Rob Owen stories, Page 22
TV Talk: ‘Loki’ returns, Upper St. Clair grad stars in ‘Monsters’Video
It’s been more than two years since the first season of Marvel’s “Loki” streamed on Disney+, but producer and Marvel creative executive Kevin Wright said fans with fading memories can rewatch just the last 10 minutes of the first-season finale to get reacquainted with where the new season picks up....
TV Talk: Fred Rogers’ Production’s ‘Odd Squad’ gets 4th season and it’s U.K.-based
Fred Roger’s Production’s “Odd Squad,” a rare live-action series for PBS Kids that educates children in math concepts while entertaining viewers of all ages with humorous adventures, will return for a fourth season, this time going across the pond to become “Odd Squad UK.” In this new season a new...
TV Q&A: On which Pittsburgh channel will Steelers’ Thursday night games air?
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: Will Thursday night football games be broadcast on local channels or will it be subscription streaming TV only? — Mark, via email Rob: Just like...
TV Talk: KDKA’s ‘High Q’ renamed for 25th season; film workers stage market fundraiser
It started as “Hometown High Q,” then went by “KDKA High Q,” but for its 25th season that begins airing this weekend at 11 a.m Saturdays, the show will be titled “KD Quiz.” In his fourth season as the show’s host, KDKA meteorologist Ray Petelin said there will be more...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking new celeb couple with Pittsburgh roots, Messi on Apple TV+, strike’s aftermath
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 new couple alert: Upcoming “Deal or No Deal Island” host and Mt. Lebanon native Joe Manganiello, who filed for divorce from wife Sofia...
TV Talk: Missing this series? Watch that show insteadVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. With the 2023-24 TV season underway, viewers are mostly finding their favorite scripted series aren’t back due to the dual writers’ and actors’ strikes. No new “Abbott Elementary,” no original “Chicago Fire,” no fresh “Blue...
TV Talk: Former Pittsburgher hosts ‘Rico to the Rescue;’ ‘Gen V’ cynically quotes Mister RogersVideo
Monroeville native Rico Leon lucked out when his car broke down in Denver six years ago. He ended up staying in the Mile High city, which led to a career fixing reconstruction messes other contractors started but never finished. That business resulted in him starring in his own TV show,...
TV Talk: Mt. Lebanon native Joe Manganiello to host NBC game show rebootVideo
Mt. Lebanon native Joe Manganiello, who recently starred in AMC+’s canceled sci-fi drama “Moonhaven,” will host NBC’s reboot of “Deal or No Deal” in 2024. Manganiello, a 1995 graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School and a 2000 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s acting program, takes over from Howie Mandel, who...
TV Q&A: Where did Ray Petelin’s ‘Hey Ray’ sidekick go?
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 hasn’t Elizabeth Petelin been on the “Hey Ray” segments recently with her dad, KDKA-TV meteorologist Ray Petelin? The banter between them was priceless. —...
TV Talk: Why it’s so hard to find some football on TV, especially college games
Sports rights have always bounced among media companies, but there are so many more TV outlets today than 50 years ago. With dozens of outlets across broadcast, cable and streaming, it can be challenging to figure out where your team might be playing week to week. In an on-demand TV...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Penguins’ Willie O’Ree Academy on WQED-TV, ‘Smackdown’ on the move, fall TV
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 WQED-TV’s new 30-minute documentary “Equity on Ice: The Willie O’Ree Academy” (8 p.m. Oct. 5, Channel 13), produced by Beth Dolinar and Dave Forstate...
TV Talk: ‘Krapopolis’ a smart bet on Fox’s part
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. There are times when a TV show feels like an odd duck for its network (e.g. Fox’s 2007 Pittsburgh-set sitcom “Back to You,” which might have lasted longer than a single season if it had...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh chef enters ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ with Gordon RamsayVideo
Mattias Butts of Ross had to keep quiet for almost two years about his role as a contestant on the upcoming American Dream-themed, 22nd season of Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” (8 p.m. Sept. 28). “When I finally got to tell somebody, it was very strange because I felt like a kid...
TV Q&A: What happened to WQED-TV’s signal?
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 Channel 13 having trouble with its signal? I’m 20 miles from Pittsburgh and sometimes I turn on Channel 13 and it’ll say “no picture”...
TV Talk: Kurt Angle documentary streams on Peacock
For documentary filmmaker Alex Perry, there wasn’t much question that he was interested in making a film about Dormont native, Olympic gold medalist, one-time TV sports anchor and pro wrestler Kurt Angle. “Kurt was my favorite pro wrestler growing up,” Perry said in a phone interview last week. “When I...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Royce Jones’ departure, Mister Rogers tribute song, Disney characters meet the NFLVideo
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 new Mister Rogers tribute song and video released last week by actress/singer Kate Micucci. The video features illustrations of Rogers and Mr. McFeely...
TV Talk: PBS dramas return, including ‘Annika,’ WWII-set ‘World on Fire’Video
On Pittsburgh’s WQED-TV, PBS dramas remain unimpacted by the strikes and will see the return of “Masterpiece” series “World on Fire” (9 p.m. Oct. 15) and “Annika” (10 p.m. Oct. 15) for their second seasons. Additional PBS dramas include season two of “Hotel Portofino” (8 p.m. Oct. 15) and the...
TV Talk: Prepare for an onslaught of unscripted series on broadcast channels’ fall lineupsVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for the coming season. With just two exceptions — NBC’s “Quantum Leap” and “Magnum P.I.” reboots, which filmed enough episodes to debut new episodes this fall — viewers’ scripted live-action favorites won’t have any new episodes this fall because of...
TV Talk: Royce Jones exits KDKA-TV, Penguins on Channel 19
KDKA-TV reporter/anchor Royce Jones, who anchored the 10 p.m. news on KDKA-TV sister-station WPKD-TV, Channel 19, is no longer employed by the stations. In a two-sentence email sent to staff this week, KDKA/WPKD news director Shawn Hoder wrote, “FYI Royce Jones is no longer employed with CBS News Pittsburgh, KDKA/WPKD....
TV Talk: Cable and streaming won’t run out of scripted originals this fall
While broadcast channels mostly are lacking in scripted originals this fall, cable and streaming services tend to work further ahead, so there will still be a bounty of scripted series premiering over the next three months. On Monday, Amazon Freevee revives the daily Australian soap “Neighbours,” which aired from 1985...
TV Talk: Celina Pompeani Mathison gives birth; KDKA-TV hires reporter Alexandra Todd
Alexandra Todd, a 2009 graduate of Seneca Valley High School in Harmony who most recently worked for two years as a morning anchor in Sioux Falls, S.D., will join KDKA-TV next week as a reporter. Technically she’ll be a MMJ (multimedia journalist), meaning she’ll be a one-woman band who reports...
TV Talk: Julie Grant anchors new Court TV show; ‘The Gold’ takes silverVideo
Former KDKA-TV legal reporter Julie Grant, who joined Court TV as an anchor in 2018, has a new show on the network. “Opening Statements with Julie Grant” (8-9 a.m. weekdays) debuted Monday. Grant previously anchored “Court TV Live” noon-3 p.m. weekdays. Now she’s on the air 8-11 a.m. with the...
TV Q&A: Could a TV news dream team happen?
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: Your recent updates on Erica Mokay and Jim Lokay make me wish KDKA would lure Lokay back to Pittsburgh. Then the two could be teamed...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘Chiller Theater,’ daytime TV changes, sports on Max
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 revival of WPXI-TV’s “Chiller Theater”, WTAE-TV going off DISH Network, the possibility of the Pirates ending up on SportsNet Pittsburgh after all and...
TV Talk: WTAE joins WPXI in losing carriage on DISH Network
For perhaps the first time ever, two of the legacy Big Three broadcast affiliates in Pittsburgh are no longer available to DISH Network subscribers in Western Pennsylvania. WPXI-TV has been off DISH since November 2022 in a retransmission dispute between WPXI parent Cox Media Group and DISH. Now, WTAE-TV is...
