TV Talk with Rob Owen category, Page 47

Two biographies of famous Americans – one a fictional movie, the other a documentary – highlight the next week of TV premieres. ‘Mahalia’ Gospel biopic “Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia” (8 p.m. Saturday, Lifetime) stars Tony Award nominee Danielle Brooks (“Orange Is the New Black”) as gospel legend Mahalia Jackson, who...

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: You talk a lot about some of the reporters, specifically on KDKA, being “a freelancer.” Exactly how does that work? Are any of the reporters...

It should come as no surprise that both stories in the season two premiere of McCandless native Greg Nicotero’s “Creepshow” are set in Pittsburgh. He’s an unabashed devotee to his hometown and his memories growing up watching WPXI-TV’s “Chiller Theater” before getting his earliest work doing makeup effects on Pittsburgh...

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 do none of the weathermen last at WTAE? First Jerry Martz, then Stephen Cropper and then Ray Petelin left. — Diana, Harrison City Rob:...

Briana Smith started on the job last week at KDKA-TV, taking over weekend morning anchor duties. She’ll also report some weekdays and serve as a fill-in anchor as needed. She takes the place of Lisa Washington, who left KDKA in November to become a weeknight evening anchor at WNEP-TV in...

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Pittsburgh native Judy Tygard, executive producer of CBS News’ “48 Hours” (10 p.m. Saturday, KDKA-TV), can trace the inspiration for her career back to middle school and reading about pioneering journalist and Western Pennsylvania native...

Sloane Simon, a 16-year-old Fox Chapel Area High School sophomore, made it to Hollywood Week on Monday night’s episode of ABC’s “American Idol” (8 p.m., WTAE-TV). But due to the vagaries of TV production and editing, her audition in front of the show’s celebrity judges where she received that “golden...

After the inventiveness of Marvel’s “WandaVision,” a meditation on grief that lead character Wanda tried to escape by inhabiting TV sitcoms through the decades, whatever came next was likely to pale in comparison, particularly for those non-Marvel devotees who appreciated the attention to pop culture detail in “WandaVision.” And so...

The late Fred Rogers carried the words found on a plaque at his alma mater, Rollins College, in his wallet: “Life is for Service.” Now Rogers’ life of service to children through PBS’s “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” will be honored with a sculpture to be unveiled on the Rollins campus in...

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 WPXI Channel 11 morning news switch to a separate anchor for reporting the “breaking news” in the mornings? — Michelle, Penn Hills Rob:...

Hearst-owned Channel 4 has hired a replacement for Cam Tran, who departed for a Hearst sister-station, WESH-TV, in Orlando. Brian Hutton Jr. arrives from WNCN-TV, the CBS affiliate in Raleigh, N.C. He’s also an adjunct lecturer in meteorology at Mississippi State University. Hutton grew up in Johnstown and attended California...

A few weeks ago, Swissvale native Billy Gardell received welcome news: An early third season renewal of his CBS sitcom “Bob (Hearts) Abishola,” returning with a new episode at 8:30 p.m. Monday on KDKA-TV. “That never happened to me on ‘Mike & Molly.’ They usually made you wait until May...

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: What happened to Ion Plus on FiOS in Pittsburgh? I noticed the night of Feb. 27 it wasn’t on and now on Feb. 28 it’s...

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Until the debut of “Euphoria” in 2019, HBO hadn’t shown much of a desire to put on programming about teens. That’s changed for HBO, which last year added “We Are Who We Are,” and sister-streamer...

Former KDKA-TV meteorologist Bob Kudzma, who retired from the station in 2002 after 34 years on the air, died from cancer Thursday at age 81. A New Hampshire native, Kudzma earned a degree in mathematics from the University of New Hampshire and entered the Air Force, which sent him to...

Streaming service Shudder will stream the “lost” George A. Romero film “The Amusement Park” this summer. Restored by the Pittsburgh-based George A. Romero Foundation, the 1973 film was commissioned by the Pittsburgh-based Lutheran Society as a PSA about being helpful to the elderly, but it was never released publicly. Romero’s...

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Ever since ABC premiered “Lost” to critical acclaim and commercial success in 2004, networks have tried to duplicate its success with serialized, mystery-unlocking stories. Rarely have networks succeeded. A litany of supernatural/alien-themed series — “666...

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: With the weather being a top headline lately, why do the local broadcasts tease us with “forecast and snow accumulations coming up”? Weather is available...