Movies/TV category, Page 40
TV Talk: Filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Kingstown’ gets season 3 premiere dateVideo
Often streaming series are in the can for months before they show up on a streaming service — “American Rust,” which premiered on Amazon’s Prime Video earlier today, was locked in August 2023 — but post-strikes Paramount+ is really pushing the third season of filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Mayor of Kingstown,” announcing a...
TV Talk: ‘American Rust’ makes case for renewal with a twisty 2nd seasonVideo
The first season of filmed-in-Pittsburgh “American Rust” started too slow and painted most of its characters and the fictional town of Buell, Fayette County, with the same turbid gray. It’s no wonder viewers tuned out and Showtime canceled the show. But even in that first season, “American Rust” found its...
TV Q&A: Why did ‘9-1-1’ move from Fox to ABC?
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 did 9-1-1 move from Fox to ABC? Did Fox simply not want the show any longer, or was there more to it? — Xavier,...
Caitlin Clark, Iowa claim another record with most-viewed first-round game in women’s NCAA tourney history
BRISTOL, Conn. — Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes can claim another record — the most-viewed first-round game in women’s NCAA Tournament history. The Hawkeyes’ 91-65 win over Holy Cross on Saturday averaged 3.23 million viewers on ABC, according to Nielsen. The viewership surpassed the 2.50 million who watched last...
NBC says it will cut ties with former RNC head Ronna McDaniel after days of employee objections
NEW YORK — NBC News will cut ties with former Republican National Committee chief Ronna McDaniel, hired last week as an on-air political contributor, following a furious protest by some of its journalists and commentators, according to a memo from the top official of the network’s news division. The communication...
TV Talk: CMU grad John Wells sets Noah Wyle medical drama in Pittsburgh; former WTAE forecaster exits TV
John Wells, a 1979 Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama grad, will executive produce “THE PITT,” a Pittsburgh-set medical drama to star his “ER” alum Noah Wyle that received a straight-to-series order from streaming service Max. R. Scott Gemmill, another “ER” grad, will serve as showrunner of the series that...
Netflix series ‘3 Body Problem’ poses some big sci-fi questionsVideo
I recently finished the first book of Liu Cixin’s science-fiction trilogy, which shares its title, “The 3 Body Problem,” with the Netflix sci-fi series that debuted last week. And while this is only the first season, and I can’t say with certainty that the show will go where the books...
‘Morning Joe’ hosts add to internal NBC criticism of Ronna McDaniel’s hiring as a contributorVideo
NEW YORK — The internal furor over NBC News’ decision to hire former Republican National Committee head Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor spread Monday, with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” hosts saying on the air that they strongly objected and wouldn’t have her on their show. “We hope NBC will reconsider...
TV Talk: Pittsburgher ‘The Chase’ star back on ‘Jeopardy!’ 20 years later; ‘PTL’ turns 20Video
Victoria Groce of Point Breeze first competed on the daytime game show “Jeopardy!” in 2005, winning $23,801 over two episodes just before she moved to Pittsburgh, where her husband works at Carnegie Mellon as a software engineer. She previously worked at the University of Pittsburgh in various roles, including as...
‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is No. 1 with $45.2M, Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Immaculate’ lands in 4thVideo
NEW YORK — Ghost busting is still a good business. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” collected $45.2 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, handing Sony Pictures the studio’s first No. 1 film since last summer. The opening weekend for “Frozen Empire,” in 4,345 theaters, was nearly...
Solar eclipses show up across the entertainment spectrum
From the birth of a carnivorous houseplant to a time traveler using the knowledge of modern science to his advantage, the phenomenon of the solar eclipse has played a role across the pop culture spectrum from cinema to song and beyond. Here are a few examples. ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’...
Comedian Kevin Hart is joining a select group honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American humor
WASHINGTON — Kevin Hart, who rose from the open mics and comedy clubs of his native Philadelphia to become one of the country’s most recognizable performers, will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at a gala performance Sunday at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Hart, 44,...
Cameron Diaz, Benji Madden announce surprise birth of baby boy
The stork has arrived with another bundle of joy for Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden. The “Shrek” star, 51, and Good Charlotte musician, 45, shared a joint Instagram post on Friday announcing the birth of baby boy Cardinal. The news came as a surprise as no one knew the couple...
TV Talk: ‘Game of Thrones’ showrunners launch ‘3 Body Problem;’ KDKA-TV adds reporterVideo
For their first series after showrunning HBO’s mammoth hit “Game of Thrones,” writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (with Alexander Woo, “The Terror,” “True Blood”) adapt Chinese sci-fi author Liu Cixin’s “3 Body Problem” for Netflix and the result is a show that begins semi-intriguing and by its fourth episode...
TV Talk: ‘American Rust’ season 2 set largely in PittsburghVideo
For its second season, the filmed-in-Pittsburgh drama “American Rust” moves from Showtime to Amazon’s Prime Video. The show’s setting also shifts. In its first season “American Rust” was set almost entirely in fictional Buell, Fayette County, but for the second season, the show splits its time between Buell and Pittsburgh,...
TV Q&A: Why are some stations’ digital subchannels on cable but not others?
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 are some of the local stations’ subchannels carried on cable (Comcast) but others are not? I can’t see any rhyme or reason and I...
ESPN will remain the home of the College Football Playoff through 2031 under $7.8 billion deal
The College Football Playoff and ESPN announced a $7.8 billion deal Tuesday that will give the network exclusive rights to the expanded postseason through the 2031 season, with the national championship game moving to ABC starting in 2026. Financial terms were not announced, but as previously reported the new six-year...
TV Talk: WQED-TV profiles Pittsburgh’s broadcasting pioneer women
As part of its lineup of Women’s History Month programming, WQED-TV will broadcast the half-hour “mini doc” “Broadcast Pioneers” at 8 p.m. March 21. The program is a packaged compilation of previously released short feature stories on four women who made significant contributions to broadcasting in Western Pennsylvania, including kids...
Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival returns to Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville
For the next two weeks, Japanese cinema will take over at Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville. The Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival, some of the theater’s most popular annual programming, returns March 15 through March 28, with 19 films and several special events. Kelsey Zehmisch, marketing director for Row House Cinema,...
TV Talk: Producers explain why ‘Young Sheldon’ is endingVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a weekly viewing tip. BURBANK, Calif. – “The Big Bang Theory” prequel series “Young Sheldon” (8 p.m. Thursdays, KDKA-TV) will end its seven-season run on CBS in May. Why now, aside from the economic realities that after a TV series hits its...
TV Talk: Greensburg native writes Hallmark Mystery’s ‘Crimes of Fashion;’ ‘9-1-1’ relocates to ABC
Greensburg native Stephanie Meyer Sourapas wrote Hallmark Mystery’s “Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch” (9 p.m. Friday) with writing partner Tom McCurrie and, unlike many Hallmark movies that are set in small-town America, “Crimes of Fashion” moves the action to Paris, though large chunks of the film shot in Budapest doubling...
Elon Musk’s X cancels partnership with Don Lemon before his new show even begins
Don Lemon received his first lesson in doing business with Elon Musk, the mercurial owner of social media platform X. The former CNN host interviewed Musk for the first edition of his new podcast, “The Don Lemon Show,” which was scheduled to launch next week on X, formerly known as...
TV Q&A: Are 2 WTAE broadcasters sisters?
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: Are Elena LaQuatra and Kelly Sasso sisters? — Anne, via email Rob: I was 99.999999% sure the WTAE broadcasters are not related but to eliminate...
Olivia Munn reveals she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy
Olivia Munn has revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy, thanking her doctors and urging fans to calculate their own risk assessment. “I’m lucky. We caught it with enough time that I had options. I want the same for any woman who might have...
Oscars telecast draws 19.5 million viewers, up 4% from last year
A lively Oscars ceremony boosted by two genuine blockbuster best picture nominees in “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” helped boost the ABC telecast to largest audience since 2020. The 96th Annual Academy Awards ceremony Sunday ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood was watched on ABC by an average audience of 19.5...
