Rob Owen stories, Page 50
TV Talk: WTAE-TV hires meteorologist to replace Cam Tran
Hearst-owned Channel 4 has hired a replacement for Cam Tran, who departed for a Hearst sister-station, WESH-TV, in Orlando. Brian Hutton Jr. arrives from WNCN-TV, the CBS affiliate in Raleigh, N.C. He’s also an adjunct lecturer in meteorology at Mississippi State University. Hutton grew up in Johnstown and attended California...
TV Talk: Swissvale native Billy Gardell grateful for ‘Bob (Hearts) Abishola’ success
A few weeks ago, Swissvale native Billy Gardell received welcome news: An early third season renewal of his CBS sitcom “Bob (Hearts) Abishola,” returning with a new episode at 8:30 p.m. Monday on KDKA-TV. “That never happened to me on ‘Mike & Molly.’ They usually made you wait until May...
TV Q&A: What happened to WINP-TV’s Ion Plus channel?
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: What happened to Ion Plus on FiOS in Pittsburgh? I noticed the night of Feb. 27 it wasn’t on and now on Feb. 28 it’s...
TV Talk: Niecy Nash guest hosts ‘The Masked Singer’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. In a completely unscientific poll a year ago just before the pandemic began, Fox’s “The Masked Singer” was the TV show children wanted to talk about most during a career day at my sons’ elementary...
TV Talk: HBO Max’s ‘Genera+ion’ explores modern teen life
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Until the debut of “Euphoria” in 2019, HBO hadn’t shown much of a desire to put on programming about teens. That’s changed for HBO, which last year added “We Are Who We Are,” and sister-streamer...
TV Talk: Julie Grant back in Pittsburgh; sweeps ratings arriveVideo
Former KDKA-TV reporter Julie Grant, now a 12-3 p.m. anchor on Court TV, was back in Pittsburgh briefly last month to interview former Allegheny County coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht, who reviewed the findings of multiple autopsies of George Floyd, the Black Minneapolis man killed by police last year. In advance...
TV Talk: George A. Romero wrestling TV pilot will get DVD releaseVideo
Following last week’s news of a “tucked away” film by the late horror film director George A. Romero streaming on Shudder this summer, a low-budget, never distributed TV pilot helmed by the filmmaker will be released on DVD and vintage VHS on April 3 by Cryptic Pictures. “Iron City Asskickers,”...
TV Q&A: Can we get ACC Network for Pitt games?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 can’t we get ACC Network locally for University of Pittsburgh games? — Dave via voicemail Rob: Pittsburghers can get ACCN locally, just not through...
TV Talk: Golden Globes-nominated ‘Queen’s Gambit’ has Pittsburgh tie; Paramount+ launchesVideo
Sunday’s NBC telecast of the “Golden Globes” awards (8 p.m., WPXI-TV) includes a few ties to Pittsburgh, including Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit.” Former Pittsburgher Susan Schulman, a New York-based literary agent, represented the estate of Walter Tevis, author of the 1983 novel of the same name that was the basis...
Bob Kudzma, legendary KDKA-TV meteorologist, dies at 81
Former KDKA-TV meteorologist Bob Kudzma, who retired from the station in 2002 after 34 years on the air, died from cancer Thursday at age 81. A New Hampshire native, Kudzma earned a degree in mathematics from the University of New Hampshire and entered the Air Force, which sent him to...
TV Talk: ‘Lost’ George Romero movie ‘Amusement Park’ to stream on Shudder
Streaming service Shudder will stream the “lost” George A. Romero film “The Amusement Park” this summer. Restored by the Pittsburgh-based George A. Romero Foundation, the 1973 film was commissioned by the Pittsburgh-based Lutheran Society as a PSA about being helpful to the elderly, but it was never released publicly. Romero’s...
TV Talk: NBC’s ‘Debris’ is watch-at-your-own-risk TV
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Ever since ABC premiered “Lost” to critical acclaim and commercial success in 2004, networks have tried to duplicate its success with serialized, mystery-unlocking stories. Rarely have networks succeeded. A litany of supernatural/alien-themed series — “666...
TV Q&A: Why so many weather teases on local newscasts?
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: With the weather being a top headline lately, why do the local broadcasts tease us with “forecast and snow accumulations coming up”? Weather is available...
TV Talk: Punked by the new ‘Punky Brewster’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. It’s hard to imagine there’s much of a market for this “Punky Brewster” revival beyond nostalgic die-hards who watched the original as kids, tune in for the new pilot only to discover the comedy sophistication...
TV Talk: Pittsburgher competes on ‘Design Star: Next Gen’Video
Regent Square’s Tony Allgeier — and his drag alter ego, Alora Chateaux – are in the race to become the next “Design Star” with the revival of the eight-season HGTV series that ended in 2013. Now called “Design Star: Next Gen,” the show features the 2010 La Roche University interior...
TV Q&A: Why isn’t Celina Pompeani on KDKA-TV’s morning news anymore?
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 Celina Pompeani no longer a part of the KDKA-TV news team? — Sherry, Latrobe Rob: Pompeani is a freelancer and has never been on...
TV Talk: PBS traces history of ‘The Black Church’ with John Legend, Yolanda Adams, Henry Louis Gates Jr.Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. PBS’s “The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song” (9-11 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, WQED-TV), hosted by writer Henry Louis Gates Jr. (“Finding Our Roots”), explores the role of the church in...
TV Talk: ‘Young Rock’ pumps up NBC; ‘It’s a Sin’ will leave viewers sobbingVideo
Over the next seven days, NBC premieres two comedies, Starz debuts a road show and HBO Max introduces an excellent British drama. ‘Young Rock,’ ‘Kenan’ Of NBC’s two new single-camera, laugh-track-free comedies, “Young Rock” (8 p.m. Tuesday, WPXI-TV) proves funnier and altogether better than “Kenan” (8:30 p.m. Tuesday). There’s a...
TV Q&A: How are ratings for KDKA’s 7:30 p.m. newscast?
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: How have the ratings been for KDKA’s 7:30 p.m. news broadcast compared to the show it replaced, “Extra”? — Lucas via email Rob: Looking at...
TV Talk: CBS’s ‘Silence of the Lambs’ sequel ‘Clarice’ is no ‘Hannibal’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. There’s an easy way to figure out if CBS’s “Silence of the Lambs” sequel series, “Clarice,” is for you: If you were a fan of the 1991 Jonathan Demme-directed “Lambs,” partially filmed in Pittsburgh, and...
TV Talk: WPXI back on DirecTV, AT&T TV
Following a five-day blackout, WPXI-TV is back on AT&T’s DirecTV and live streaming service AT&T TV. Sunday morning AT&T and Cox Media Group, parent company of WPXI, announced a multi-year deal that ended the retransmission dispute, returning CMG stations to AT&T’s platforms in 20 cities nationwide, including Boston, Atlanta and...
TV Talk: 1st-time Western Pa. filmmaker enters ‘Red Woods’; CBS reboots ‘The Equalizer’Video
For his directorial feature film debut, Western Pennsylvania’s Nick Danko looked no further than his own backyard. Danko’s “Red Woods” is a found footage film in the vein of “The Blair Witch Project” (minus the shaky-camera effect) that follows an urban explorer group as they tromp through abandoned houses in...
TV Q&A: Does CBS’s ‘S.W.A.T.’ have a Pittsburgh connection?
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 was watching the fifth episode of the third season of CBS’s “S.W.A.T.” on Hulu recently. In one scene, actress Lina Esco wears a Beaver...
TV Talk: WPXI comes off DirecTV; WQED adds ‘Cartoon Academy’
In the latest retransmission battle, WPXI is no longer available to AT&T’s DirecTV and AT&T TV live streaming subscribers. AT&T and WPXI parent company Cox Media Group, owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, failed to come to terms on a new contract. The old contract expired at 2:59...
TV Talk: ‘The Chair’ adds to cast; WPXI may go off DirecTV, AT&T TV
Netflix’s latest series to film in Pittsburgh, “The Chair,” is rounding out its cast with the addition of several actors, including Philadelphia’s David Morse, who previously spent two seasons in Pittsburgh filming WGN America’s “Outsiders” and before that appeared in the filmed-in Pittsburgh Will Smith film “Concussion.” Most recently Morse...
