Rob Owen stories, Page 54
TV Talk: Netflix debuts trailer for Pittsburgh-filmed ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’
Netflix released the trailer for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” its adaptation of the August Wilson play that was filmed in Pittsburgh in the summer of 2019. The movie arrives on Netflix on Dec. 18. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” stars Viola Davis as blues singer Ma Rainey during a recording session...
TV Talk: ‘The Conners’ feel the effects of the pandemic in new season
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. ^ After the “Roseanne” revival imploded following star Roseanne Barr’s racist tweet, there was every reason to fear its sequel series, “The Conners,” would simply be a ratings grab. But as its third season premieres...
TV Talk: Jim Carrey’s Joe Biden pulls a Mister Rogers on ‘SNL’Video
It’s been a busy week for Latrobe native Fred Rogers in the pop-culture zeitgeist, beginning with social media reactions to a tweet Thursday night, which in turn inspired a scene in the cold open sketch on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” It all started Thursday night during dueling town halls between...
TV Talk: ‘Supermarket Sweep’ returns on ABC
Game show “Supermarket Sweep” has been a TV staple with versions popping up in the 1960s, 1990s, early 2000s and now again in 2020 as ABC resurrects the franchise at 8 p.m. Sunday with new host Leslie Jones (“Saturday Night Live”). The ‘90s version of the show gained cachet with...
TV Q&A: How did Hallmark Channel make Christmas movies in a pandemic?
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 does Hallmark Channel make about 40 new Christmas movies during a pandemic? Were some movies made prior to March 2020? - Elaine via email...
TV Talk: Disney Channel hosts chat with Pittsburgh group’s co-founders
Two local teens will be featured in a recurring Disney Channel segment, “Kudos and Kudon’ts,” for their creation of the Pittsburgh organization Black, Young & Educated. Disney Channel’s Ariel Martin and Trevor Tordjman (“Zombies 2”) chat with B.Y.E. co-founders Nicholas Anglin and Treasure Palmer in the two-minute segment, which also...
TV Talk: McMurray native helps bring ‘Helpsters’ alive on Apple TV+
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Western Pennsylvania native Stephanie D’Abruzzo has operated puppets on Broadway (“Avenue Q”) and in children’s programming (“Sesame Street”) and she’s appeared in prime time (“Scrubs”). She can trace a theme in her latest project, educational...
TV Talk: CMU grad Victoria Pedretti is haunted in Netflix’s ‘Bly Manor’
Actress Victoria Pedretti’s acting career took off just a few months after she graduated from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama in 2017 when she was cast in a supporting role in Netflix’s “The Haunting of Hill House.” Form there she landed a major role in season two of Netflix’s...
TV Q&A: Will Pittsburgh-based ‘Restored by the Fords’ return to HGTV?
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: A few years back there was a home improvement TV show that featured a Pittsburgh woman. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the show name, her...
TV Talk: Verizon’s FiOS TV drops AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
In the latest retransmission dispute impacting local viewers, Verzion’s FiOS TV dropped AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh. A Verizon spokesman said its agreement to carry AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh expired Sept. 30. Verizon released a statement saying, “AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh has demanded a significant increase to an already high rate so fans can...
TV Talk: Excellent ‘The Good Lord Bird’ premieres on Showtime
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. ^ Based on the National Book Award-winning novel by James McBride, Showtime’s adaptation of “The Good Lord Bird” (9 p.m. Sunday) proves to be as entertaining as it is tonally messy. But it’s acceptably messy...
TV Talk: 2 of ‘The Boys in the Band’ have Pittsburgh ties
It was a mini-Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama reunion for Matt Bomer (CMU class of 2000) and Green Tree native Zachary Quinto (CMU class of 1999) in the Netflix movie “The Boys in the Band,” directed by Joe Mantello and executive produced by Ryan Murphy (“Ratched”). A remake of...
TV Q&A: Is Discovery’s ‘Alaskan Bush People’ real?
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: Can you please clear something up for me: On Discovery Channel is the “Alaskan Bush People” for real or are they just actors who are...
TV Talk: Spy games lead to ‘The Salisbury Poisonings’ on AMC+
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. ^ Here’s something that is likely to happen more often as the entertainment business looks into the future and sees that it’s digital: There’s a show premiering this week on AMC+, a streaming service you...
TV Talk: ‘Fargo’ returns; ‘The Comey Rule’ and ‘Tamburitzans’ debut
Back for its fourth season, the important good news is this iteration of “Fargo” (9-11 p.m. Sunday, FX) is significantly better than the disappointing third season, though probably not as good as the near-perfect second season. Sunday’s two-episode premiere spends a lot of time grounding the show in backstory that’s...
TV Q&A: When does ‘The Great British Bake Off’ return?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: I just saw the first promo for “The Great British Bake Off” “coming soon” to ITV in the U.K. Will Netflix be picking up the next...
TV Talk: ‘Watchmen,’ ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ ‘Succession’ dominate an enjoyably intimate Emmy telecast
The remotely-produced 72nd annual Emmy Awards promised to be an unusual, revised-for-the-pandemic affair and it miraculously came together with almost no technical glitches and enough novelty to freshen and loosen up the staid format. Pop TV’s “Schitt’s Creek” had an unprecedented early winning streak, taking home more top awards in...
TV Talk: Cop drama ‘L.A.’s Finest’ premieres on Fox
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. A spin-off of the “Bad Boys” movie franchise, police drama “L.A.’s Finest” (8 p.m. Monday, Fox) originally premiered on Spectrum Originals in May 2019. But since Spectrum Originals is only available to subscribers to Spectrum...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh-filmed ‘Manhunt’ chronicles Atlanta Olympics bombings
It’s a round-about way that “Manhunt: Deadly Games” came to film in Pittsburgh. The show’s first season, Discovery Channel’s “Manhunt: Unabomber,” was set to shoot in Western Pennsylvania in 2016 but initially couldn’t find a male lead. Once producers lined up a cast, there were no more Pennsylvania film tax...
TV Talk: Soaps ‘Ratched’ and ‘Filthy Rich’ bubble up
Actress Sarah Paulson starred in writer/producer Ryan Murphy’s “The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” and multiple seasons of “American Horror Story,” proving to be his MVP, a streak she extends in Murphy’s “Ratched,” streaming Friday on Netflix. A prequel to “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” – both...
TV Q&A: Will KDKA-TV’s ‘Hometown High Q’ return with new episodes this fall?
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 would like to know if “Hometown High Q” will be returning this fall on KDKA-TV. -Jean, Oakland Rob: KDKA is continuing the show, according...
TV Talk: Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw headlines ‘The Bradshaw Bunch’ on E!
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Legendary Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw is not “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and he doesn’t know if “Chrisley Knows Best,” but beginning this week he’s the star of “The Bradshaw Bunch” (9 p.m. Thursday, E!),...
TV Talk: Cable, streaming still have stocked cupboards of new shows
While broadcast networks slowly roll out new and returning series, cable and especially streaming aren’t missing a beat, with highlights this fall that include: “Wilmore” (Friday, Peacock): Comedian and writer Larry Wilmore, whose “Nightly Show” was rudely dropped by Comedy Central in the midst of the 2016 presidential campaign, returns...
TV Talk: Premiere schedule for returning shows
It’s a fall TV season unlike any other. With TV shows slowly gearing up for production, many returning series won’t air until late this fall or early 2021. In most years TV shows resume production in July. This year, just a few started back in August, with others gearing up...
Here are the TV shows to watch this fall
Like zombies from “The Walking Dead,” the fall TV season will stagger to a start, particularly on broadcasters ABC, CBS and NBC, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Fox and The CW set pandemic-proof schedules in May, largely by holding back spring and summer programs. But in June, the Big Three...
