TV Q&A: How can Verizon customers watch Super Bowl LX with WPXI MIA?
Q: It has been six weeks since WPXI went off the air for Verizon FiOS TV customers in Western Pa. I am beginning to think it will never come back. What about people who just moved into the area? They wont want to get Verizon because of no NBC. Why...
TV Talk: ‘Downward Dog’ creator tries AI animals; 4 Western Pa. shelter dogs in Puppy Bowl
From the talking Taco Bell chihuahua in ‘90s commercials to ABC’s winning 2017 talking dog comedy series “Downward Dog,” Michael Killen of Pittsburgh’s Animal Studios has used CGI to create talking animals for TV for decades. In December he decided to try something new and potentially heretical to people in...
TV Talk: Celebs, animals, nostalgia highlight Super Bowl LX ads; ‘Kingstown’ seeks extras
In this post-monoculture era when few people watch the same TV shows, the Super Bowl remains one of the few unifying TV broadcasts each year, drawing millions for the game but also some viewers who are more interested in the TV commercials. Northwestern University’s Medill Spiegel Research Center found in...
TV Talk: ABC, Disney+ revive classic ‘The Muppet Show’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Ever since The Walt Disney Co. bought The Muppets in 2004, Disney’s efforts to keep the characters alive for new generations have met with limited success. From a TV movie (2005’s “The Muppets’ Wizard of...
Authorities believe ‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother was taken against her will
TUCSON, Ariz. — Authorities believe the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will, and the sheriff said Monday it’s imperative she’s found soon because she could die without her medication. Nancy Guthrie was last seen around 9:30 p.m. Saturday at...
The Runarounds’ Will Lipton on sold-out concerts, Amazon Prime show and moreVideo
Just to set the record straight, the Runarounds are a real band. But there’s also a fictionalized version of the group on an Amazon Prime series also named “The Runarounds.” The show, created by Jonas Pate (Netflix’s “Outer Banks”), follows a group of recent high school grads chasing their dreams...
‘Melania,’ panned by some film critics, opens with strong ticket sales for a documentary
NEW YORK — Promoted by President Donald Trump as “a must watch,” the Melania Trump documentary “Melania” debuted with a better-than-expected $7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. The release of “Melania” was unlike any seen before. Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million for the rights, plus...
Catherine O’Hara, Emmy-winning comedian of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ‘SCTV’ fame, dies at 71
LOS ANGELES — Catherine O’Hara, a gifted Canadian-born comic actor and “SCTV” alum who starred as Macaulay Culkin’s harried mother in two “Home Alone” movies and won an Emmy as the dramatically ditzy wealthy matriarch Moira Rose in “Schitt’s Creek,” died Friday. She was 71. O’Hara died at her home...
Franklin Regional grad completes 1st short film through University of Pittsburgh fellowshipVideo
Gigi Vitolo has always loved storytelling. The Murrysville native has had an interest in theater and performing since middle school. But while she was majoring in business and literature at the University of Pittsburgh, she found herself searching for a creative outlet. When she was awarded the school’s David C....
Jennifer Grey set for ‘Dirty Dancing’ sequel, filming this yearVideo
NEW YORK — Nobody puts Jennifer Grey in a corner. The “Dirty Dancing” star is finally about to reprise her role in the 1987 hit’s long-awaited sequel, going into production this year. Grey, 65, is officially confirmed to once again play her Golden Globe-nominated role of Frances “Baby” Houseman in...
TV Q&A: Has CBS’s ‘Tracker’ gotten darker this season?
Q: Does “Tracker” on Sunday evenings on CBS seem to have “darker” stories this year? Colter Shaw is having help from another official or his brother. And Reenie had a male escort in the Nov. 30 episode. That seems out of character. And Reenie lied to Colter that she was...
CBS News chief Bari Weiss tells staff ‘we’re toast’ if they continue on current path
Addressing her staff three months into her job as CBS News boss, Bari Weiss on Tuesday invoked legendary newsman Walter Cronkite as a symbol of old thinking and said that if the network continues with its current strategy, “we’re toast.” Squirrel Hill native Weiss announced the hiring of 18 new...
TV Talk: Lady Gaga channels Mister Rogers in Super Bowl adVideo
Pop music star Lady Gaga covers the “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” theme song, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”, in a commercial for Redfin / Rocket that will air during Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8. It will be first Super Bowl ad for Redfin, an online real estate brokerage recently purchased...
TV Talk: Marvel’s ‘Wonder Man’ trades action for character drama on Disney+Video
After the usual Marvel logo at the start of Disney+’s “Wonder Man,” there’s also a logo for Marvel Spotlight, which is basically the indie version of Marvel — stories that are more grounded and character-driven and that don’t require knowledge of Marvel Cinematic Universe story arcs. The banner first showed...
New episode of ‘The Pitt’ honors Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life attack
Along with the latest episode of “The Pitt” on Thursday night came a storyline honoring Pittsburgh’s synagogue shooting victims. The Oct. 27, 2018, shooting killed 11 people across three congregations — Tree of Life, New Light and Dor Hadash. The reference came during “9:00 a.m.,” Episode 3, Season 2 of...
TV Talk: Patrick Dempsey murders his way through Alzheimer’s in ‘Memory of a Killer’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Back in the early 2000s, antiheroes on TV were all the rage thanks to “The Shield,” “The Sopranos,” “Damages” and a slew of other series that centered on characters who would have been each show’s...
Q&A: Fox Chapel native’s film on human trafficking gets rereleaseVideo
Erin Galey was a long way from her hometown of Fox Chapel when she discovered the story that would inspire her short film, “Brave Girl.” She was a student at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in Singapore, pursuing her master’s degree in film production, when a friend...
‘Sinners’ makes history, setting Oscars nomination recordVideo
Ryan Coogler’s blues-steeped vampire epic “Sinners” led all films with 16 nominations to the 98th Academy Awards on Thursday, setting a record for the most in Oscar history. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voters showered “Sinners” with more nominations than they had ever bestowed before, breaking the 14-nomination...
TV Talk: Supermodels combust in bloody, provocative ‘The Beauty’
There was a time when TV writer/producer Ryan Murphy’s name attached to a series meant it would be edgy but also thought-provoking, out-there but still considered quality TV. Alas, those days are mostly gone. Murphy’s shows now tend to be schlockfests — see Hulu’s “All’s Fair” — that viewers may...
TV Q&A: Are TV journalists paid by appearance?
Q: Are TV journalists paid a flat salary or is it based on each appearance? When Tony Dokoupil took on duties of a third hour of “CBS Mornings,” was he paid more, or does the basic contract cover anything the network asks them to do? What about now that he’s...
’60 Minutes’ airs report on Trump deportations that was suddenly pulled a month agoVideo
“60 Minutes” on Sunday aired its story about Trump administration deportations that was abruptly pulled from the newsmagazine’s lineup a month ago, a move that had triggered an internal battle about political pressure that spilled out into the open. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi made no reference to her dispute with CBS...
TV Talk: ‘CBS Evening News’ to broadcast from Pittsburgh
This evening, Pittsburgh will be the backdrop for what’s become perhaps the most controversial network newscast in America, as CBS brings its retooled “Evening News” to KDKA-TV. The broadcast, airing at 7 p.m., is part of a market-by-market tour for newly installed anchor Tony Dokoupil and editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, a...
Horror comedy musical ‘I: Scream’ to show at Lindsay Theater
What if that refreshing bowl of creamy dessert tried to eat you back? In Aleen Isley’s new film “I: Scream — A Minty Musical,” a glob of chilly, sweet ice cream gains sentience and endeavors to consume everything in its path. The Lindsay Theater will show the film — which...
TV Talk: ‘Game of Thrones’ spinoff starts comic, grows darkVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” wants to signal to viewers that it won’t be the same-old, same-old “Game of Thrones” spinoff. Viewers meet lead character Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall (Peter Claffey) as he’s...
Kathleen Kennedy, steward of ‘Star Wars,’ steps down from Lucasfilm
After more than 13 years at the helm of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down from the “Star Wars” factory founded by George Lucas. The Walt Disney Co. announced Thursday that it will now turn to Dave Filoni to steer “Star Wars,” as president and chief creative officer, into its...
