Rob Owen stories, Page 38
TV Talk: Turning 70, ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ gets a home video upgradeVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. The 1952 classic “Singin’ in the Rain,” starring East Liberty native Gene Kelly, gets a home video upgrade with the April 26 70th anniversary re-release of the film in 4K Ultra HD ($33.99) that includes...
TV Talk: Would-be Emmy contenders flood cable/streaming in the week aheadVideo
If you’re a fan of TV/streaming who follows what’s new, your eyeballs may bug out of your head when you look at the next month of new program releases. There are a lot of them. This weekend alone sees the return of HBO’s “Barry” (10 p.m. Sunday), the debut of...
TV Q&A: Why do TV newscasts insist viewers go online to get news?
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 does every Pittsburgh news station push their viewers to check out more on this story on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.? Social media has become...
TV Talk: Netflix exorcism thriller ‘Demon House’ to film in Western Pa.
On the heels of filming the Christian Bale movie “The Pale Blue Eye” in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area, Netflix will return to town in June to shoot the film “Demon House.” Lee Daniels (“The Butler,” “Empire”) will direct the exorcism thriller that will star Glenn Close (“Hillbilly Elegy”), Mo’Nique...
TV Talk: ‘Better Call Saul,’ ‘The Flight Attendant’ back with new seasonsVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for the coming week. Just two days shy of two years to the day AMC last premiered a new episode of “Better Call Saul,” the show returns at 9 p.m. Monday, airing two episodes on AMC and streaming on AMC+....
TV Talk: Former Pittsburgher Rob Marshall drops by Food Network; ‘Outer Range,’ ‘Swimming with Sharks’ debutVideo
For former Pittsburgher Rob Marshall, director of the 2002 Oscar-winning film “Chicago,” appearing on Food Network’s “Be My Guest with Ina Garten” wasn’t a tough sell. After all, Marshall and Garten have been friends for 15 years, both living in the Hamptons 15 minutes from one another. He’s appeared on...
TV Q&A: Is there a Pittsburgh connection on ‘NCIS: Hawaii’?
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 two recent episodes of “NCIS: Hawaii” Pittsburgh was mentioned. Both were in relation to someone’s history that was connected to the crime being solved....
TV Talk: Season 2 of ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ to film in Pittsburgh
Steeltown will become Kingstown when season two of Paramount+’s “Mayor of Kingstown” films in Western Pennsylvania later this year. The show’s first season, set in Michigan, was shot in Hamilton, Burlington, and Kingston, Ontario. “Mayor of Kingstown” executive producer Hugh Dillon posted images of the shuttered SCI Pittsburgh (aka Western...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘Better Call Saul,’ potential future WWE stars with Pittsburgh ties, ‘Ghosts,’ ‘Portals to Hell’
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 local athletes in contention to join the WWE. Benz and Owen talk about the upcoming final season of AMC’s “Better Call Saul” and the...
TV Talk: Conventional wisdom said ‘Ghosts’ was too much of an outlier; now it’s a hit
With all the attention on streaming series and viewers’ migration to Netflix, Disney+ and other direct-to-consumer services, it’s somewhat remarkable that the 2021-22 TV season produced two comedy hits — CBS’s “Ghosts” and ABC’s “Abbott Elementary.” “Abbott,” already renewed for a second season, has its first-season finale at 9 p.m....
TV Talk: ‘Portals to Hell’ visits Western Pa.; Hugh Laurie adapts Agatha ChristieVideo
Regardless of whether you believe in ghosts, there’s no denying the popularity of ghost-hunting shows on cable. Travel Channel would be more accurately named if it were called Supernatural Channel, given its current programming. From “Destination Fear” at the Green County Almshouse to “Ghost Hunters” at Pittsburgh’s Church Brew Works,...
TV Q&A: What’s up with TV weather forecast ‘impact days’?
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: Recently KDKA-TV joined in on the latest weather gimmick: “first alert weather days.” WTAE offers the equally cringey “impact days.” Why do the local stations...
TV Talk: Beaver County teen’s ‘Idol’ journey ends; ‘Tokyo Vice’ drops on HBO MaxVideo
And then it was over: Morgan Gruber, the 17-year-old Riverside High School senior from Fombell, was eliminated on Monday’s episode of ABC’s “American Idol.” “I just want everyone to know that I did not make it to the top 24,” Gruber wrote on her Facebook page Monday night. “They will...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Grammy Awards, ‘American Idol,’ ‘Belfast’ and ‘Moon Knight’
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 Morgan Gruber, the 17-year-old Riverside High School senior from Franklin Township, Beaver County, who continues to advance on ABC’s “American Idol.” Benz and Owen...
TV Talk: Western Pa. teen continues to advance on ‘American Idol’Video
From failing to make it onto the show last season to now advancing three times this season, Morgan Gruber of Franklin Township, Beaver County, is on a roll. In Sunday’s duets-themed episode, taped in December, platinum ticketholder Jay Copeland picked Gruber to be his duet partner, and they advanced to...
TV Talk: Very Local highlights Pittsburgh chefs; PBS offers a biography of Benjamin Franklin
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for the coming week. The latest Pittsburgh show on Hearst’s Very Local streaming service, available via Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Android TV and Roku devices, offers profiles of several Pittsburgh chefs in each half-hour episode. Unlike Very Local’s hosted culinary...
TV Talk: Former Pittsburgher directs ‘Better Nate Than Ever,’ based on his novel, for Disney+Video
Tim Federle grew up in the Pittsburgh suburbs as a theater kid, realized his dream of appearing on Broadway, became an author and now is a scriptwriter/showrunner/director with the movie “Ferdinand” and Disney+’s “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” among his credits. But his film directorial debut, an adaptation...
TV Q&A: Was Steve Harvey ever a real judge?
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: I’ve been watching ABC’s “Judge Steve Harvey.” It’s very entertaining. Is he a real judge? – Theresa, Allegheny Township Rob: Unlike the judges on daytime...
TV Talk: ‘This is Us’ gives a shout-out to Eat’n Park
NBC’s partially Pittsburgh-set “This Is Us” has its share of local references – the Steelers, the Pirates and even the late Froggy’s in Downtown Pittsburgh have received multiple references on the family drama – and in Tuesday’s episode it was local chain Eat’n Park’s turn. In the present, while at...
TV Talk: Beaver County teen’s ‘Idol’ streak continuesVideo
Morgan Gruber of Franklin Township, Beaver County, made it through a second week of ABC’s “American Idol” in the season’s first Hollywood Week episode Monday night. Gruber was barely featured in the episode but she could be glimpsed briefly singing Demi Lovato’s “Anyone” as part of the pop performers genre....
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Will Smith’s Oscar’s slap, ‘Bridgerton,’ ‘Halo’ and the sports announcers’ swap with a local tie
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 what everyone is talking about today: Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars over Rock’s joke at the expense of Smith’s wife. Benz...
TV Talk: Will Smith’s ego steals the spotlight from award winners
When the Academy has to say that it does not condone violence at its ceremony, you know something has gone terribly wrong. Chris Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head at the Oscars Sunday night, saying he looked forward to seeing her in “G.I. Jane 2” (“G.I. Jane” starred...
TV Talk: Oscars rebound from 2021 disaster, then derailed by a slapVideo
Back in its traditional home with legitimately funny monologues from the hosts, ABC’s telecast of the 2022 Academy Awards proved a vast improvement in entertainment value from the pared-down-for-covid 2021 show. “CODA,” directed by 1999 Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama grad Sian Heder, was the big winner, taking home...
TV Talk: Pam Surano exits KDKA-TV for job with Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
KDKA-TV freelance reporter Pam Surano has left the station and joined the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh where she’s now working as producer/assignment editor for another former KDKA mainstay: Jennifer Antkowiak, who is the diocese’s executive director of communications and community relations. Surano said Antkowiak, who Surano had met previously...
TV Talk: Marvel’s ‘Moon Knight’ rises on Disney+Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. For its latest Marvel series, Disney+ introduces a new character from the comic books rather than spinning off someone from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it has done previously (“Wanda Vision,” “The Falcon and the Winter...
