TV Q&A: Why does a KDKA-TV forecaster skip some broadcasts?
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 does Mary Ours or Kristine Emery only do the 4 p.m. weather, then Ray Petelin starts at 5? He does the 5 and 6...
TV Talk: PBS’s ‘Clearing the Air’ shows how Western Pa. played a role in 20th-century smog crisesVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. PBS’s “American Experience” explores bipartisan efforts to improve the quality of American air in the 20th century in “Clearing the Air: The War on Smog.” And Donora, Washington County, has a starring role in the...
TV Talk: ‘Masterpiece’ boss on PBS cuts; ‘The Pitt’ season 2 teaser debutsVideo
This weekend, as “Masterpiece” series “The Marlow Murder Club” (9 p.m. Sunday) and “Unforgotten” (10 p.m. Sunday, WQED-TV) return for new seasons, it seemed prudent to check in with “Masterpiece” executive producer Susanne Simpson on what impact the federal government defunding PBS will have on one of PBS’s most popular,...
TV Talk: ‘The Pitt’ wins most TCA Awards; Greensburg dog trainer on Prime Video series
The Television Critics Association announced the winners of its 2025 awards with Pittsburgh-set HBO Max ER drama “The Pitt” winning the most trophies — four — taking home honors for program of the year, best drama, best new show and individual achievement in drama for star/writer/executive producer Noah Wyle. Among...
TV Q&A: Stations darned if they do, darned if they don’t interrupt programming
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: Horrible news out of Clairton on Aug. 11 with the explosion at the coke works. Think Channel 2 and Channel 11 know it happened? God...
TV Talk: ‘Twisted Tale’ revisits Amanda Knox story from all anglesVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Hulu’s “Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox,” streaming its first two episodes Wednesday, upends expectations for a true crime miniseries with an embrace of magical realism that’s hinted at in the show’s title. Knox, who executive...
TV Talk: Ben Folds talks crazy Pittsburgh cab ride, Apple’s ‘Snoopy’ summer musicalVideo
In addition to his role as music supervisor on Apple TV+’s “Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical,” streaming Aug. 15, singer-songwriter Ben Folds has some unique Pittsburgh ties involving a former mayor, Mister Rogers’ company and a wild taxi ride. I’ll get to those shortly. But first, there’s this new, 40-minute...
TV Q&A: Are more changes coming to KDKA-TV 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: Do you expect changes to the anchor format at KDKA-TV following the layoffs at the station? Will they go to a single anchor for most...
TV Talk: Dick’s Sporting Goods joins entertainment biz; WTAE hires Westmoreland reporterVideo
Coraopolis-based Dick’s Sporting Goods launched its own entertainment studio, announcing the venture Cookie Jar & a Dream Studios last week ahead of Tuesday’s premiere of the 51-minute “Big Dreams: The Little League World Series 2024”, chronicling last year’s competition in Williamsport, Lycoming County. (The film will repeat on ESPN at...
TV Talk: ‘Fargo’ writer brings xenomorph terror home in ‘Alien: Earth’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. In lesser hands, a series spinoff of the theatrical “Alien” franchise might seem like just another IP play — a money grab. But pair Noah Hawley, the writer behind FX’s “Fargo,” with “Alien,” and you...
TV Q&A: Why did WTAE re-assign Jeff Verszyla?
Q: Why is WTAE demoting Jeff Verszyla back to weekends come September? First of all, he always looks perfectly groomed and dressed like a gentleman. Next, he makes the weather news interesting and fun. Next, his weather trivia is educational. Is this a financial decision? — Nina, via email Rob:...
TV Talk: Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood TV universe introduces Daniel Tiger to Donkey HodieVideo
Let Marvel have its “cinematic universe.” The creations of the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood TV Universe come together next week in a new “Donkey Hodie” episode, “Daniel Tiger Visits Someplace Else” (11 a.m. Monday, WQED-TV). The animated star of “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” comes to three-dimensional life as a puppet to fit...
TV Talk: More change at KDKA-TV: news director exits with promotion
After last week’s layoffs of KDKA-TV anchors Kym Gable and Lindsay Ward and recent corporate buyouts of several videographers who will leave Channel 2 this month, the station’s news director, Shawn Hoder, will depart for a larger market. He’ll become vice president and news director of CBS-owned WUPA in Atlanta...
TV Talk: ‘The Pitt’ Season 2 release date, cast and plot details
Pittsburgh-set HBO Max ER drama “The Pitt” may not have earned the most Emmy nominations last month, but it did well for what is in many ways an elevated broadcast network drama on a streaming service. While Apple TV+’s “Severance” is the front-runner for best drama with 27 nominations, “The...
TV Talk: ‘King of the Hill’ revived on Hulu, funny as everVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. The Fox animated hit “King of the Hill,” which aired 1997-2010, gets revived with all 10 episodes of its 14th season premiering Aug. 4 on Hulu. This isn’t a reboot but a continuation. Although 15...
TV Talk: 2 anchors laid off at KDKA-TV
Evening news anchor Kym Gable and morning news anchor Lindsay Ward were let go by KDKA-TV on Thursday. KDKA news director Shawn Hoder did not respond to a request for comment. E-mail sent to Julie Eisenman, who was hired as KDKA/WPKD general manager earlier this year, bounced back Thursday (email...
TV Talk: KDKA-TV forecaster announces retirement
Kristin Emery, who’s offered forecasts at KDKA-TV since 2012, posted to social media that she plans to retire. “I am forecasting a major change for me starting August 28th: Retirement!” Emery wrote. “After 37 years in broadcasting and 13 years of it here at KDKA, I will officially retire at...
TV Talk: From ‘Barry’ to ‘Superman’ to ‘Twisted Metal,’ CMU grad jumps genresVideo
Anthony Carrigan, a 2006 graduate of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, is having quite a summer. In addition to a co-starring role in box office hit “Superman” as Metamorpho, this week Carrigan introduces a classic video game character in the second season of Peacock’s “Twisted Metal,” based on...
TV Talk: Verzsyla to weekends, Hutton to weekdays at WTAEVideo
WTAE will shake up its forecaster assignments, moving weekend evening meteorologist Brian Hutton Jr. to noon and 4 p.m. weekdays beginning Sept. 1. Jeff Verszyla, who had been working that weekday shift, relocates to weekend evenings (and subbing weekdays). “Brian has been a steady voice for our viewers during severe...
WQED lays off another 19 employees
Following the May elimination of five employees, WQED laid off 19 employees on Wednesday, primarily in marketing, membership and production. In a statement, WQED president Jason Jedlinski said the layoffs were in response to “the recent elimination of federal funding for public broadcasting … to ensure long-term financial stability.”...
TV Q&A: Where did WPXI reporter Jillian Hartmann 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: Can you tell us what happened to Jillian Hartmann on WPXI’s news team? — Jim, Uniontown Rob: In April, we reported that Hartmann exited Channel...
TV Talk: Jason Momoa’s ‘Chief of War’ recounts Hawaiian historyVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. The opening scene of Apple TV+’s Jason Momoa-starring “Chief of War” brings to mind Momoa’s “Aquaman” as he lassoes a shark. After that, this nine-episode historical fiction drama most resembles FX’s “Shogun.” “Chief of War”...
TV Talk: How media companies are responding to political, legal pressure from Trump
As some media companies and personalities facing political or legal pressure from President Donald Trump are capitulating to his demands or censoring themselves, others are standing firm or lashing out defiantly against the administration, media observers say. Some of the companies and personalities just don’t want the headaches. Others are...
TV Talk: ‘Watson’ season 2 expands; ‘Gilded Age’ offers late-season twists
Earlier this month we learned that CBS’s medical drama “Watson,” which CBS announced in May would not return until midway through the 2025-26 TV season, was moving up to a fall launch as CBS’s new “FBI” spinoff, “CIA,” originally announced for fall, changed showrunners and moved to midseason. With that...
TV Q&A: How will CBS fill Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ time slot?
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: How will CBS fill the “Late Show” time slot now that they’re ending the show and sending Stephen Colbert packing next May? — Laura, via...
