Movies/TV category, Page 48
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Hulu cancels series that was to film in Pittsburgh; new WTAE reporter; Verizon’s new streaming bundle
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment including this weekend’s news that Hulu has dropped Lee Daniels’ Sammy Davis Jr. biographical series that had planned to film in Pittsburgh in 2024. Producers...
Kennedy Center Honors fetes new inductees, including Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal and Dionne WarwickVideo
WASHINGTON (AP) — The newest group of Kennedy Center honorees, including comedian Billy Crystal and actor Queen Latifah, were feted Sunday night at a star-studded event commemorating their lifetime achievement in arts and entertainment. Opera singer Renée Fleming, music star Barry Gibb and prolific hitmaker Dionne Warwick were also honored...
Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ is No. 1 at the box office with $21 million debut
Beyoncé ruled the box office this weekend. Her concert picture, ” Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” opened in first place with $21 million in North American ticket sales, according to estimates from AMC Theatres Sunday. The post-Thanksgiving, early December box office is notoriously slow, but “Renaissance” defied the odds. Not...
TV Talk: Recently published books go behind the scenes of TV biz
TribLive TV writer Rob Owen offers reading tips for recent books about TV. One of the pitfalls of writing about TV in the #peakTV era is that if you don’t make a point to take a break from watching screeners of TV shows, you’ll never find time to pick up...
Will an earlier Oscars broadcast attract more viewers? ABC plans to try the 7 p.m. slot in 2024
Academy Awards enthusiasts won’t have to stay up quite as late to hear the best picture winner in March. The 96th Oscars will begin one hour early, with the official show starting at 7 p.m. Eastern for the first time, ABC said Thursday. The official pre-show will also begin earlier,...
TV Talk: KDKA+ announces 8 p.m. anchor; local ratings; Pa.-set ‘Great Photo’ uncovers family’s story
WPKD-TV, known in branding as KDKA+ on Channel 19, will begin broadcasting a one-hour 8 p.m. newscast Jan. 8 with Jessica Guay as anchor, relocating from her current weekend morning anchor position on KDKA-TV. Ray Petelin will provide weather forecasts on “Primetime News on KDKA+.” Recent hire Megan Shinn will...
Etna-based business highlighted in 100-year-old movie
After the Regent Square Theater closed in 2019, Pittsburgh Sound + Image director of programming Steven Haines discovered a 100-year-old movie with an Etna connection. Now he wants to show it to the public. Haines was given all of the films from the Regent Square Theater to comb through. “This...
Actor Jonathan Majors in court for expected start of jury selection in New York assault trial
NEW YORK — The actor Jonathan Majors appeared in court in New York on Wednesday for the expected start of jury selection in a trial in which he is accused of injuring his then-girlfriend during an argument last spring. The trial could wind up playing a big role in what...
TV Q&A: Why isn’t Chris DeRose on KDKA-TV in the mornings?
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 Chris DeRose still at KDKA-TV? He’s been on sporadically in the morning. — Dave, via email Rob: He’s still there, just no longer working...
TV Talk: Ashley Zilka exits WTAE; Cuban to leave ‘Shark Tank’; RMU grad on ‘Squid Game’
Channel 4 general assignment reporter Ashley Zilka, who joined the station just two years ago, posted to Facebook this week that she’s leaving the station Thursday and leaving TV news altogether to join her family’s baking supply business, Zilka & Company. Zilka grew up in Rostraver Township and graduated from...
TV Talk: T.J. ‘Doo Wop’ Lubinsky finally got to make his dream music showVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Locally based TV producer T.J. Lubinsky hit on a winning formula for public TV pledge specials in 1999 with WQED-TV’s “Doo Wop 50,” Lubinsky’s first national pledge show. He’s been making PBS music-centric pledge specials...
Stephen Colbert’s appendix ruptures, prompting ‘The Late Show’ to take time off
Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” will be off the airwaves this week as the comedian recovers from surgery to repair a ruptured appendix. “Sorry to say that I have to cancel our shows this week,” Colbert announced Monday on Threads. “I’m sure you’re thinking, ‘Turkey overdose, Steve? Gravy boat capsize?’...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘Growing Up Yinzer’ book, ‘Fargo,’ ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including an interview with Dick Roberts of the new book, “Growing Up Yinzer: Memories from Beloved Pittsburgh” ($25, The History Press), which includes reminiscences from...
‘Hunger Games’ feasts, ‘Napoleon’ conquers but ‘Wish’ doesn’t come true at Thanksgiving box office
NEW YORK — The Walt Disney Co.’s “Wish” had been expected to rule the Thanksgiving weekend box office, but moviegoers instead feasted on leftovers, as “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” led ticket sales for the second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Neither of the weekend’s...
TV Talk: Joe Wos reads his ‘Yinzer’s Night Before Christmas’ on WQED-TVVideo
Emmy-winning “Cartoon Academy” host Joe Wos brings his “Yinzer’s Night Before Christmas” to WQED-TV as a three-minute short that will air throughout December beginning after the 4 p.m. airing of “Lucy Worsley’s 12 Days of Tudor Christmas” on Dec. 11. The video also will post online at youtube.com/@WQED and at...
TV Talk: Western Pa. doctor competes on ‘Squid Game;’ Tamburitzans back on WQED-TVVideo
The success of 2021’s scripted South Korean drama series “Squid Game” naturally made Netflix pursue a reality show version, “Squid Game: The Challenge,” now streaming. The production values are huge and magnificent – the show, featuring 456 contestants at its outset, boasts a $4.56 million prize – and when “The...
TV Q&A: Is SportsNet Pittsburgh airing more local collegiate games?
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 writing this email watching RIT vs. Mercyhurst on SportsNet Pittsburgh. I saw news about SNP airing Robert Morris University games, but is this part...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Mr. McFeely, ‘Rustin,’ Charissa Thompson, the return of Urkel, ‘Wolf Hall’
In this episode of the Pittsburgh Pop podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Rustin,” now streaming on Netflix, and new Emmy honors for Pittsburgh actor David Newell, who played Mr. McFeely on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Benz...
Winning Food Network’s ‘Summer Baking Championship’ sweetens life of pastry chef Zoe Peckich
Zoe Peckich has always had a sweet tooth. Growing up in Canonsburg, the town where Sarris Candies was founded, was a huge inspiration for her love of dessert. Things have gotten even sweeter for the pastry chef at Ritual House in Downtown Pittsburgh since claiming the title of Food Network’s...
Golden Globes find new home at CBS after years of scandal
NEW YORK — The Golden Globes have found a new broadcast home at CBS after the troubled awards show lost its longtime home at NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was dissolved after years of scandal. The 81st Golden Globes will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+...
TV Talk: David Newell, aka Mr. McFeely on ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,’ to receive Emmy honorVideo
Pittsburgh actor David Newell, who for more than three decades played Speedy Deliveryman Mr. McFeely on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” will be inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Gold Circle at the second Children’s & Family Emmy Awards in Los Angeles Dec. 17. The Gold Circle is...
TV Talk: 5th ‘Fargo’ TV installment explores ‘Minnesota nice’ in uncivil societyVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Sometimes you don’t realize just how good an actor can be at their craft until you see the actor in a completely different role. From her work as bubbly Keeley Jones on “Ted Lasso,” I...
Univision news anchor León Krauze departs after network’s controversial Trump interview
León Krauze, a veteran news anchor for Univision and its Los Angeles TV station, has resigned in the aftermath the Spanish-language network’s recent interview with former President Trump. “After thirteen rewarding years, my journey with Univision Noticias concluded yesterday,” Krauze wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). “It...
TV Talk: Godzilla (and friends!) attack; ‘Cartoon Academy’ returnsVideo
Despite its presence on one of the smaller streaming services, WhipMedia’s anticipation report said Apple TV+’s new 10-episode live-action Godzilla series, “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” is the most-anticipated new series in November. Turns out there’s a huge fandom for Godzilla – and not just in Japan – that I only...
Kevin Hart will receive the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement in comedy
WASHINGTON — Comedian Kevin Hart has been chosen to receive the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement in American humor, capping a three-decade career that has seen him rise from the open mics of Philadelphia to become one of his generation’s most successful performers. Hart, 44, launched his...
