Movies/TV category, Page 49
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...
Matthew Perry’s ‘Friends’ costars reminisce about late actorVideo
LOS ANGELES — Matthew Perry’s “Friends” co-stars are sharing more remembrances of the star in their first personal social media posts since the actor’s death last month. Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer posted heartfelt notes about Perry, who died Oct. 28, on Instagram. The posts on...
TV Q&A: Why aren’t guests in the studio on ‘Nightly Sports Call’?
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: On KDKA+’s “Nightly Sports Call,” why aren’t the guests in the Fan Cave with the TV host? The Fan Cave was remodeled in the beginning...
A veteran journalist who is refusing to divulge her sources could be held in contempt of court
WASHINGTON — In a case with potentially far-reaching press freedom implications, a federal judge in Washington is weighing whether to hold in contempt a veteran journalist who has refused to identify her sources for stories about a Chinese American scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged. The...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking local baker on Food Network, ‘streamflation:’ the rising costs of streaming services
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 Pittsburgher Jasmine Cho, a past winner of Food Network’s “Christmas Cookie Challenge” who competes again on the show at 9 p.m. Thursday.Eight former “Christmas...
‘The Marvels’ melts down at the box office, marking a new low for the MCU
NEW YORK — Since 2008’s “Iron Man,” the Marvel machine has been one of the most unstoppable forces in box-office history. Now, though, that aura of invincibility is showing signs of wear and tear. The superhero factory hit a new low with the weekend launch of “The Marvels,” which opened...
Hollywood actors union board votes to approve the deal with studios that ended the strike
Board members from Hollywood’s actors union voted Friday to approve the deal with studios that ended their strike after nearly four months. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ executive director and chief negotiator, announced at an afternoon news conference that it was approved with 86%...
TV Talk: KDKA-TV hires weekend morning anchor; ABC cancels ‘The Rookie: Feds’
KDKA-TV has its new weekend morning anchor: Megan Shinn, currently an anchor at WRTV-TV, the ABC affiliate in Indianapolis, Ind., will take the position vacated by Briana Smith when Smith left for a reporter position in Philadelphia in May. Shinn will also report for morning KDKA/WPKD newscasts some weekdays. Shinn,...
TV Talk: It takes too long to get to ‘A Murder at the End of the World’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Hulu’s FX-produced seven-episode limited series “A Murder at the End of the World” assembles all the pieces necessary for a modern-day take on Agatha Christie but excises any sense of fun. Instead, this morose mystery...
TV Talk: WTAE-TV’s Kasey Reigner announces exitVideo
WTAE-TV weekend morning meteorologist Kasey Reigner, who joined the station two years ago, posted to her social media accounts Thursday that she chose not to re-up with the station and will depart Channel 4 on Nov. 30. Reigner, who became the fifth member of the WTAE weather team when she...
Movie Review: Iman Vellani is a scene-stealer in low-stakes ‘The Marvels’Video
The stakes feel immensely low in ” The Marvels,” and it’s not because this is a movie that spends a fair amount of time following cats or has an out-of-nowhere musical number. It’s possibly because somewhere along the way, Marvel movies just stopped feeling like events. And this galactic trifle...
TV Talk: Strike’s end means filming will return to Western Pa., including a Sammy Davis Jr. limited series
With the actors’ strike over, though yet to be officially ratified by the members of SAG-AFTRA (they will ratify it), everyone wants to know: When will things go back to normal? When will my favorite shows return? It’s going to be a little bit yet. Regarding local production, “Mayor of...
Review: The Hunger Games return in ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,’ with the odds in its favorVideo
Two hours and 37 minutes is pretty long for a “ballad,” but you can’t call it “The Hunger Games: The Three-Cycle Opera of Songbirds and Snakes” now, can you? Concision was never much in favor in the four “Hunger Games” films, which reached a seeming finale with 2015’s “The Hunger...
