Rob Owen stories, Page 37
TV Talk: Billy Porter’s filmed-in Pittsburgh feature directorial debut lands on Amazon
Billy Porter’s feature film directorial debut, shot last summer in Pittsburgh under the title “What If?” but now called “Anything’s Possible,” will debut July 22 on streaming service Amazon Prime Video. Variety broke the news of the release date and platform. The $10 million film is a joyful coming-of-age story...
TV Q&A: Where’s a WTAE-TV traffic reporter been?
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 what happened to Sam Hall on the WTAE morning news? It seems like he was maybe replaced by Elena LaQuatra which is sad,...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘Top Gun,’ ‘Obi Wan Kenobi,’ ‘Pistol’
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 new “Top Gun Maverick,” which broke Memorial Day weekend box office records. The pair also review – spoilers included! – what they like and...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh native helps ‘Star Wars’ fill in some blanks with ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week: Disney+’s “Obi Wan Kenobi,” now streaming, seeks to not only fill in a gap in the Skywalker saga, but also to bridge the great divide between older “Star Wars” fans devoted to the original trilogy...
TV Talk: Former KDKA-TV reporter Julie Grant announces the National Spelling Bee; ‘Pistol’ premieres
Former KDKA-TV legal reporter Julie Grant, now a Court TV anchor, will be an announcer for live coverage of the “2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee” next week, a full-circle moment for the Steubenville, Ohio, native who once attended the Bee in Washington, D.C., as a competitor. Moving from its long-time...
TV Q&A: What’s going on with Pirates baseball TV coverage?
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. Question: I moved about 50 miles north of Pittsburgh to New Galilee, Pa. Where I live, there is only one network/cable system available in that area...
TV Talk: ‘This is Us’ ends quietly, poignantly; bloated ‘Stranger Things’ returnsVideo
This column contains spoilers for the series finale of NBC’s “This is Us,” which aired May 24, 2022. After last week’s episode about the death of Rebecca Pearson (Mandy Moore), viewers could have come into the series finale expecting a “Six Feet Under”-style, time-hopper that showed what became of each...
TV Talk: WTAE-TV hires new sports anchor
WTAE-TV has hired a new weekend sports anchor. Emily Giangreco, currently at KVUE-TV in Austin, Texas, tweeted that she’ll join Channel 4, with her last day on-air in Texas set for this weekend. A Washington, D.C., native who studied broadcast journalism and communications at West Virginia University, Giangreco got her...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking summer TV, ‘Stranger Things,’ Tom Brady, ‘Top Gun’ and ‘George Carlin’s American Dream’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 the Pirates on streaming. Owen reviews Netflix’s “Stranger Things 4” and talks about what else to expect from summer (and fall) TV, including “She-Hulk:...
TV Talk: Broadcasters announce fall prime-time plans, renewals, cancellationsVideo
Managing the decline of a broadcast empire requires compromises as the Big Four networks made clear during this week’s “upfronts” in New York, an annual tradition where broadcasters try to entice advertisers to commit ad dollars to their new season lineup in advance. As media companies prioritize their streaming services,...
TV Talk: Partially Pittsburgh-set ‘This Is Us’ goes out on topVideo
W hile some viewers will be sad to see NBC’s family drama “This Is Us” conclude its six-year run at 9 p.m. May 24, it’s at least comforting to know the partially Pittsburgh-set series ends on its own terms with its initial quality largely intact. The show also ends on...
TV Q&A: Why cover a water main break that affects few viewers?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: Breaking news! Water main break! With six hours of local news per day, it is amazing that reporters from KDKA-TV, WTAE-TV and WPXI-TV spend so...
TV Talk: WTAE-TV hires 11 p.m. anchor; Netflix film seeks extras
WTAE-TV didn’t name an 11 p.m. co-anchor to sit alongside Mike Clark when the station announced an anchor realignment in February, but now they have with the hiring of Kristen Powers. She’ll join Clark, chief meteorologist Mike Harvey and sports director Andrew Stockey on Channel 4’s late newscast the last...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking NFL TV schedule, WTAE sports reporter, ‘Shark Tank,’ ‘Hacks’ and upfront week
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 Steelers’ 2022 NFL prime-time TV schedule and WTAE-TV fill-in sports reporter Ashley Liotus. Owen reviews HBO Max’s “Hacks” and talks about Jon Shanahan,...
TV Talk: Broadcast networks mostly stick with game, competition shows in summerVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. The summer broadcast TV season kicked off earlier this month with the return of “Holey Moley” and “The Chase” on Tuesday nights on ABC and continues this week with Fox’s “So You Think You Can...
TV Talk: ‘Hacks,’ ‘Lincoln Lawyer’ lead onslaught of summer cable, streaming premieresVideo
The summer TV season began on cable and streaming in late April as platforms debuted prestige programs in time for Emmy consideration. That was only the start. This week’s premieres include the return of “Hacks,” now streaming on HBO Max. Through the first six episodes of season two, “Hacks” remains...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh native enters ‘Shark Tank’ to pitch unique men’s productVideo
If you’re a “Shark Tank” viewer, you might expect Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary to have something snarky to say when presented with the opportunity to invest in makeup for men. But 2009 Baldwin High School grad Jon Shanahan said the sharks were surprisingly receptive to the pitch he and Stryx...
TV Q&A: Where has KDKA-TV’s Josh Taylor been?
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 haven’t seen Josh Taylor on weekend sports on Channel 2 or heard him on 93.7 The Fan in a while. Where has he been?...
TV Talk: Billy Gardell back in town; Pitt history-maker featured in ‘Sky Blossom’
Swissvale native Billy Gardell (“Bob Hearts Abishola”) was back in Pittsburgh this past weekend to tape an episode for the upcoming second season of CBS’s “Secret Celebrity Renovation.” In its first season last year the show featured celebrities in sports, music and entertainment gifting a surprise home renovation to a...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking newest ‘Star Trek,’ latest ‘Kenobi’ trailer, blunders in NHL 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 blunders in NHL coverage on TNT and EPSN. Owen reviews Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” and Owen and Benz dissect the latest trailer...
TV Talk: Former Shaler Area High School student’s screenplay the basis for ‘Escape the Field’ movieVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Often we hear stories of twentysomethings who catch a break and land starring roles in TV and film just a few years out of college. But many times, it takes longer to make Hollywood dreams...
TV Talk: ‘Meltdown’ revisits Three Mile Island; ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ premieresVideo
The near-catastrophic 1979 accident at the nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pa., gets the Netflix docu-series treatment in the four-part “Meltdown: Three Mile Island,” now streaming. Unlike plenty of past Netflix shows in this genre (think “Tiger King”), “Meltdown” is relatively right-sized with only the fourth, 45-minute episode feeling somewhat...
TV Q&A: How is discovery+ doing as a streaming service?Video
Q: Given the shuttering of CNN+, I’m wondering if you have any info on the state of discovery+? When it started, I couldn’t imagine paying for those reality and DIY shows — even for Chip and Joanna Gaines — as there are so many other similar shows across basic cable....
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Another ‘This is Us’ Pittsburgh connection, ‘We Own this City,’ ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’
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 Tuesday’s Miguel (Jon Huertas)-focused episode of “This Is Us” and a Roberto Clemente tie. Benz talks about the NFL draft televised coverage and revisits...
TV Talk: Pittsburgher impresses Ken Jennings with unusual talent on ‘Jeopardy!’Video
Julian Glander might not have won Friday night’s “Jeopardy!” episode — he placed second to Mattea Roach, who won her 19th game in a row — but Glander did impress host Ken Jennings. The 31-year-old Lawrenceville-based animator can sing the alphabet backward phonetically. “This is the first episode of ‘Jeopardy!’...
