Rob Owen stories, Page 56
TV Talk: PBS loads up on Sunday dramas, biographies and nature series
So far the pandemic doesn’t seem to have slowed the PBS production pipeline with a wealth of “Masterpiece” dramas and the usual array of news, documentary and nature programming on tap. PBS’s venerable “Frontline” offers its every-four-years look at the presidential contenders in “The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden” (9...
TV Talk: Showtime’s ‘American Rust’ delays filming in Western Pennsylvania until 2021
The 10-episode first season of Showtime’s “American Rust,” which was scheduled to begin filming in Western Pennsylvania in March but got delayed by the pandemic-forced global entertainment production shutdown, has been pushed to 2021. On a teleconference with reporters to promote his role as former FBI director James Comey in...
TV Talk: ‘Julie and the Phantoms’ bursting with good vibes on Netflix
Director Kenny Ortega brings the pop-rock infectious energy of his “High School Musical” to the music-powered Netflix original series “Julie and the Phantoms.” Now streaming, “Julie and the Phantoms” is a smaller show – smaller cast, fewer sets – but it’s bursting with good vibes and music that’s sure to...
TV Talk: Fall daytime TV preview as ‘Drew Barrymore’ debuts, ‘Kelly Clarkson’ moves into daytime
Drew Barrymore and Kelly Clarkson lead the lineup of new daytime series on Western Pennsylvania TV screens this fall. Technically, Clarkson’s show aired locally last season but never in daytime. “The Drew Barrymore Show” is completely new. Produced in New York City, Barrymore seems to be trying to out-“Ellen” Ellen...
WTAE-TV hires Jeff Verszyla as weekend meteorologist
Former KDKA-TV chief meteorologist Jeff Verszyla has been hired on staff at WTAE-TV as weekend evening meteorologist beginning Oct. 1. Verszyla, who was let go by KDKA in December 2018 after 23 years at the station, has been a fill-in, freelance forecaster for Channel 4 over the summer. The Sewickley...
TV Q&A: When will new ‘Doc Martin’ episodes air on WQED-TV?
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: Do you think “Doc Martin” will ever be on Channel 13 again? Love that show. -Mary via Facebook Rob: The ninth season of “Doc Martin”...
TV Talk: WQED documentary recounts a WWII story in ‘Harbor from the Holocaust’
WQED-TV documents a World War II story of survival in its one-hour film “Harbor from the Holocaust,” debuting nationally on PBS stations at 10 p.m. Tuesday. “Harbor,” the first national documentary to come out of WQED since 2015, recounts the stories of a few of the 20,000 Jewish refugees who...
TV Talk: Netflix launches astronaut drama ‘Away,’ HBO Max airs ‘Raised by Wolves’
Of all the genres to get a boost from #PeakTV and the rise of streaming services, “astronaut drama” may be the most surprising. Hulu had one-and-done “The First” (2018), National Geographic Channel had two seasons of hybrid docu-series/drama “Mars” (2016-18), Apple is home to “For All Mankind” and Netflix already...
TV Q&A: Do laid off KDKA-TV anchors have to abide by a non-compete?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: Since anchors Rick Dayton and Susan Koeppen were laid off and did not voluntarily leave KDKA-TV, can they be held to a no-compete clause? -Bob, Mt....
TV Talk: Starz’s ‘Power’ spawns sequel series
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Usually a TV show spin-off takes a character or concept from the original series and builds a new show around that one element. “Power Book II: Ghost” (9 p.m. Sunday, Starz) does the opposite, removing...
TV Talk: NBC imports Canadian medical drama ‘Transplant’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Broadcast network series are slowly getting back into production this month following pandemic shutdowns. Other programs won’t start filming new episodes until September. In a normal year, many broadcast dramas and comedies are back in...
TV Talk: Western Pa. natives compete on reality TV
Auditor Connor Trott, a former Pine-Richland High School student and Duquesne University grad, acquitted himself well this week in early episodes of CBS’s dating competition series “Love Island,” which airs at 9 p.m. nightly (with some exceptions) on KDKA-TV. The 23-year-old from Gibsonia came off as shy, old-fashioned and not...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh-filmed series ‘Manhunt: Deadly Games’ premiering on CBS
The series “Manhunt: Deadly Games,” which filmed in Pittsburgh from June to October 2019, will finally be available for local viewers to watch when it advances to its second window of distribution, premiering at 10 p.m. Sept. 21 on CBS’s KDKA-TV. “Manhunt: Deadly Games” was produced for Spectrum Originals, which...
