Rob Owen stories, Page 32
TV Talk: ‘Criminal Minds’ returns, sadistic as ever; Wednesday Addams is back on NetflixVideo
The dirty little secret of all the streaming services: Even though they pour all their energy into promoting their original series, it’s often the reruns of existing shows that keep subscribers watching. It’s why HBO Max reclaimed “Friends” and Peacock clawed back rights to “The Office.” (The week of Oct....
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: ‘Christmas Story’ sequel, ‘Spirited,’ ‘Best in Snow,’ ‘Andor’
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 quartet of Pittsburghers on Disney+’s “Best in Snow.” Owen reviews HBO Max sequel “A Christmas Story Christmas” and Apple TV+’s “Spirited.” Benz previews...
TV Talk: McCandless native Greg Nicotero directs ‘The Walking Dead’ series finaleVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Things were not looking great for the humans in the penultimate episode of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” They were surrounded after zombies breached the perimeter of the Commonwealth just as Daryl (Norman Reedus), Maggie (Lauren...
TV Talk: Pittsburghers compete on Best in Snow;’ ‘Christmas Story’ sequel debuts on HBO MaxVideo
Four friends who met working at the Pittsburgh Glass Center formed a team competing on Disney+’s snow-carving special “Best in Snow,” streaming Nov. 18. It’s unlike other crafts competitions – Netflix’s “Blown Away,” “Drink Masters” – because while those series rely on competitors’ experience and skill, “Best in Snow” pairs...
TV Q&A: Which Penguins games will air on WTAE-TV?
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: In a TV spot, WTAE general manager Mr. Wolfertz said Channel 4 will carry four Penguins games this year, but he didn’t say which ones...
TV Talk: Ryan Houston will leave WPXI-TV; more ‘Cartoon Academy’ on WQED-TV
Ryan Houston, who joined WPXI-TV as weekend evening and night anchor in December 2019, will depart the station Nov. 28. He’s returning home to his native Pine Bluff, Ark., to help care for an ailing family member. “My stepfather has colon cancer and my mother told me she needs some...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘SNL,’ Steelers time slot change, ‘Tulsa King,’ ‘Virulent,’ ‘American Rust’ needs extras
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 Steelers game on Nov. 20 getting downgraded from prime time to a late afternoon starting time, a call for extras on season two...
TV Talk: ‘Fleishman is in Trouble’ marks worthy screen adaptation
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Produced by FX for Hulu, “Fleishman Is in Trouble” proves frustrating but ultimately rewarding. Frustrating because it teases a mystery and then goes off on character tangents for multiple episodes, but ultimately rewarding because when...
TV Talk: Sylvester Stallone crowned ‘Tulsa King;’ effective ‘Virulent’ premieres on WQED-TV
It’s a big weekend for brand-name writer/director Taylor Sheridan: His “Yellowstone” returns for a two-episode fifth season premiere at 8 p.m. Sunday on cable’s Paramount Network and his latest series, “Tulsa King,” premieres its first two episodes Sunday on streaming service Paramount+. More entertaining than Sheridan’s morose “Mayor of Kingstown,”...
TV Talk: ‘American Rust’ needs extras; ‘Good Fight’ goes out swinging
Season two of Western Pennsylvania-set “American Rust,” which begins filming locally after Thanksgiving and will continue in production through early May, seeks “core background” extras, people with “availability to be on set when needed throughout the span of filming,” approximately 1 to 10 days per month. Extras are paid $175...
TV Q&A: Do media companies prioritize streaming services over broadcast networks?
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: Are you noticing a large shift now of channeling shows to the network pay sites? Are these networks trying to move more shows to their...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking a former Steelers player on ‘The Masked Singer;’ reviewing ‘Weird,’ ‘Blockbuster’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 the unmasking of Milkshake on Fox’s “The Masked Singer” to reveal former Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell. None of the judges correctly guessed the...
TV Talk: ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic movie debuts on Roku ChannelVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Now available on free, ad-supported streaming service Roku Channel, “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” lives up to the first word in its title. But the suggestion in those last four words? Not so much. Yankovic...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh-filmed ‘Dear Zoe’ debuts; ‘Blockbuster’ streams; ‘Liaisons’ comes to StarzVideo
Filmed-in-Pittsburgh coming-of-age-in-grief drama “Dear Zoe” certainly earns its Western Pennsylvania bonafides thanks to Pittsburgh native Marc Lhormer’s attention to local detail. It’s also a pleasant, heart-warming movie that, while about grief, doesn’t succumb to it. In addition to the main story — teenager Tess’ letter to deceased little sister Zoe,...
TV Q&A: Why so many promos for WTAE’s Kristen Powers?
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 is WTAE-TV playing a commercial over and over and over about Kristen Powers?! I am up late and it plays so much I could...
TV Talk: Filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ gets premiere date, trailer; WQED-TV schedules vaccine documentaryVideo
The second season of “Mayor of Kingstown,” filmed-in-Pittsburgh and starring Jeremey Renner and Dianne Wiest, will premiere on streaming service Paramount+ on Jan. 15, 2023. The drama series from executive producers Taylor Sheridan (“Yellowstone”), Hugh Dillon (“Flashpoint”) and Homewood native Antoine Fuqua (“Southpaw”) is scheduled to wrap filming later this...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh-filmed movie ‘Dear Zoe’ releases on demand, in theatersVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. It’s difficult to imagine a more Pittsburgh-y movie than the indie feature “Dear Zoe.” With scenes filmed at Kennywood, on the North Shore, in the Strip District, in Squirrel Hill and Braddock; with a glimpse...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Halloween costumes, where to watch ‘Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’ for free
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 two new reporters at KDKA-TV and the Pittsburgh premiere of locally-filmed “Dear Zoe” this week. In this Halloween podcast, the pair...
Netflix releases teaser trailer for filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Pale Blue Eye’Video
Netflix released a teaser trailer for “The Pale Blue Eye,” a film that marked a return to filming in Western Pennsylvania for star Christian Bale and director Scott Cooper, who previously filmed the 2013 “Out of the Furnace” locally. Bale also starred in the 2012 hit “Dark Knight Rises,” which...
TV Talk: ‘White Lotus’ goes to Sicily, new reporters join KDKA-TVVideo
The Hawaii-set first season of HBO’s “The White Lotus” got off to a slowish start, but became more involving and addictive as it went. Season two, again written/directed entirely by Mike White, relocates to a White Lotus property in Sicily and begins stronger and then becomes more rote through five...
TV Q&A: What happened to WPXI’s Mike Holden?
Q: Is Mike Holden still at WPXI? I don’t recall seeing him in a while. — Beth, McCandless Rob: Although he recently won a regional Emmy award for his past work at WPXI-TV, Holden left the station in June for a job at WEWS-TV in Cleveland where his family lives....
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking a Pittsburgher’s return to ‘Jeopardy!,’ local bartender on ‘Drink Masters,’ ‘Tree of Life’ doc on HBOVideo
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 Pittsburgher Margaret Shelton, who won almost $80,000 over four “Jeopardy!” episodes in March, and will return to the game show next week for a...
TV Talk: Shaler grad directs ‘A Tree of Life’ documentary for HBOVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Pittsburgh native and New York-based director Trish Adlesic has made films in Western Pennsylvania before — she was a producer on HBO’s 2010 fracking documentary “Gasland” and 2013’s “Gasland Part II” — but she didn’t...
TV Talk: Tamburitzans show debuts on WQED; Pittsburgher competes on Netflix’s ‘Drink Masters’Video
A year after he spearheaded the WQED-TV special “Tamburitzans: Prism,” producer/editor Frank Caloiero delivers another special featuring the music and dance group with “Tamburitzans: Symbols” (7:30 p.m. Oct. 27, WQED-TV). Caloiero, a former “Tammie” dancer/singer and Tambura player (1988-92), said this new special taped at the Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point...
TV Q&A: Will there be new episodes of WQED-TV’s ‘QED Cooks’?
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: Are Chris Fennimore and Nancy Polinsky still making local cooking shows on WQED? — Margo, via email Rob: Production on new “QED Cooks” episodes stopped...
