Rob Owen stories, Page 21
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...
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...
TV Talk: New ‘NCIS,’ ‘The Curse’ debut; ‘For All Mankind’ returnsVideo
Given its worldwide popularity, it’s a no-brainer for Paramount Global to extend CBS’s “NCIS” franchise beyond the United States, especially given that the real NCIS has offices in 41 countries. CBS’s “NCIS: Sydney” (8 p.m. Nov. 14, KDKA-TV) leans into the possible conflict with local authorities as NCIS special agent...
TV Q&A: Did WTAE’s Kelly Sasso go part-time?
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 Kelly Sasso working part-time now? She’s never there a full five days — Bridget, via email Rob: Nope, her status with the station has...
Pittsburgh Pop: Talking Mr. McFeely’s costume at the Smithsonian, ‘Stranger Things’ prequel, new KDKA reporterVideo
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 that the costume worn by Pittsburgh actor David Newell when he played Mr. McFeely on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” is now on display at the...
TV Talk: Taylor Sheridan’s latest Western tells the story of U.S. Marshal Bass ReevesVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. ^ The latest — and the last for a while, because of the writers’ and actors’ strikes delaying production — new Taylor Sheridan series isn’t a show he’s written. Instead, Chad Feehan (“Ray Donovan,” “Rectify”)...
TV Talk: Vibrant lead performance, meaty script elevate filmed-in-Pittsburgh biopic ‘Rustin’Video
It seems likely the Oscars will have at least one other biopic best picture nominee alongside “Oppenheimer:” Netflix’s filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Rustin” easily earns a spot among the superior films of 2023. Streaming Nov. 17 on Netflix and playing at Waterworks Cinema Friday, Colman Domingo (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) delivers a studied,...
TV Q&A: Why has KDKA’s Heather Abraham been off so much lately?
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 is up with KDKA-TV’s Heather Abraham missing work so often? I’ve never seen someone on a highly rated TV show disappear so often. Is...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry’s death; new grant for Pittsburgh Film Office, WQED-TV screws up again
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 the $200,000 grant that Citizens Bank gave to the Pittsburgh Film Office on Friday that will be allocated to Create Pa. as it trains...
TV Talk: Western Pa. native, CMU grad bring engrossing ‘Fellow Travelers’ to Showtime, Paramount+Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Equal parts political thriller and steamy, doomed romance, “Fellow Travelers” proves to be an addictive yarn that, despite its period setting, feels vital and relevant in 2023 America. Now streaming on Paramount + and making...
TV Talk: Striking Pittsburgh laborers loom over season 2 of HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’Video
In season two of “The Gilded Age” (9 p.m. Sunday on HBO and Max), all roads lead to Pittsburgh. From writer Julian Fellowes, “The Gilded Age” (aka the American “Downton Abbey”) continues to unfurl the soapy stories of gloriously costumed upstairs/downstairs families and staff in Manhattan circa 1883. “The Gilded...
TV Q&A: Why do TV news anchors hold tablets during newscasts?
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 noticed years ago that the anchors on WTAE-TV were holding computer tablets in their hands. I remember one of the anchors dropped it on...
TV Talk: Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher on ‘NFL Icons’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. An NFL Hall of Famer, former Steelers coach Bill Cowher is the subject of this week’s episode of “NFL Icons” (10 p.m. Oct. 28, MGM+). The hourlong episode explores Cowher’s youth in Crafton, his stint...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Pittsburgh’s market rank drops again, Zachary Quinto’s new NBC series
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 Pittsburgh’s Nielsen market rank, which fell yet again. Previously the No. 26 largest TV market nationally, Pittsburgh has fallen to No. 28 for the...
TV Talk: ‘Repairing the World’ tells stories from aftermath of Tree of Life attack
Oakland, Calif.,-based filmmaker Patrice O’Neill began chronicling community responses to hate more than 25 years ago. When she heard about the 2018 assault on Squirrel Hill’s Tree of Life synagogue, she realized her Not in Our Town team had more work to do. “Repairing the World: Stories from the Tree...
TV Talk: New ‘Rustin’ trailer released; ‘Reel Money’ on building Pittsburgh’s TV/film economyVideo
Netflix confirmed filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Rustin” will play in at least one Pittsburgh theater beginning Nov. 3 before it streams on Netflix on Nov. 17. Netflix has not confirmed which Pittsburgh theater (or theaters) will show the movie. Netflix also released a new second trailer for the PG-13-rated bio-pic on gay Civil...
TV Q&A: Why does local TV news cover water main breaks?
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: TV news reporters used to be called ambulance chasers, just like lawyers. Now it seems WPXI-TV reporters are chasing water main breaks, even ones on...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking regional Emmy winners, ‘The Morning Show,’ ‘Sunday Ticket’ on YouTube
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 local winners of the 2023 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards that were handed out in Philadelphia Saturday night. WQED-TV garnered eight trophies. WPXI took home seven...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh-filmed ‘Handyman from Hell’ debuts on Lifetime Movie NetworkVideo
Comedian Steve Hofstetter isn’t an area native – he grew up in Queens, N.Y. – but his career as a stand-up performer brought him to Western Pennsylvania often enough that he opted to move here two-and-a-half years ago. He bought a former Stanton Heights church and turned it into the...
TV Talk: George Romero leaps off comic book page in ‘Creepshow’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. McCandless native Greg Nicotero loves to weave Pittsburgh homages into his “Creepshow” series, which televises its fourth season at 10 p.m. Fridays beginning Oct. 13 on AMC (episodes also stream on Shudder and AMC+). In...
TV Talk: ‘Frasier’ revived; James Burrows on Pittsburgh-set ‘Back to You’Video
While some TV reboots exist for creative reasons, others are merely a cash grab. Paramount+’s “Frasier” sequel is primarily a cash grab, but also manages to wring some additional humor out of familiar situations and relationships even though Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) is the only returning series regular character from the...
TV Q&A: Why is a KDKA-TV anchor in the newsroom instead of the studio?
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 is the deal with Kym Gable anchoring from the newsroom instead of at the regular anchor desk? — Kitty, Charleroi Rob: My guess would...
TV Talk: Netflix’s ‘Fall of the House of Usher’ offers well-defined characters meeting predictable deathsVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. The Flanaganverse — spooky limited series from writer Mike Flanagan including “The Haunting of Hill House,” “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” “Midnight Mass” (and, if we must count it, the lesser, teen-focused, canceled-after-one-season “The Midnight...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Mr. McFeely meets his puppet alter ego; ‘The Office’ mural in Scranton, Pirates’ ratings rise
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 a video of Pittsburgh actor David Newell, best known as Mr. McFeely on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” meeting his puppet alter ego from PBS’s “Donkey...
TV Talk: Pittsburgher heads to ‘Bachelor in Paradise,’ Ken Burns introduces ‘American Buffalo’
Following his reality TV turn in ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” and as predicted by spoiler sites, Pittsburgher Tanner Courtad will indeed be among the stars of ABC’s “Bachelor in Paradise” beginning with the Oct. 12 episode (9-11 p.m., WTAE-TV). In an interview after his run on “The Bachelorette,” Courtad said a...
