Rob Owen stories, Page 29
Charleroi native, CMU grad actress Barbara Bosson dead at 83
Actress Barbara Bosson, a Charleroi native raised in Belle Vernon, died Saturday in Los Angeles. The 83-year-old actress was best known for her roles on ex-husband Steven Bochco’s series, including as Fay Furillo on “Hill Street Blues,” a performance that earned her multiple prime-time Emmy nominations. In 1983, Bosson, Bochco...
TV Q&A: Why do TV stations send reporters into harm’s way?
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: For the longest time, I’ve thought that it is wrong for local news channels to possibly put field reporters in harm’s way (e.g. near an...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking animated NHL game, prospect of pay-per-view Super Bowl, sports stars as ‘SNL’ hosts
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss pop culture news of the moment, including the a suggestion that the Super Bowl could become a pay-per-view TV event in the future. Benz and Owen also discuss NFL quarterback Travis Kelce...
TV Talk: NBC revives CBS’s canceled ‘Magnum P.I.’ rebootVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. PASADENA, Calif. — Not every canceled series gets a second chance, but when CBS axed “Magnum P.I.” in May after four seasons, production company NBCUniversal looked to reverse the show’s misfortune. “The effort to find...
TV Talk: ‘Picard’ gives ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ a fond, fan-friendly farewellVideo
Fans of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” who were disappointed in Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Picard” should come back to the series for its third and final season. Now streaming new episodes weekly on Thursday, “Picard” finally becomes the “Next Generation” follow-up most fans always wanted to see. Characters from seasons...
TV Q&A: What happened to Steinberg in those Steidl & Steinberg commercials?Video
Q: Question about long-standing Pittsburgh commercials for Steidl & Steinberg. Ken Steidl has been on his law firm’s TV ads right along, but his pony-tailed partner, Kenny Steinberg, has been a no-show in recent viewings. Please enlighten me as to Mr. Steinberg’s status. — Jim, via email Rob: A check...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Super Bowl commercials, local ‘Next Level Chef’ contestant, Warren Beatty’s ‘Dick Tracy’ reduxVideo
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including the return of Pittsburgh native Michael Keaton in “The Flash” trailer and how a Munhall woman competing on Fox’s “Next Level Chef” got sent...
Preview a portion of Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic UniverseVideo
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – Universal Orlando Resort is building its fourth theme park, Epic Universe, to join Universal Studios Florida, Universal’s Islands of Adventure and water park Volcano Bay. Although Universal executives have yet to share many details about this fourth park, one section under construction already displays a similar...
TV Talk: How to watch the Super Bowl without cable
Whether you’re tuning in for the commercials or because you actually want to see who wins in the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles matchup, there are plenty of ways to catch Fox’s presentation of “Super Bowl LVII” (6:30 p.m. Sunday) even if you have cut the cable cord. The...
TV Talk: Pittsburgher competes on post-Super Bowl premiere of ‘Next Level Chef’Video
When Munhall’s Kamahlai Stewart was contacted by a producer for Fox’s “Next Level Chef” in early 2022 via her Instagram page, Stewart thought it was a prank. “We’re going on Gordon Ramsay’s show? Like, get out of here,” she said. Once she realized the contact was legit, Stewart filled out...
TV Q&A: What happened to 2 ‘NewsHour’ regulars?
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: For as long as I’ve been watching “PBS NewsHour” they have had a regular weekly feature, “Political Stakes” with Tamara Keith of NPR and Amy...
TV Talk: Why do Super Bowl ads feel less super these days?Video
Fox sold out its “Super Bowl LVII” commercial inventory with some spots going for $7 million for 30-seconds of ad time, but with many companies releasing their spots in advance of the big game, have the ads become less of an event if you can watch them days before Sunday’s...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Pittsburgh as a football town, Bruce Campbell’s upcoming visit, ‘Cunk on Earth’Video
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including how Pittsburgh ranks as a football town in a Wallet Hub survey, Super Bowl preparations, Twitter reactions and a possible Tony Romo intervention. Benz...
TV Talk: Mt. Lebanon native Joe Manganiello surprised in PBS’s ‘Finding Your Roots’
Actor Joe Manganiello, a 1995 graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School and a 2000 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s acting program who was most recently seen in the now-canceled AMC+ series “Moonhaven,” gets some surprises when his family history is revealed by Henry Louis Gates Jr. on PBS’s “Finding Your...
TV Talk: Former Pittsburgher profiled in ‘Murf the Surf;’ ‘Titanic’ turns 25Video
While the story of “Murf the Surf” runs through Pittsburgh, the four-part docu-series devotes little attention to Murf’s time in Western Pennsylvania. That might make sense if there was a lot of other story to tell, but it turns out to be a generally overlong, unsatisfying program. “Murf the Surf:...
TV Q&A: Is a morning anchor team coordinating their wardrobes?
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: It is my imagination or are the KDKA-TV morning anchors color-coordinating their outfits? I’m referring to the whole team: Lindsay, David, John and Ron. The...
TV Talk: WQED-TV remakes daytime schedule; Pittsburgher competes on MTV’s ‘Are You the One?’Video
Pittsburgh’s PBS station WQED-TV will overhaul its daytime schedule Feb. 6, removing children’s programming from 2-6 p.m. weekdays and replacing it with reruns of programs normally seen in PBS’s prime time. The station is calling it “Prime Time on Your Time” with each day of the week dedicated to a...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Pittsburgh native on ‘The Bachelor,’ Super Bowl prequel ads, Sunday’s ‘Last of Us’
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including a Pittsburgh native seen briefly on ABC’s “The Bachelor” and Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward in a Super Bowl teaser. The pair also discuss...
TV Talk: ‘Gilmore Girls’ veteran proves the MVP of ‘The Watchful Eye’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Teen-targeted TV has largely moved to online streaming — see: Amazon Prime Video’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” — because that’s where teens are consuming entertainment. Surely the fact that Freeform’s “The Watchful Eye” will...
TV Talk: ‘Poker Face’ gives ‘Columbo’ vibe; WPXI-TV reporter exitsVideo
PASADENA, Calif. — Miss “Columbo?” Then you might appreciate Peacock’s “Poker Face,” a modern take on the episodic detective show that’s less whodunnit (that’s shown in the opening scene of each episode) and more “howcatchem,” as premiere episode writer/director Rian Johnson (“Knives Out”) calls the show’s formula of starting with...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh native talks about her exit from ‘The Bachelor;’ ‘The Ark,’ ‘Wolf Pack’ premiereVideo
Pittsburgh native Cara Ammon made her debut and her exit on Monday’s season premiere of ABC’s “The Bachelor.” Ammon got little screen time and then she didn’t secure a rose that would have kept her on the reality competition. She wasn’t the woman who made bachelor Zach Shallcross guzzle maple...
TV Q&A: Why was there an exclamation mark on the door of ‘The Golden Girls’ home?
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’ve been watching reruns of “The Golden Girls” and noticed on the inside of the front door there is an exclamation point. Does this mean...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘Pradeeps,’ filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘American Rust’
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including Pittsburgh-set but Toronto-filmed “Pradeeps of Pittsburgh” and locally-filmed “American Rust” and “Justified: City Primeval.” Owen also talks about the end of the winter 2023...
TV Talk: ‘How I Met Your Father’ returns with more romantic complicationsVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Sometimes it’s easy to get a recurring guest star back. For “How I Met Your Father” (Hulu’s sequel series to the 2005-14 “How I Met Your Mother”), recurring guest star Josh Peck...
TV Talk: Fox tries to woo true crime fans with ‘Accused,’ including Billy Porter-directed episodeVideo
Ever since Fox announced the anthology series “Accused,” a one-hour drama that each week introduces a new story and new characters caught up in a criminal legal case, I’ve pondered why Fox wanted this series. While season-long anthology series have thrived in recent years – think: “American Horror Story,” “American...
