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: Please provide information about the new KDKA-TV reporter Lauren Linder. I am impressed by the quality of her reporting.

— Elaine, via email

Rob: Per KDKA-TV news director Shawn Hoder, Linder started at KDKA-TV during the holidays as the station’s newest reporter.

A 2014 graduate of Indiana University Bloomington, Linder most recently worked at WTNH-TV in her native Connecticut. Her past stints included reporting for WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee, where she won awards for her investigative reporting, WTEN-TV in Albany, N.Y., and WSAW/WZAW-TV in Wausau, Wisc.

Linder’s arrival marks a return to the CBS fold for the reporter who began her career as an intern at WCBS-TV in New York City a decade a go. Linder said she’s excited to live in a place “with so much culture and remain in the ‘Eastern Standard Time Zone.’” She said it won’t be hard for her to convert to becoming a Steelers fan, but when it comes to college sports, she’ll always be loyal to her Hoosiers.

Q: What is going on with some of the shows I watch? Both Fox’s “The Resident” and ABC’s “Big Sky” came back the first week of January from holiday break and are about to have their season finales. What is going on to have these extremely early season finales?

— Amy, Jeannette

Rob: Unless a show is a real ratings hit — neither of these are — broadcast networks are ordering shorter seasons than the traditional 22 episodes.

Both “The Resident” and “Big Sky” got orders for just 13 episodes. Those 13 episodes will have all aired this month.

Shorter-run series allow for a tighter story creatively but more importantly, they’re less expensive for the networks and allow more prime-time real estate to test out all-new series that are cheaper-to-produce by dint of being in their inaugural seasons.

Q: I’m always looking for “Cheers” reruns because that was my favorite and still makes me laugh. Any idea where to find the show?

— Jeffrey, via email

Rob: One season is available for free streaming on Peacock. Four seasons are available on subscription streaming service Hulu. On linear TV, “Cheers” reruns air at 1 and 1:30 a.m. on Hallmark Channel.

Q: Why did DISH Network drop MeTV?

— Kathy, McKees Rocks

Rob: Just another all-too-common retransmission dispute. MeTV disappeared from DISH Network last month. In a notice sent to DirecTV subscribers, DISH said the two companies had been working on renewing the MeTV contract, had a handshake agreement several months ago and then “Me TV backpedaled and made the decision to not honor the deal that they previously agreed upon.”

A MeTV representative provided this response to the DISH carriage disruption: “MeTV believes these types of contractual disputes should not interfere with the viewer experience. MeTV has always achieved this goal in other negotiations. Prior to DISH removing MeTV and in order to avoid involving its viewers and DISH’s subscribers, MeTV offered an extension, which DISH declined to accept.”

Q: My wife and I are big fans of “Domina” and “Britannia” on the Epix channel. Is there any word on new episodes of either or both?

— Dave, Gibsonia

Rob: Epix, which will be renamed MGM+ on Jan. 15, announced a renewal for “Domina,” which returns with new episodes in 2023 chronicling the struggle for control of the Roman Empire from a female perspective.

“Britania” has been canceled and won’t return.

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