Rob Owen stories, Page 37
TV Talk: HBO recaptures ‘Game of Thrones’ political dynamics in ‘House of the Dragon’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Although “Game of Thrones” spin-off “House of the Dragon” (9 p.m. Sunday on HBO and HBO Max) is technically a prequel set 172 years before the first “GOT” series, structurally its first episode is more...
TV Talk: Marvel comedy ‘She-Hulk’ short on laughs; ‘Sprung’ misses a chance for a shared universeVideo
Credit Marvel with attempting a half-hour comedy series for Disney+, but “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” proves too timid about leaning into humor. The first episode, now streaming, proves a particularly dull introduction that wastes most of its running time on a training montage as Bruce Banner/Smart-Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) trains his...
TV Q&A: What happened to Me TV, PBS Kids and Cozi on Comcast?Video
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: Any idea why Comcast/Xfinity suddenly dropped MeTV, Charge and Antenna TV without notice (channels 204, 207, 208)? They have something listed as Slate Channel now,...
TV Talk: Offbeat humor springs from filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Sprung’Video
If you’ve been a fan of writer/director Greg Garcia’s past series — “My Name is Earl” (2005-09, NBC), “Raising Hope” (2010-14, Fox), “The Guest Book” (2017-18, TBS) — and his shows’ mix of sophomoric humor and character-driven comedy with a messy surface but heart underneath, you’re likely to get a...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking new movie casting call, North Shore concerts, Steelers game, ‘A League of Their Own’
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 weekend’s concerts on the North Shore and TV coverage of the first Steelers pre-season game. The pair discuss Amazon Prime Video’s “A League...
TV Talk: Cable’s ID brings back ‘Homicide Hunter’ with Westmoreland native Joe KendaVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. When Investigation Discovery’s “Homicide Hunter” ended its nine-season run three years ago, star/host Joe Kenda said the series wrapped because he ran out of cases and those that remained were too simple or too gruesome....
Former KDKA-TV medical editor, husband of Patrice King Brown, dies
Dr. Paul Nemiroff, former KDKA-TV medical editor and husband of retired KDKA-TV news anchor Patrice King Brown, died Aug. 10. He was 73. A cause of death has not been determined. Nemiroff has lived with Myelodysplasia Syndrome (MDS), a blood cancer, since a 1999 diagnosis. KDKA reported on his MDS...
TV Talk: Is ‘A League of Their Own’ worth watching?Video
Amazon Prime Video’s “A League of Their Own,” filmed mostly in Western Pennsylvania and streaming Friday, is definitely the best series spin-off of the 1992 Geena Davis-Madonna-Tom Hanks movie. The previous iteration, a forgettable 1993 CBS sitcom, was pretty bad. Where the original film explored sexism with a passing reference...
TV Q&A: Is that a WPXI-TV reporter in a WQED-TV documentary?Video
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 PittsburghVideo
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’Video
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 seasonVideo
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 momVideo
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’Video
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’Video
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’Video
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 creditsVideo
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...
