Rob Owen stories, Page 30
TV Talk: Amazon Freevee orders ‘Pradeeps of Pittsburgh’ comedy series
“The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh” is coming to Amazon Freevee – but not to Pittsburgh. The eight-episode, half-hour comedy series will film in Toronto. The show, created by Vijal Patel (“Schooled,” “black-ish”) and inspired by his personal experience growing up in Pittsburgh, has been in development since at least May 2021....
TV Talk at TCA: ‘Kindred Spirits’ visits Western Pa.
You can tell the popularity of ghost-hunting TV series remains high because Travel Channel visited the same Western Pennsylvania property twice in two years. “Destination Fear” visited the Greene County Almshouse (AKA the Greene County Historical Society) for an August 2021 episode and now “Kindred Spirits” kicks off a new...
TV Talk at TCA: ‘American Rust’ actor talks season 2; PBS CEO on WQED’s search for new leaderVideo
PASADENA, Calif. – Before co-starring in filmed-in-Pittsburgh “American Rust,” actor Rob Yang was a series regular on the first two seasons of HBO’s “Succession” and since “Rust,” he’s filmed a pivotal role in Paramount+’s upcoming Kiefer Sutherland thriller “Rabbit Hole” (March 26). Yang was at the Television Critics Association winter...
TV Q&A: Will ‘Hometown High Q’ ever return to the studio?
Question: Will KDKA-TV’s “Hometown High Q” ever return to the studio? — Dave, via email Rob: My understanding is if “Hometown High Q,” currently hosted by Ray Petelin, returns to the studio, it won’t be until the 2023-24 TV season at the earliest — and maybe not even then. Some...
TV Talk at TCA: How ‘Justified: City Primeval’ ended up back in Western Pa.Video
PASADENA, Calif. – FX’s “Justified” (2010-15) filmed its pilot episode in Western Pennsylvania back in 2009 before production on the subsequent episodes shifted to Southern California. For the sequel series, “Justified: City Primeval,” premiering on FX this summer, the show is set in Detroit and primarily filmed in Chicago with...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Mayor of Kingstown,’ Steelers local ratings, ‘The 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 filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Mayor of Kingstown” and star Jeremy Renner’s recovery and NFL local market ratings, including the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Owen discusses what it was...
TV Talk: Behind the scenes at Critics Choice Awards
CENTURY CITY, Calif. — Sure, on TV the stars look glamorous in their bespoke wardrobes, but what’s it like to attend a televised awards show? As a journalist who covers TV/streaming, I’ve not yet made it into the room where it happens, but I have made it into the next...
TV Talk at TCA: More TV series than ever, more challenges than ever destabilize entertainment industryVideo
PASADENA, Calif. – The entertainment business is in turmoil, particularly in TV and streaming. On the TV side, ratings for linear – broadcast and cable – continue an inexorable decline. For streaming, viewing is on the rise but profits remain scarce due to exorbitant programming costs. Those challenges impact companies...
TV Talk: Filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ debuts 2nd seasonVideo
PASADENA, Calif. – Paramount+ series “Mayor of Kingstown” filmed its second season in Pittsburgh, and viewers can see the results when season two begins streaming episodes weekly Sunday. My first impression: Kingstown, Mich., has a lot more bridges in season two than it had in season one, which filmed in...
TV Talk at TCA: Conceived-in-Pittsburgh video game ‘The Last of Us’ becomes excellent HBO seriesVideo
PASADENA, Calif. – After finally moving on from the original “Walking Dead,” which ended its run late in 2022 (though there will apparently be spin-offs ad infinitum), the last thing I was looking forward to was HBO’s “The Last of Us” (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO, HBO Max), a dramatic series...
TV Talk: Bryan Cranston aims to rebuild his ‘Your Honor’ character in season 2Video
Showtime’s “Your Honor” was not my favorite series — excruciating in its details about a fatal accident, eyeroll-inducing with every self-defeating decision that made a bad situation immeasurably worse. But viewers disagreed, making “Your Honor” Showtime’s most-watched series premiere ever at the time (it later got upstaged by “Dexter: New...
TV Q&A: Who’s the new KDKA-TV reporter?
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: Please provide information about the new KDKA-TV reporter Lauren Linder. I am impressed by the quality of her reporting. — Elaine, via email Rob: Per...
TV Talk: Return of the Golden Globes proves a Hollywood insider’s affairVideo
After a one-year absence because of bad behavior — a diversity and ethics scandal — the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes were back on NBC in a one-year deal that relegated the Globes to a downgraded Tuesday night instead of its usual Sunday prestige spot. On the TV side,...
TV Talk at TCA: Amanda Peet talks Pittsburgh-filmed ‘The Chair,’ new ‘Fatal Attraction’ series
PASADENA, Calif. – Although Netflix’s filmed-in-Pittsburgh “The Chair” was billed as a “limited series,” that term is flexible enough to be somewhat meaningless. HBO’s “The White Lotus” was a limited series until it wasn’t. When “The Chair” premiered on Netflix in August 2021, it received generally positive reviews and appeared...
TV Talk at TCA: ‘Star Trek: Picard’ reunites ‘Next Generation’ castVideo
PASADENA, Calif. – For the first day of the Television Critics Association winter 2023 press tour – the first in-person, masks-required event since January 2020 because of the covid-19 pandemic – Paramount+ touted its upcoming programs, many with familiar titles (“Fatal Attraction,” “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies,” “Star Trek:...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘A Man Called Otto,’ ESPN’s Damar Hamlin coverage
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 ESPN’s coverage of the Damar Hamlin medical emergency during “Monday Night Football” last week. The pair also discuss filmed-in-Pittsburgh Netflix movie “The Pale Blue...
TV Talk: WQED debuts story of 1st Pittsburgh ambulance service
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. WQED-TV producer Annette Banks kept running into the same reaction as she researched the station’s latest half-hour documentary production: “How have I never heard of this?” Sure, there have been newspaper accounts and an NPR...
TV Talk: Avoid ‘Alert;’ KDKA-TV’s Bob Pompeani honoredVideo
It’s a given at this point in TV history that broadcast networks have given up on sophisticated storytelling in favor of procedural dramas of varying quality. But 2023 begins with one of the most unbelievable procedurals we’ve seen in a while. Fox’s missing persons drama “Alert” (Sunday after “NFL on...
TV Talk: New season of ‘The Bachelor’ features Pittsburgher
Cara Ammon, a 27-year-old recruiter originally from Pittsburgh, will be among the 30 contestants on the upcoming 27th season of ABC’s “The Bachelor” (8-10 p.m. Jan. 23, WTAE-TV) competing for the affection of bachelor Zach Shallcross. ABC’s bio for Ammon says she works in an office in New York City,...
TV Q&A: Are local TV news staffs shrinking?
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 seems each local TV station is adding a new young reporter monthly. Are the news staffs larger or smaller than they were a few...
TV Talk: Christian Bale, Scott Cooper on making ‘The Pale Blue Eye’ in Western Pa. and how the Fettermans came to cameoVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Making movies in Western Pennsylvania is becoming as common — or more so — than finding writer/director Scott Cooper and star Christian Bale at work on a Hollywood backlot. Cooper directed Bale in 2013’s “Out...
TV Talk: What’s new, returning to broadcast channels in 2023Video
In 2023, as Wall Street pressures on media companies to turn profits continue, expect broadcast channels to increase time devoted to cheaper (re: reality, non-fiction) programming as conglomerates continue to prioritize their streaming services. But early in the new year, there will be a decent balance of scripted/unscripted programming: ABC...
TV Q&A: Why did NFL Network cut to commercial during the Franco Harris tribute?
Question: Why did CBS go to commercial instead of the memorial for Franco Harris during the Dec. 24 Steelers game? Pathetic. — Lynn, via Facebook Rob: Although that game aired locally on KDKA-TV, a CBS affiliate, neither KDKA nor CBS had any control of the telecast. It was an NFL...
TV Talk: What’s new on cable, streaming in 2023
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Although a slowdown in the amount of original content probably will arrive in late 2023 or early 2024, for the foreseeable future viewers can expect a lot of new and returning TV programs across cable...
TV Talk: Filmed-in-Pittsburgh noir thriller ‘Pale Blue Eye’ delivers mystery, chills, character-driven drama
Director Scott Cooper’s “The Pale Blue Eye,” filmed last winter in Western Pennsylvania, is a rarity for movies today generally and movies on Netflix specifically. Generally, it’s a movie for adults and without superheroes, which makes it stand out. For Netflix, it’s the rare original movie where mood plays a...
