Rob Owen stories, Page 28
TV Talk: ‘Yellowstone’ made Westerns a hot genre — expect to see more, including Hallmark’s ‘Ride’Video
Hallmark Channel’s latest drama series, “Ride” (9 p.m. Sunday), won’t be confused with a great new drama, but it does mark another baby step forward for the cable network. Yes, there’s a potential romance at the show’s center, but this series has characters with more flaws, more secrets and more...
TV Q&A: Did KDKA-TV ‘s Kristine Sorensen add a newscast role?
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 have noticed that Kristine Sorensen is now the weekday noon anchor at KDKA-TV. Does she now have those duties along with the 4 and...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking with Heather Abraham about ‘Talk Pittsburgh,’ news anchors on maternity leave, ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ season finale
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 conversation with Heather Abraham, host of KDKA-TV’s new afternoon talk show “Talk Pittsburgh.” Owen and Benz also discuss some local news anchors who...
TV Talk: CMU grad sings, acts as ‘belittling voice’ in a man’s head in Hulu’s ‘Up Here’Video
In Hulu’s new musical romantic comedy “Up Here” — all episodes stream Friday — Lindsay (Mae Whitman) and Miguel (Carlos Valdes) meet cute in 1999 New York City, but they both having warring voices in their heads that lead to self-doubt and questionable choices. (Audiences see those voices personified on...
TV Talk: Donald Glover’s ‘Swarm’ stings so good; rustbelt-set ‘Lucky Hank’ confoundsVideo
There was a moment in the penultimate season of Donald Glover’s “Atlanta” when the gang was in Amsterdam and Darius (LaKeith Stanfield) and Van (Zazie Beetz) witness death doulas solemnly prepare a man for his demise – presumably via palliative care — when a contraption suddenly and violently suffocates the...
TV Q&A: Is Amazon’s ‘Daisy Jones’ set in Pittsburgh?Video
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: A new series about a fictional ‘70s band called “Daisy Jones & the Six” is on Amazon Prime Video and the trailer shows a guy...
TV Talk: Amazon will renew ‘A League of Their Own;’ PCNC now available over the air
There’s no crying in baseball and no reason to cry, except perhaps tears of joy, for fans of Amazon Prime Video’s “A League of Their Own.” The streaming service will move forward with a second season of the generally well-reviewed, pricey, filmed-in-Pittsburgh period drama, inspired by the 1992 Geena Davis-Tom...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Oscars, Billy Porter on ‘That’s My Jam,’ Steve Carell praises 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 actor Steve Carell naming Pittsburgh one of the favorite places he’s visited on the “Office Ladies” podcast. “I’m not saying that ironically, either. I’ve...
TV Talk: Season 2 of ‘Ed and Day in the ‘Burgh’ gets physical
Podcasters, comedians and craft beer enthusiasts Ed Bailey and Day Bracey continue to explore Pittsburgh neighborhoods in season two of “Ed and Day in the ’Burgh” on streaming channel Very Local Pittsburgh — but there’s a key difference in the new eight-episode season. “It’s more getting us out doing things,...
TV Talk: ‘Everything Everywhere’ wins all at once at 95th OscarsVideo
After last year’s shocking slap heard ‘round the world, this year’s 95th Oscars was a return to form as “Everything Everywhere All at Once” won best picture and took home six additional awards. Returning host Jimmy Kimmel “parachuted” into the theater and started his monologue with somewhat soft, bland jokes...
TV Talk: Strong sweeps ratings for WTAE-TV; PBS explores ‘Age of Easy Money’Video
The February weekday sweeps ratings for local TV stations have been released. WTAE-TV and KDKA-TV were neck-in-neck with the stations tying in the number of time period wins in household ratings, while WTAE won more news time periods in the key demo of viewers ages 25-54. WPXI-TV ranked third in...
TV Q&A: Where has WPXI’s Gabriella DeLuca been?
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. Question: Where has WPXI-TV reporter Gabriella DeLuca been lately? — Mike, via email Rob: DeLuca is on maternity leave. She posted on Twitter about giving birth...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking KDKA’s new afternoon talk show, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, ‘Mandalorian, ‘Survivor,’ ‘Succession’Video
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 KDKA-TV will launch a new afternoon talk show, “Talk Pittsburgh.” Think of it as a “Pittsburgh Today Live” spin-off. In the podcast, Owen...
TV Talk: Mel Brooks’ ‘History of the World, Part II’ belatedly arrives on Hulu
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. PASADENA, Calif. — I remember getting into Mel Brooks movies in middle school in the mid-1980s and wanting to see the comedic director/writer/star make a sequel to his 1981 sketch comedy film “History of the...
TV Talk: Potential Hollywood strikes loom; ‘Perry Mason’ returns; KDKA-TV renovatesVideo
TV viewers, brace yourselves: There’s a perfect storm brewing that may disrupt TV and film production – and by extension, what turns up on living room TVs — as early as May 1. That’s the date the current contract between Hollywood producers and the Writers Guild of America expires. And...
TV Q&A: Is a Pittsburgher writing for CBS’s ‘East New York’?
Question: In the Jan. 8 episode of “East New York,” Officer Bentley (Lavel Schley) and Officer Quinlan (Olivia Luccardi) are having lunch. Bentley asks if Quinlan has ever had a Primanti’s “hoagie.” She asks where’s that from and he says Pittsburgh. She asks why were you in Pittsburgh and he...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: AT&T SportsNet in peril; KDKA’s newsroom renovation; ‘Mindhunter’ revival
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 last week’s news that AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh may be in peril. Following that report, Pirates owner Bob Nutting on Saturday said, “We are 100%...
AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh in peril as Warner Bros. Discovery intends to exit regional sports
Warner Bros. Discovery, owner of AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, wants to exit the regional sports network business — and soon — in a move that could potentially leave the Pittsburgh Pirates and Penguins without a primary TV home. The Wall Street Journal first reported that WBD informed the professional sports teams...
TV Talk: South Hills woman competes on new season of ‘Survivor’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. When she turned 40, Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt of Jefferson Hills created a bucket list that included a dream she had long deferred: competing on the CBS reality hit “Survivor.” “I’m obsessed with the show, but, at...
TV Talk: He’s in a new Lifetime movie but where has Swissvale native David Conrad been?Video
Swissvale native David Conrad stars in the Lifetime movie “12 Desperate Hours” (8 p.m. Saturday) but it’s his first filmed acting role in quite a while. The usually busy actor, who maintains a residence in Braddock, hasn’t had a series regular role since “Ghost Whisperer,” which ended in 2010. A...
Charleroi native, CMU grad actress Barbara Bosson dead at 83
Actress Barbara Bosson, a Charleroi native raised in Belle Vernon, died Saturday in Los Angeles. The 83-year-old actress was best known for her roles on ex-husband Steven Bochco’s series, including as Fay Furillo on “Hill Street Blues,” a performance that earned her multiple prime-time Emmy nominations. In 1983, Bosson, Bochco...
TV Q&A: Why do TV stations send reporters into harm’s way?
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: For the longest time, I’ve thought that it is wrong for local news channels to possibly put field reporters in harm’s way (e.g. near an...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking animated NHL game, prospect of pay-per-view Super Bowl, sports stars as ‘SNL’ hosts
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss pop culture news of the moment, including the a suggestion that the Super Bowl could become a pay-per-view TV event in the future. Benz and Owen also discuss NFL quarterback Travis Kelce...
TV Talk: NBC revives CBS’s canceled ‘Magnum P.I.’ rebootVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. PASADENA, Calif. — Not every canceled series gets a second chance, but when CBS axed “Magnum P.I.” in May after four seasons, production company NBCUniversal looked to reverse the show’s misfortune. “The effort to find...
TV Talk: ‘Picard’ gives ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ a fond, fan-friendly farewellVideo
Fans of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” who were disappointed in Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Picard” should come back to the series for its third and final season. Now streaming new episodes weekly on Thursday, “Picard” finally becomes the “Next Generation” follow-up most fans always wanted to see. Characters from seasons...
