TV Talk: WPXI-TV revives ‘Chiller Theater’
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WPXI-TV will bring back its classic sci-fi/horror movie show “Chiller Theater” for eight weeks this fall beginning this coming weekend, airing episodes at 11:30 p.m. Saturday on PCNC and the WPXI Now app.
These aren’t reruns of the original series hosted by Bill “Chilly Billy” Cardille from 1963-84, but a new iteration hosted by Channel 11 morning meteorologist Scott Harbaugh.
A post at WPXI.com reveals the first episode will be “The Brain from Planet Arous,” a 1957 black and white movie about “an evil alien brain … [that] hijacks the body of an Earth scientist in order to control the Earth,” per IMDB.com.
In the WPXI.com post, Harbaugh says the new version of “Chiller Theater” pays homage to Cardille in the opening minutes of the first show and also includes an interview with Cardille’s daughter, Lori Cardille, who Harbaugh says has been part of the conversations around the show’s revival since efforts began in 2018.
WPXI employee Jake Klingensmith and former employee Jeremy Lynch are credited with the revival, which is sponsored by a local haunted attraction. Movies from the show’s original run, minus the Cardille wraparounds, are available at https://www.youtube.com/@ChillerTheaterTV/videos.
Episodes of the revived “Chiller Theater” will air and stream weekly at 11:30 p.m. Saturdays, Sept. 9 through Oct. 28.
Channel surfing
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