TV Talk: ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ wraps its 4th season
Paramount+’s “Mayor of Kingstown” wrapped its fourth season Sunday and for the first time, there are few storylines hanging in a major way. (Spoilers follow.) But we still have questions: • It seemed like Edie Falco’s prison warden character was primed for a one-and-done season-long arc, but she managed to...
Brigitte Bardot, 1960s sex symbol turned militant animal rights activist, dies at 91
PARIS — Brigitte Bardot, the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later a militant animal rights activist and far-right supporter, has died. She was 91. Bardot died Sunday at her home in southern France, according to Bruno Jacquelin, of...
Looking back on pop culture that had Western Pennsylvania buzzing in 2025
The past year has been a lively time in Western Pennsylvania for music, movies, TV, art and social media. From new art spaces to blockbuster series to sold-out TikTok-driven events, 2025 was a great time for
water cooler conversations and fun stories around town. Here are just a few. ‘The...
Tyler Perry sued for sexual assault by ‘Boo! A Madea Halloween’ actor seeking $77 million
LOS ANGELES — Tyler Perry was sued for sexual assault by an actor who appeared in “Boo! A Madea Halloween,” marking the second lawsuit in recent months accusing the filmmaker and studio mogul of leveraging his power in Hollywood to make sexual advances. Mario Rodriguez filed the lawsuit Thursday in...
Here are 5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Dec. 26-28
Christmas is over! Both the craziness and the stress have ended and we have almost a week until the new year. This is the perfect time to eat too much chocolate and too many leftovers, make plans with friends and see what’s going on in the city. Harlem Globetrotters: 100...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh market rank drops (again); November sweeps ratings
Talk about a lump of coal in the local TV Christmas stocking: Pittsburgh’s market rank will drop another position as Nielsen downgrades the region from No. 27 to No. 28 nationally for 2026. Salt Lake City leapfrogged Pittsburgh, jumping one spot from No. 28 to No. 27. The practical impact...
Movie Review: In ‘Testament of Ann Lee,’ a blazing Amanda Seyfried can make you believe anything
Filmmakers Mona Fastvold and Brady Corbet are clearly fascinated by ambition. They’re fascinated, too, by dreamers — difficult dreamers, brilliant but demanding people who have plans they must fulfill no matter the personal cost. They’re also interested in dreamers who cross the ocean to America with these difficult, lofty plans....
College Football Playoff ratings drop 7% as NFL competition impacts viewership
Last weekend’s first round of the College Football Playoff averaged 9.9 million viewers on ABC, ESPN, TNT, TBS and truTV, according to ESPN and Nielson. That is a 7% drop from last year. A big reason for the drop was that the final game, James Madison versus Oregon, was on...
TV Q&A: Is there a way to improve over the air reception of local stations?
Q: I recently cut cable and WTAE is not available over-the-air where I live. I have been told that it was never reliably available in the South Hills! Is that true and is there a way to get WTAE broadcasts south of the city? — Jason, Scott Township Rob: Pittsburgh’s...
Controversial ’60 Minutes’ segment on Trump immigration policy leaks online
A news segment about the Trump administration’s immigration policy that was abruptly pulled from “ 60 Minutes ” was mistakenly aired on a TV app after the last minute decision not to air it touched off a public debate about journalistic independence. The segment featured interviews with migrants who were...
TV Talk: ‘Yellowstone’ spin-off, ‘Scrubs’ revival on tap for midseason
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for broadcast network shows at midseason. The broadcast networks didn’t debut many new scripted series in the fall, saving these expensive-to-produce programs for a slightly more robust midseason rollout. Here’s what to expect for the second half of the 2025-26...
TV Talk: Bari Weiss’ decision to pull ’60 Minutes’ report draws criticism from some at CBS News
Three hours before Sunday’s “60 Minutes” broadcast, CBS took the rare, last-minute step of removing a segment on Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration to what was described as a “brutal” El Salvadoran prison, leading to criticism from “60 Minutes” journalists. “Our story was screened five times and cleared...
TV Talk: ‘Bridgerton’ returns, new ‘Game of Thrones’ series debuts in JanuaryVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for the coming months. There will be no shortage of scripted streaming and cable series in 2026 as platforms and networks debut everything from a new “Star Trek” show to the long-awaited adaptation of author Patricia Cornwell’s Dr. Kay Scarpetta...
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ launches with $88M domestically, $345M worldwideVideo
NEW YORK — “Avatar: Fire and Ash” opened with $345 million in worldwide sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, notching the second-best global debut of the year and potentially putting James Cameron on course to set yet more blockbuster records. Sixteen years into the “Avatar” saga, Pandora is still abundant...
Trailer for Jimmy Stewart biopic teases Indiana County native’s career, WWII service
The first look at a movie about the life of Indiana County native Jimmy Stewart has been released. The 75-second teaser for “Jimmy” gives viewers a quick glimpse of how the film, starring KJ Apa in the title role, will delve into Stewart’s illustrious movie career and service during World...
TV Talk: ‘Pluribus,’ ‘The Pitt,’ ‘Andor’ among 2025 TV’s best scripted shows
As broadcast channels move into reruns for the holidays, it’s an ideal time to catch up on the best scripted series of the year: 1. “Pluribus” (Apple TV): Writer Vince Gilligan (“Breaking Bad”) re-teams with “Better Call Saul” star Rhea Seehorn for this unique, often darkly comic story of an...
The Oscars will move to YouTube in 2029, leaving longtime home of ABC
In a seismic shift for one of television’s marquee events, the Academy Awards will depart ABC and begin streaming on YouTube beginning in 2029, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday. ABC will continue to broadcast the annual ceremony through 2028. That year will mark the 100th...
Faith-based entertainment sees a revival in Hollywood. Defining what it is can be a challenge
LOS ANGELES — At the movies this fall, Josh O’Connor plays a hot priest with a complicated past, Keanu Reeves is an angel who lost his wings, and Elizabeth Olsen has a romantic dilemma in the afterlife. Hollywood, it seems, has found God. But it’s not just starry big-budget Netflix...
‘Buck Rogers’ star Gil Gerard dies at 82
Actor Gil Gerard, best known for playing the title character in the popular TV series “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,” has died. He was 82. Gerard died on Tuesday of “a rare and viciously aggressive form of cancer,” according to a Facebook post from his wife, Janet Gerard. “From...
Warner Bros. asks investors to reject takeover bid from Paramount Skydance
NEW YORK — Warner Bros. is telling shareholders to reject a takeover bid from Paramount Skydance, saying that a rival bid from Netflix will be better for customers. “We strongly believe that Netflix and Warner Bros. joining forces will offer consumers more choice and value, allow the creative community to...
TV Q&A: Where did KDKA’s Erica Mokay go?
Q: What’s up with Erica Mokay on KDKA-TV, who’s been missing from KDKA+ morning news with John Shumway? She has been off, then came back for a few days, and now she’s off again. Has she been sick? — Nancy, via Facebook Rob: It’s December, a time when TV news...
NBC’s Tom Llamas talks broadcasting from Pittsburgh
Tonight at 6:30 on WPXI, Tom Llamas will anchor “NBC Nightly News” from a familiar – but undisclosed for security reasons – Pittsburgh location as part of NBC News’ “Reporting for America” campaign, an effort to report from communities nationwide, not just from the media centers on the coasts. Llamas...
TV Talk: New ‘The Pitt’ trailer released; Hamlin on HallmarkVideo
Although a teaser for season two of “The Pitt” released in August, a new trailer offers more hints about what’s to come in season two — perhaps even some spoilers; watch at your own peril. This preview of the Pittsburgh-set ER drama, which debuts its second season at 9 p.m....
From Emmet Otter to Mr. Magoo, here are some overlooked holiday specials
It’s only about a week until Christmas, and, by now, you’ve probably exhausted the run of typical holiday specials. We all love Charlie Brown and Vince Guaraldi’s instantly familiar piano tunes, but you might want to look a little deeper to find a unique Christmas special. Here’s a handful of...
WPXI taken off Verizon’s FiOS TV in retransmission spat
Following weeks of negotiations and threats of a looming impasse, Verizon failed to reach agreement on a new retransmission deal with WPXI parent company Cox Media Group and Pittsburgh’s Channel 11 is no longer available to subscribers to Verizon’s FiOS TV. “The telecom giant is blocking viewers’ access to breaking...
