TV Talk: ‘Hacks’ returns; ‘North of North,’ ‘Friends & Neighbors’ debutVideo
If it’s April, it’s the season when streaming services rush to release what they see as their Emmy-worthy shows in time to qualify for this year’s awards (eligibility ends May 31). Steel yourself for an onslaught of premieres over the next seven weeks. ‘Hacks’ Max’s “Hacks” remains a comedy gem...
TV Q&A: Is WTAE’s Ryan Recker related to a Pirates batboy?
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 Ryan Recker of WTAE related to Bobby Recker who was the batboy for the Pirates back in the early ‘60s? — Michael, Beaver Falls...
TV Talk: ‘Last of Us’ remains best of TVVideo
“The Last of Us” returns for its second season (9 p.m. April 13, HBO, Max) and throws a lot of story and character development at viewers over its seven episodes. That’s mostly positive for people who appreciate the show’s grounded emphasis on the pseudo-father-daughter relationship between Joel (Pedro Pascal) and...
TV Talk: ‘The Pitt’ wraps 1st season, producers look ahead to season 2
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. “The Pitt” executive producers R. Scott Gemmill and John Wells, a 1979 Carnegie Mellon University grad, have already started work on Season 2 even as the show advances to its first-season finale at 9 p.m....
TV Talk: ‘Pulse’ is no ‘Pitt;’ WPXI reporter exits
Acclaimed Pittsburgh-set ER drama “The Pitt” would be a hard act for any medical show to follow, but Netflix’s “Pulse” fares extremely poorly by comparison. “Pulse” is pretty much “Grey’s Anatomy” set in the post-#MeToo era if Meredith complained to HR about McDreamy instead of dating him for years. As...
TV Q&A: Is a WTAE anchor cutting back?
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 Michelle Wright at WTAE cutting back? I noticed she does behind-the-scenes stories like “4 Your Health” and “4 Your Money” earlier in the morning...
TV Talk: Classic sitcom rhythms, more profanity in ‘Mid-Century Modern;’ ‘Watson’ renewedVideo
A mix of “The Golden Girls,” “Hot in Cleveland” and “Will & Grace,” Hulu’s 10-episode multi-cam sitcom “Mid-Century Modern,” about three gay male friends living in Palm Springs, Calif., embraces old-fashioned sitcom rhythms while adding profanity and sexual innuendos that cannot be quoted in a family newspaper. Whether there’s an...
TV Talk: More antiheroes in ‘MobLand,’ but is a hero renaissance on the way?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Helen Mirren trades a heroic husband played by Harrison Ford in “1923” for an antihero patriarch played by Pierce Brosnan in Paramount+’s “MobLand” (March 30), director Guy Ritchie’s story of a London organized crime family...
TV Q&A: When will season 2 of ‘The Pitt’ premiere?
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’m glad “The Pitt” got renewed for another season. Will it be next year until we see new episodes? — John, via Twitter Rob: “The...
TV Talk: Streaming, TV respond to shifting political winds
At any moment, entertainment programming may reflect the culture or it may lead the culture. Sometimes it does both simultaneously to advance the industry’s ultimate goal: making money. The 1998 premiere of NBC’s “Will & Grace,” a show with two lead gay characters, broke new ground in the broadcast prime-time...
TV Talk: Seth Rogen satirizes movie biz with bite in ‘The Studio’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing
tip for the coming week. Shows set behind the scenes in Hollywood have a decidedly mixed track record. For every creatively successful effort (“30 Rock,” “Hacks,” “Episodes,” “Beggars Choosers”), there are a string of duds (“Studio 60 on the Sunset...
TV Talk: No movement on WQED’s potential move; Kilmer to morning anchor on WPXI
At Thursday’s WQED board meeting, WQED president Jason Jedlinski addressed the “ongoing and changing situation in D.C.” regarding threats by the Trump administration to cut funding to PBS. Jedlinski noted the continuing resolution passed earlier this month provided level funding for fiscal year 2027 (the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is...
TV Talk: Great cast isn’t served by Netflix’s ‘Residence;’ local news race remains tightVideo
On paper, Netflix’s latest Shonda Rhimes executive-produced series “The Residence” sounds like a potential hoot. It’s a comedic murder mystery set in the White House with a stellar cast that includes Uzo Aduba (“Orange Is the New Black”), Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”), Ken Marino (“Party Down”), Randall Park (“Fresh Off...
TV Q&A: Did a WTAE anchor announce his departure?
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 thought that I read that Andrew Stockey left WTAE after 30 years on the air. When I turned on my TV today, there was...
TV Talk: KDKA-TV GM retires, CBS names replacement
KDKA-TV general manager Chris Cotugno will retire next month and Tuesday, CBS appointed Western Pennsylvania native Julie Eisenman to take Cotugno’s place at the helm of KDKA and WPKD-TV (aka KDKA+). Eisenman, a 1997 graduate of what is now PennWest Clarion, comes to Pittsburgh’s CBS-owned station April 7 from WNEP,...
TV Talk: Emmys honor ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ alum Hedda Sharapan
The National Academy of Television Arts Sciences will honor “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” associate producer Hedda Sharapan, inducting the Pittsburgher into the Gold Circle at the third annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, streaming at 5 p.m. Saturday at Watch.TheEmmys.TV and via the Emmys app (available for Roku, iPhone, Android, Apple...
TV Q&A: Who’s the Channel 11 morning co-anchor?
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 saw a morning promo for Channel 11 news and Liz Kilmer is not in it. How come? — Robyn, via email Rob: It’s unclear...
TV Talk: ‘White Lotus’ trio steals show’s 3rd season
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. About halfway through the third season of HBO’s “The White Lotus” (9 p.m. Sunday) and the race to steal the most scenes in the show is on among Parker Posey’s Victoria Ratliff and her specific...
TV Talk: Carnegie Mellon graduate competes on ‘The Voice’
Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama grad Olivia Kuper Harris advanced to the Battle Rounds of NBC’s “The Voice” that begin airing at 8 tonight on WPXI. A 2013 CMU grad, Harris performed “Dream a Little Dream of Me” in the Feb. 23 blind audition rounds of “The Voice,” where...
TV Talk: Broadcast bounces back, ‘Doctor Odyssey’ returnsVideo
A funny thing happened on the way to the death of traditional broadcast TV in the streaming era: Broadcast rebounded while cable seems to be the patient who won’t make it. Look no further than the fall 2024 broadcast season that produced multiple success stories: ABC’s “High Potential,” CBS’s “Matlock”...
TV Q&A: Did KDKA-TV’s Alexandra Todd exit?
Q: Did Alexandra Todd leave KDKA-TV? — Sam, via email Rob: It appears she did. Todd’s last report was filed to KDKA.com in early January, and her bio is no longer on the KDKA staff page of the station’s website. She hasn’t posted to her professional social media accounts since...
TV Talk: ‘Dark Winds,’ TV’s best current crime drama, back on AMCVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. There are grittier, hipper, more popular crime dramas coursing through the TV/streaming ecosystem – “Tulsa King,” “Presumed Innocent,” “The Rookie” — but none of those shows can match the quality of AMC’s “Dark Winds,” returning...
TV Talk: Winning host Conan O’Brien presides over niche Oscars
It was tough for the 97th annual Academy Awards telecast to put its best foot forward when so many viewers saw so few of the niche movies nominated for best picture, an award that ultimately went to “Anora,” which won five Oscars total. The best Oscar telecast producers could do...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh doctors give ‘The Pitt’ a positive prognosis
For staff in the Allegheny General Hospital emergency room, Max’s Pittsburgh-set “The Pitt” isn’t just a TV show, but an education for friends and family about the work they do every day. “These aren’t things we actually talk about with our golf group or friends group or at the dinner...
TV Talk: Joseph Cannon, Pittsburgh broadcaster’s son, stars in Lifetime movie
Churchill native Joseph Cannon, son of local broadcaster and former PCNC host Ellis Cannon, gets his biggest acting break to date this weekend with a role in Lifetime’s “Abducted in the Everglades” (8 p.m. Sunday). Joseph Cannon stars in scenes with Tori Spelling (“Beverly Hills, 90210”), who plays a mom...
