Rob Owen stories, Page 24
TV Talk: ‘Telemarketers’ pulls back the curtain on the phone calls everyone receives (and hates)
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. HBO documentaries come in all shapes and sizes, but “Telemarketers” (10 p.m. tonight) may be one of the most DIY homemade efforts yet. A shaggy, shambolic docu-series not without its charms, “Telemarketers” takes viewers behind...
TV Talk: Netflix debuts its own ‘Dopesick’ with oxy drama ‘Painkiller’ from writers of Mister Rogers movieVideo
Netflix largely abandoned its HBO-wannabe roots, forsaking highbrow, quality shows for more middle-of-the-road fare with broader appeal. But every now and then Netflix still attempts higher caliber programming, most recently with 2021’s “Maid,” the story of a young woman who flees an abusive relationship and tries to build a new...
TV Q&A: Is Edgar Snyder of TV lawyer ad fame going to retire?
Q: I wonder if Edgar Snyder the lawyer is going to retire? I keep seeing his commercials, and it seems like he is introducing more people that work for him. — Krissy, via Facebook Rob: While Snyder is not in the courtroom on a regular basis, the firm says he...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Trolley from ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ on ‘Donkey Hodie’
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 arrival of Trolley, a “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” character, on Fred Rogers’ Productions’ “Donkey Hodie.” In its second season premiering Aug. 14 (11 a.m....
TV Talk: Pittsburgh-raised creator, actor wrap up ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” creator Tim Federle, a 1998 graduate of Upper St. Clair High School, got the sense midway through writing the show’s fourth season that it would also likely be...
TV Talk: Music bolsters ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’Video
Musicals play a key role in the new season of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” and in a new episode of Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.” ‘Only Murders’ For its third outing, the podcast created by Mabel (Selena Gomez), Charles (Steve Martin) and Oliver (Martin Short) investigates the...
TV Q&A: Are Lonni Rivera and Yolanda Hawkins the same WPXI reporter?
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: WPXI has a new reporter, Lonni Rivera. Am I crazy or is that WPXI’s former reporter Yolanda Hawkins from years ago? — Tyler, via email...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘Lando,’ Emmys and the prospect of a localized ‘Lake Placid’
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including whether that alligator in the Kiski River might spawn a “Lake Placid” sequel. Benz and Owen discuss the latest on the dual actors’ and writers’...
TV Talk: ‘Dark Winds’ roars back on AMCVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Viewers may feel the impact of the concurrent writers and actors strikes in a few months, but this summer’s TV premieres continue apace, and the latest provides additional good news for crime drama fans. Already...
TV Talk: Action comedy ‘Twisted Metal’ twists expectations for post-apocalyptic storytellingVideo
Post-apocalyptic stories can entertain and provoke thought – see HBO’s “The Last of Us” – but they also tend to be major downers. Along comes Peacock’s bonkers “Twisted Metal” to say, “Not always!” Like “The Last of Us,” “Twisted Metal” is based on a video game, this time a 1995...
TV Q&A: Will DISH and WPXI-TV’s parent company ever settle?
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 a DISH Network customer. We haven’t had NBC’s WPXI-TV for more than seven months and I’m still paying the same amount. Is there something...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘Barbie,’ Shark Week, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
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 what the future might hold for AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh. Benz and Owen discuss the double hits of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” (and the failures of...
TV Talk: ‘Lioness’ fills the ‘SEAL Team’ void on Paramount+Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. As it looks like we’re in for a long haul with the writers’ and actors’ strikes, fans of Paramount+ series “SEAL Team” will be waiting a while to see that show’s seventh season — writing...
TV Talk: ‘Shark Week’ goes inside ‘Belly of the Beast’ to get close-up views of sharksVideo
“Shark Week 2023” kicks off this weekend on Discovery Channel and streaming service Max with “Belly of the Beast: Feeding Frenzy” (8 p.m. Sunday), which is a prototypical “Shark Week” entry. Part science, part derring-do for the purposes of entertainment, cameras follow marine biologist and “Shark Week’ mainstay Austin Gallagher...
TV Q&A: Whither AT&T SportsNet 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: What is the future of AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh? Back in February, the predictions were dire. Since then, there’s been nothing in the news about their...
TV Talk: Filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Rustin’ lands release date
“Rustin,” the bio-pic from former President Barack Obama’s and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, will debut on Netflix on Nov. 17. Directed by George C. Wolfe, who previously helmed 2020’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” in Western Pennsylvania, “Rustin” stars Colman Domingo, who was a cast member in “Ma Rainey’s Black...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking SAG-AFTRA strike, ‘Justified,’ Alby on the mend, ACC on The CW
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen talk Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including WPXI-TV sports director Alby Oxenreiter being on the mend following heart valve replacement surgery and a Pitt Panthers football game on The CW this...
TV Talk: Western Pa. natives Billy Gardell, David Conrad, Jonathan Adams talk SAG-AFTRA strike
Actors’ union SAG-AFTRA is now on strike, joining members of the Writers Guild of America picketing against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Hollywood’s major studios. It’s the first film and TV actors’ strike since 1986 and the first time both actors and writers have been...
TV Talk: Biblical epic ‘The Chosen’ airs on The CWVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. When The CW announced in recent months that it will give life-of-Jesus biblical series “The Chosen” a linear platform, some looked askance at the idea of the show airing on the home of “The Flash,”...
TV Talk: FX’s ‘Justified’ comes full circle, returned to film in Western Pa. for 1st time since pilot episode
PASADENA, Calif. — Not all reboots and sequel series are the same. And they’re not all bad idea. While some don’t have a creative reason to exist, others provide a welcome mix of closure and fan service (the third season of “Star Trek: Picard”) and the best ones take what’s...
WPXI’s Alby Oxenreiter on the mendVideo
Channel 11 sports anchor Alby Oxenreiter has been off the air for several weeks and WPXI-TV released a statement on his whereabouts Wednesday. “Alby is now at home recovering from open heart surgery, which he had one month ago,” the statement said. “He developed a major blood infection that traveled...
‘Succession,’ ‘The Last of Us,’ ‘White Lotus’ lead Emmy nominations
Even in the midst of a writers’ strike and the looming threat of an actors’ strike as soon as tomorrow, the Emmy nominations for the best in TV and streaming were announced as planned. Just don’t hold your breath that the current Sept. 18 date for the 75th Annual Emmy...
TV Q&A: What happened to 2 PCNC local shows?
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 happening with PCNC’s “NightTalk” with Ellis Cannon and “Pittsburgh Now” with Chris Moore? Both seem to have just disappeared on July 1. —...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh native has fun but doesn’t win ‘Jeopardy!’
Pittsburgh native Erin Sheedy competed Tuesday on the episode of “Jeopardy!” and though she didn’t win, she clearly had fun, especially with the hometown shout-out in her Final Jeopardy! response. Sheedy, a 2018 Oakland Catholic High School grad who grew up in Thornburg, missed very few questions, but she was...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Thornburg native on ‘Jeopardy!,’ more local sports on WPCW-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 Erin Sheedy of Thornburg, who will compete on Tuesday’s episode of “Jeopardy!” (7:30 p.m. weekdays, WPXI-TV). The 2018 Oakland Catholic High School grad (and...
