra will be back to work next week), has also...
TV Q&A: Why do stations cover high school football from the end zone?
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: One thing I’ve always wondered when watching highlights of high school football games — on really all the local news channels — is that they...
TV Talk: David Johnson retires from WPXI after 40 years
WPXI announced that veteran news anchor David Johnson, 67, will retire from Channel 11 effective Dec. 13. Johnson, who joined the station in January 1985, currently anchors the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts on WPXI and the 6:30 and 10 p.m. news on WPGH-TV, Pittsburgh’s Fox affiliate. “As I...
TV Talk: CMU grad, ‘Pretty Little Liars’ alum stars in Christmas programsVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. PASADENA, Calif. — Actor Ian Harding graduated from Carnegie Mellon University’s acting program in 2010 and didn’t have to pay his dues waiting tables, as many actors do. Instead, he was almost immediately cast in...
TV Talk: More smiles than laughs from ‘St. Denis;’ Pittsburgh’s Nielsen rank ticks upVideo
NBC’s “St. Denis Medical” (8 p.m. Nov. 12) has a great cast — Wendi McLendon-Covey, Allison Tolman, David Alan Grier — but this mockumentary set at a bland Oregon hospital is more “American Auto” than “The Office” or “Parks and Recreation.” “St. Denis” will conjure a smile but it doesn’t...
TV Q&A: How does ‘Yellowstone’ get away with more profanity than other TV shows?
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: Why does “Yellowstone” seem to have a different foul-language barrier than other TV shows? — Steve, Titusville Rob: I suspect if you compared “Yellowstone” episodes...
TV Talk: Netflix’s ‘Piano Lesson’ director seeks to honor Hill District, August WilsonVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming month. ^ The second Pittsburgh-set film-with-an-exorcism of 2024 arrives this month with Netflix’s adaptation of Pittsburgh native August Wilson’s play “The Piano Lesson,” playing at Waterworks Cinema Friday and streaming Nov. 22 on Netflix. Unlike Netflix’s...
TV Talk: Networks warn viewers before airing some political ads
In recent weeks, particularly during sporting events and news broadcasts, broadcast TV outlets have aired content warnings before televising political ads that carry anti-trans messaging and in front of ads with graphic images for a little-known anti-abortion presidential candidate. “The following political advertisement contains graphic images that may disturb viewers,”...
TV Talk: ‘The Diplomat’ is Netflix’s best ongoing dramaVideo
Netflix stated a goal of creating TV shows that are like “gourmet cheeseburgers,” but those patties often come off the grill more McDonald’s and less Five Guys. However, returning drama “The Diplomat” is that Netflix rarity: A great show. Now streaming all six episodes of its second season, “The Diplomat”...
TV Q&A: Who’s the new forecaster on KDKA-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: Who’s the new weatherman on KDKA-TV? — Ed, Oil City Rob: With the TV season now back in full swing, it’s unsurprising that some folks...
