Rob Owen stories, Page 34
Michael Keaton wins 1st Emmy on funny, entertaining night
Michael Keaton picked up his first Emmy Award for his role in Hulu’s opioid crisis drama “Dopesick” at Monday night’s 74th annual Emmy Awards. That was only after a cringeworthy song-and-dance opening number — set to TV theme songs that only got worse as it went on. Fortunately after that,...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking fall TV – ‘Monarch,’ ‘Andor,’ ‘Serpent Queen’ – and changes at KDKAVideo
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 change to the anchor lineup on KDKA-TV’s morning newscast. Benz and Owen talk what’s new in fall TV, including Fox’s “Monarch,” the upcoming...
TV Talk: ‘Holocaust,’ hazing and rebuilding Notre Dame highlight PBS fall showsVideo
While some streaming services have tried to make inroads in the documentary realm, the genre also remains a mainstay on PBS stations, including Pittsburgh’s WQED-TV. Here are some fall programming highlights: ARTS “Great Performances: Black Lucy and the Bard” (9 p.m. Sept. 16): Exploration of William Shakespeare and his muses....
TV Talk: Broadcast TV goes with tried and true genres, titles for new fall seasonVideo
As broadcast television shrinks in importance to media conglomerates — see: reports of NBC dumping its 10 p.m. hour of programming, possibly next fall —ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW all play it safe with familiar titles/genres and fewer new fall series overall. Here’s what’s new on the commercial...
TV Talk: Heather Abraham leaves KDKA-TV morning anchor desk
After almost 12 years, KDKA-TV morning anchor Heather Abraham will leave the morning anchor desk. Abraham, who will continue to host KDKA’s “Pittsburgh Today Live,” said KDKA reporter Lindsay Ward, who joined the station in April 2019, will succeed her as morning anchor. The change, effective Sept. 9, will see...
TV Talk: Pitt student talks ‘Growing Up’ on Disney+; ‘Good Fight’ begins final seasonVideo
While other high schoolers played sports or planned the yearbook, current University of Pittsburgh junior Isabel Lam and her best friend Clare Della Valle started a club devoted to menstrual equity. The friends, who grew up in Clarks Summit, Pa., northwest of Scranton, founded a local chapter of national organization...
TV Q&A: Why no ‘chief’ title for KDKA-TV’s Ray Petelin?
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 KDKA-TV not use the “chief” honorific for meteorologist Ray Petelin? He handles weather duties in the traditional chief meteorologist slot and of all...
TV Talk: ‘Serpent Queen,’ ‘Tulsa King’ bookend fall cable/streaming optionsVideo
The two most-anticipated fall cable and/or streaming series have already premiered – HBO’s “Game of Thrones” series, “House of the Dragon,” and Amazon Prime Video’s prequel, “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” – but there are more programs on the way, including at least three vampire shows: “The...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking daytime TV changes, Amazon ‘LOTR’ series, ‘Only Murders,’ Steelers ratings
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 raft of changes to local stations’ daytime TV schedules in the coming weeks. Benz and Owen talk ratings for the final Steelers preseason...
TV Talk: Kelly Clarkson takes ‘Ellen’ slot on WTAE; ‘Karamo,’ ‘Jennifer Hudson,’ ‘Sherri’ join daytime
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for the coming weeks. Although 3 p.m. local newscasts have started popping up on local stations in some major markets, they’re not coming to Pittsburgh … yet. WTAE-TV will replace the concluded “Ellen” at 3 p.m. weekdays with “The Kelly...
TV Talk: Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ series starts slow; Steelers’ Amazon game also on WPXI-TVVideo
The long-gestating “Lord of the Rings” prequel series “The Rings of Power” finally arrives on streaming service Amazon Prime Video at 9 p.m. Sept. 1 surrounded by question marks. Can this series become Prime Video’s “Game of Thrones?” Will “Rings of Power” live up to Peter Jackson’s 2001-03 “LOTR” movie...
TV Q&A: Will ABC’s ‘The Rookie’ ever film in Clarion County where its story began?Video
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: The series premiere of ABC’s “The Rookie” showed the lead character, John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), walk into a bank robbery in progress in Foxburg, Pa.,...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Netflix sets date for filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Pale Blue Eye,’ Steve Carell in ‘The Patient,’ Steelers on Amazon
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 Netflix setting a release date for “The Pale Blue Eye,” filmed in late 2021 and early 2022 in Western Pennsylvania. The Scott Cooper-directed film,...
TV Talk: Steve Carell stars in Hulu’s intense, ‘Misery’-like psychological thriller ‘The Patient’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Whenever a great TV series ends, I always wonder what the creators will do next. For “The Americans” team of Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, the answer is Hulu’s “The Patient,” a tension-filled, character-driven psychological...
TV Talk: Fred Rogers Productions’ ‘Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood’ turns 10Video
After ordering dinner at a restaurant last month, my 12-year-old son declared it was time to play “What’s Missing,” a game where everyone closes their eyes except the one person at the table who gets to take something from the table and hide it underneath. Then everyone else opens their...
TV Q&A: How did a CBS Sports correspondent become part of Steelers’ preseason game telecasts?Video
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 did Amanda Renner from CBS Sports show up working the local KDKA-TV telecast of the Steelers’ first preseason NFL game Aug. 13? Nothing —...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘House of the Dragon,’ ‘Sprung,’ ‘Better Call Saul,’ Big Ten’s big deal
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 comedy “Sprung,” now streaming new episodes Fridays on Amazon Freevee. “Sprung” creator Greg Garcia thinks one of his characters, Barb, played by the...
TV Talk: HBO recaptures ‘Game of Thrones’ political dynamics in ‘House of the Dragon’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Although “Game of Thrones” spin-off “House of the Dragon” (9 p.m. Sunday on HBO and HBO Max) is technically a prequel set 172 years before the first “GOT” series, structurally its first episode is more...
TV Talk: Marvel comedy ‘She-Hulk’ short on laughs; ‘Sprung’ misses a chance for a shared universeVideo
Credit Marvel with attempting a half-hour comedy series for Disney+, but “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” proves too timid about leaning into humor. The first episode, now streaming, proves a particularly dull introduction that wastes most of its running time on a training montage as Bruce Banner/Smart-Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) trains his...
TV Q&A: What happened to Me TV, PBS Kids and Cozi on Comcast?Video
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: Any idea why Comcast/Xfinity suddenly dropped MeTV, Charge and Antenna TV without notice (channels 204, 207, 208)? They have something listed as Slate Channel now,...
TV Talk: Offbeat humor springs from filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Sprung’Video
If you’ve been a fan of writer/director Greg Garcia’s past series — “My Name is Earl” (2005-09, NBC), “Raising Hope” (2010-14, Fox), “The Guest Book” (2017-18, TBS) — and his shows’ mix of sophomoric humor and character-driven comedy with a messy surface but heart underneath, you’re likely to get a...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking new movie casting call, North Shore concerts, Steelers game, ‘A League of Their Own’
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 weekend’s concerts on the North Shore and TV coverage of the first Steelers pre-season game. The pair discuss Amazon Prime Video’s “A League...
TV Talk: Cable’s ID brings back ‘Homicide Hunter’ with Westmoreland native Joe KendaVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. When Investigation Discovery’s “Homicide Hunter” ended its nine-season run three years ago, star/host Joe Kenda said the series wrapped because he ran out of cases and those that remained were too simple or too gruesome....
Former KDKA-TV medical editor, husband of Patrice King Brown, dies
Dr. Paul Nemiroff, former KDKA-TV medical editor and husband of retired KDKA-TV news anchor Patrice King Brown, died Aug. 10. He was 73. A cause of death has not been determined. Nemiroff has lived with Myelodysplasia Syndrome (MDS), a blood cancer, since a 1999 diagnosis. KDKA reported on his MDS...
TV Talk: Is ‘A League of Their Own’ worth watching?Video
Amazon Prime Video’s “A League of Their Own,” filmed mostly in Western Pennsylvania and streaming Friday, is definitely the best series spin-off of the 1992 Geena Davis-Madonna-Tom Hanks movie. The previous iteration, a forgettable 1993 CBS sitcom, was pretty bad. Where the original film explored sexism with a passing reference...
