Rob Owen stories, Page 29

Rob Owen
Rob Owen
Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
TV Q&A: Is that a WPXI-TV reporter in a WQED-TV documentary? 
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: My wife and I were watching WQED-TV’s “Portraits for the Home Front: The Story of Elizabeth Black,” which originally aired in 2013. Elizabeth was a...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking TCA Award winners, ‘Prey,’ ‘The Sandman,’ ‘Batgirl’ and Steelers, Pirates
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 upcoming first Steelers pre-season game of 2022 and the first inductees into the Pirates Hall of Fame. The pair discusses why Warner Bros....
TV Talk: ‘A League of Their Own’ plays ball in Pittsburgh 
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. All eight episodes of Amazon’s Prime Video series “A League of Their Own” premiere Aug. 12 in a binge release — and while most of the series filmed in Western Pennsylvania, don’t go looking for...
TV Talk: Lower Burrell native puts ‘Best Foot Forward’; Point Park grad stars in ‘Sandman,’ ‘Quantum Leap’ 
Lower Burrell native Joy Suprano began acting professionally, largely in TV, more than a decade ago. Her first series regular role to see the light of day arrives in the new Apple TV+ kids and family show “Best Foot Forward,” now streaming its first season. The series, based on the...
TV Q&A: Who’s at-bat during Pirates games?
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 is it possible that I watch a Pirates batter on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh come to the plate, multiple pitches occur, and his name is...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Metallica in ‘Stranger Things,’ losing Uhura, Dave Crawley’s lawsuit, ESPN’s ‘Great Imposter’
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 dismissal of Dave Crawley’s lawsuit against KDKA-TV. The pair discuss Metallica’s role in “Stranger Things” and the death of actress Nichelle Nichols, best...
TV Talk: CMU grad stars in HBO drama ‘Industry,’ entering its 2nd season 
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Actress Myha’la Herrold began acting in community theater in San Jose, Calif., at age 6. And while she auditioned for 10 colleges, Carnegie Mellon University’s musical theater program was at the top of her wish...
TV Talk: Billy Gardell talks about a ‘Secret Celebrity Renovation’ for Penn Hills friend’s mom 
On the second-season premiere of CBS’s “Secret Celebrity Renovation” (8 p.m. Friday), Swissvale native Billy Gardell (“Bob (Hearts) Abishola”) assists in a makeover to the Penn Hills home of the mother of his friend/co-worker Joe O’Connell. “After thinking about it, my best friend’s mom was just the perfect candidate,” Gardell...
TV Q&A: How are local TV news reporters judged on their work?
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 are local news reporters evaluated on their performance by their respective channels? Do ratings matter? Viewer feedback? – Beth, McCandless Rob: As with any...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Pittsburgh Billys: Porter’s ‘Anything’s Possible,’ Gardell’s ‘Secret Celebrity Renovation,’ plus NFL Network, ‘The Lake’
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 Billy Porter’s ‘Anything’s Possible” and Billy Gardell’s upcoming turn renovating his best friend’s mom’s house in Penn Hills on CBS’s “Secret Celebrity Renovation.” The...
TV Talk: Former Pittsburgher talks new season of ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ 
When “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” returns for its third season Wednesday on Disney+, the show moves from its regular Utah high school setting to a summer camp where the campers perform the Disney musical “Frozen.” Executive producer/showrunner Tim Federle, a 1998 graduate of Upper St. Clair High...
TV Talk: Making-of ‘Night of the Living Dead’ projects in the works
There are two undeniably popular genres in current Hollywood content creation: Fictionalized accounts of real-life events, popularized with true crime and scammer limited series (“The Dropout,” “WeCrashed,” “The Thing About Pam”), and anything with built-in name recognition (AKA “intellectual property” or IP) and even projects that are IP-adjacent. So why...
TV Talk: WPXI-TV reporter’s son stars in Amazon Prime Video’s ‘The Lake’ 
Going on-camera runs in the family for 2014 Upper St. Clair High School grad Jared Scott. His mom is Lori Houy, a longtime on-air reporter for WPXI-TV. “I know she’s particular about her hair, so I adopted that from her,” Scott said in a recent phone interview. He currently stars...
TV Q&A: Does ‘The Young and the Restless’ have a Pittsburgh connection?
Question: I noticed that on the June 30 episode of “The Young and the Restless” one of the characters said he was taking his son to the Brewers vs. Pirates game in Pittsburgh. In fact, the Brewers and Pirates were playing that very day. Was this a coincidence or is...
TV Talk: Billy Porter makes directorial debut with Pittsburgh-filmed ‘Anything’s Possible’ 
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Anyone who sees Pittsburgh native Billy Porter’s feature film directorial debut “Anything’s Possible,” now streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video, will never question his love for his hometown. From multiple beauty shots of the city and...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Emmy nominations, ‘Better Call Saul,’ ‘Shark Week,’ film tax credits 
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 Emmy nominations with local ties, a Pittsburgh native who’s departed his on-air role at “Jeopardy!” and an increase in Pennsylvania’s film tax credit program...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh Glass Center employee competes on Netflix’s ‘Blown Away’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. In the third-season premiere of Netflix’s glass-blowing competition series “Blown Away,” streaming Friday, John Sharvin of Morningside does not get a winner’s edit. With twinkly music playing under his interview segments, it’s more of a...
TV Talk: Peak TV peaks; broadcasters receive regional Emmy recognition 
Almost every week in this space, I include a list of TV, cable and streaming series that have been renewed or canceled. Last week, there were only cancellations, no renewals. That’s unusual, but it may become more the norm rather than an outlier. For years, Wall Street prized streaming over...
TV Q&A: Where has WTAE-TV’s Tom Garris been? 
Q: Where has WTAE-TV anchor/reporter Tom Garris been? He used to be the weekend morning anchor, but I haven’t seen him in the past three or four weeks. — Bill, Sarver Rob: Garris posted to his Facebook page in mid-June that he suffered a sports-related injury to his leg, tearing...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Joe Manganiello in ‘Moonhaven,’ ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Jeopardy!’ and ‘Hacks’
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 Mt. Lebanon native Joe Manganiello starring in AMC+’s “Moonhaven,” which features some ugly sci-fi wardrobes. The pair discuss the final two episodes of “Stranger...
TV Talk: ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ team talks season 4 plans, imagines Andy Warhol as a vampire 
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. When FX’s vampire comedy “What We Do in the Shadows” (10 p.m. Tuesday) returns for its fourth season, it has some resetting to do after the characters were scattered around the globe at the end...
TV Talk: WPXI-TV names weekend morning anchor; Pittsburgh native exits ‘Jeopardy!’ role
Following the departure of news anchor Joe Arena, WPXI-TV reporter Alyssa Raymond will take over as Channel 11’s weekend morning anchor effective this weekend. A 2007 Moon Area High School grad, Raymond joined WPXI in 2020 and has been a general assignment reporter weekday mornings as well as a fill-in...
TV Talk: Billy Porter on ‘Who Do You Think You Are?,’ ‘Better Call Saul’ marches toward its finale 
Pittsburgh native Billy Porter explores his ancestry on the season premiere of NBC’s celebrity genealogy show “Who Do You Think You Are?” (7 p.m. Sunday, WPXI-TV), which is similar to PBS’s “Finding Your Roots.” Pittsburgh cityscape beauty shots abound as Porter returns to Pittsburgh to begin his research before his...
TV Q&A: Questions answered about Pirates coverage on AT&T SportsNet
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 doesn’t AT&T SportsNet include the player’s position abbreviation after their name during the at-bat appearance? Other networks include this information. This would be a...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Guest Bob Pompeani talks about his 40 years on KDKA-TV
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen welcome KDKA-TV sports anchor Bob Pompeani celebrating 40 years at the station with a “Pompeaniversary” special (7:30 p.m. July 9). Pompeani recalls getting into a staring contest with James Harrison, covering the Winter...


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