Rob Owen stories, Page 12
TV Talk: Disney replays a past hit with ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. The reboots come quicker after the original than ever these days, with a sequel series to 2007-12 Disney Channel tween hit “Wizards of Waverly Place,” now called “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place,” debuting this week (two...
TV Talk: German leader reimagined as detective; ‘Pradeeps’ fact-checkedVideo
For the sheer novelty, it’s hard to beat the oddity that is “Miss Merkel,” a two-episode foreign series that imagines former German chancellor Angela Merkel as a Jessica Fletcher-like amateur detective. Now streaming on indie service MHz Choice, the German-language “Miss Merkel” (with English subtitles) stars veteran German actress Katharina...
TV Q&A: Did a WPXI reporter exit?
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 think WPXI-TV’s Lonni Rivera is a freelancer, but I haven’t seen her in quite a while. Is she on vacation or maybe I am...
TV Talk: Recent books go behind the scenes of ‘West Wing,’ ‘Sopranos,’ ‘Gilmore Girls,’ ‘thirtysomething,’ ‘Golden Girls’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers reading tips for recent books about TV. One of the best aspects of writing about TV is the opportunity to occasionally visit the sets of shows to gather insider intel. A raft of recent books about the industry take readers behind the...
TV Talk: Michael Keaton on ‘SNL,’ ‘Sunday Night Football’ this weekendVideo
Pittsburgh native Michael Keaton will make multiple appearances on NBC this weekend, beginning with hosting “Saturday Night Live” (11:30 p.m. Saturday, WPXI-TV) and continuing Sunday as part of the cinematic opening sequence (around 8:17 p.m. Sunday) for the New York Jets-Pittsburgh Steelers game on “Sunday Night Football” (coverage starts at...
TV Talk: Harris enters Fox News’ lion’s den; NFL family drama planned
Vice President Kamala Harris tangled with Fox News anchor Bret Baier from the earliest moments of their interview Wednesday evening. As Harris tried to answer Baier’s first question, he kept interrupting her before she had time to complete three full sentences. And so it went throughout the almost 30-minute interview,...
TV Talk: CBS slots Pittsburgh-set ‘Watson’
CBS’s Pittsburgh-set medical-investigative drama, “Watson,” will debut at 10 p.m. Jan. 26 following CBS’s coverage of the NFL’s AFC Championship Game (start time is approximate after post-game coverage). Actor Morris Chestnut stars as Dr. John Watson, who, a year after the death of best friend Sherlock Holmes, resumes his medical...
TV Talk: What to know about Kamala Harris’ interview on Fox News
Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is set to appear on Fox News Channel tonight. While Democrats do appear on Republican-leaning Fox News — especially frequent Democratic surrogate U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — they’re not in abundance, and a Democratic presidential nominee on Fox airwaves is rarer...
TV Q&A: What happened to WPXI’s Pete DeLuca?
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 are there no male news reporters on Channel 11 anymore? What happened to Pete DeLuca? — Cathy, Blairsville Rob: I think WPXI’s Rick Earle,...
TV Talk: Comedic gem ‘Pradeeps of Pittsburgh’ premieresVideo
Although it filmed in Toronto, don’t hold that against “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh,” a genuinely smart, funny, entertaining and timely comedy that streams all eight first-season episodes Thursday on Amazon’s Prime Video and on Amazon Freevee. Created by writer Vijal Patel (“The Middle,” “Black-ish”), who grew up partially in Monroeville,...
TV Talk: 2 Western Pennsylvanians compete on NBC’s ‘The Voice;’ ‘Georgie’ debutsVideo
The new season of NBC’s “The Voice” (8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, WPXI-TV) features two contestants with Western Pennsylvania ties, including 2021 “American Idol” contestant Sloane Simon, a 2023 Fox Chapel Area High School grad who’s now a sophomore studying music in the Clive Davis Institute at New York University....
TV Talk: Gibbs gets prequel treatment in ‘NCIS: Origins’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Set in 1991 when the precursor to NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) takes up offices in repurposed World War II barracks at Camp Pendleton, the first thing one notices on the set of...
TV Talk: Mister Rogers helps inspire Hulu horror film; ‘Caddo Lake’ debuts on MaxVideo
The Pittsburgh-filmed “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” has seen its share of parodies, most notably Eddie Murphy as Mister Robinson on “Saturday Night Live.” PBS’s classic children’s show also served as one of the inspirations for a new horror film, “Mr. Crocket,” streaming Oct. 11 on Hulu. In 1993, when parents play...
TV Q&A: Did KDKA-TV debut a new set?
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: When Jon Delano interviewed Kamala Harris on Oct. 1, it looked like he was on a different set. I do not remember seeing that screen...
TV Talk: When is a reboot not a reboot? When it’s CBS’s ‘Matlock’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Note: This column contains spoilers for the premiere episode of CBS’s “Matlock” that aired last month. HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Despite perpetual mocking, with Grandpa Simpson wailing “Matlock!” in “The Simpsons” episodes from the late 1980s/early...
TV Talk: Ming-Na Wen has more ‘Gremlins’ adventures; WTAE reporter exitsVideo
Before we talked about the second season of Max’s animated “Gremlins” series, there was a local matter to discuss with actress Ming-Na Wen: Her family’s business, Chinatown Inn (owned by her brother, Jonathan Yee), is the latest model added to Carnegie Science Center’s Miniature Railroad & Village. “It is so...
TV Q&A: Will WTAE hire a new weekend morning anchor?
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: Is WTAE-TV still looking for a weekend morning news anchor? — William, via email Rob: Following the July departure of weekend morning anchor Tom Garris,...
TV Talk: Fred Rogers Productions’ ‘Odd Squad’ relocates to UKVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Pittsburgh-based Fred Rogers Productions’ “Odd Squad” celebrates its 10th anniversary this month with the release of its fourth season, its first to film outside North America as a co-production between Toronto-based Sinking Ship Entertainment and...
TV Talk: Need a feel-good show? ‘Colin from Accounts’ fits the billVideo
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Every now and then a feel-good series comes along and becomes part of the cultural conversation. That’s more difficult to achieve than ever in this post-monoculture era with hundreds of scripted shows vying for viewers’ attention. But Paramount+’s “Colin from Accounts” deserves the same accolades once heaped...
TV Q&A: Did CBS cancel ‘Blue Bloods’ because the family prays before dinner?
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 are they taking “Blue Bloods” off the air? I don’t believe their ratings suddenly fell. I think it’s because they prayed on every episode!...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh native Zachary Quinto returns to primetime in ‘Brilliant Minds’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. PASADENA, Calif. – Pittsburgh native Zachary Quinto first hit it big in primetime on NBC when he played the villain on “Heroes.” This week he’s back on NBC, starring in new medical drama “Brilliant Minds”...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh-set Hallmark movie depicts local Alzheimer’s walk, namechecks local landmarks
Natalie (Ashley Williams) relocates to Pittsburgh in Hallmark Channel’s Pittsburgh-set “Falling Together” (8 p.m. Saturday, World Alzheimer’s Day), which features Natalie falling for her apartment building’s standoffish superintendent (Paul Campbell, “Battlestar Galactica”) and volunteering with the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s. One of the film’s executive producers, Neal Dodson, pushed...
TV Talk: ‘Sopranos’ meets ‘Batman’ in ‘The Penguin’; Agatha back on Disney+Video
As a sufferer of superhero fatigue, I skipped the 2022 Robert Pattinson-starring “The Batman” and had no real interest in HBO’s “The Penguin” (9 p.m. today, HBO and Max). But once I started watching “The Penguin,” it was hard to stop. Events of “The Batman” get a recap at the...
TV Talk: Amazon announces ‘Pradeeps of Pittsburgh’ premiere dateVideo
Originally ordered as an Amazon Freevee series, when Pittsburgh-set “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh” debuts all eight episodes Oct. 17 the show will stream on both Freevee and Amazon’s Prime Video. Filmed last summer in Toronto, the half-hour comedy series was created by Vijal Patel (“Schooled,” “Black-ish”) and inspired by his...
TV Q&A: Does KDKA-TV have another new sportscaster?
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: Does Suzie Cool now work for KDKA-TV? She reports on their high school and college football broadcasts, Nightly Sports Call and she is a co-host...
