TV Talk with Rob Owen

It was tough for the 97th annual Academy Awards telecast to put its best foot forward when so many viewers saw so few of the niche movies nominated for best picture, an award that ultimately went to “Anora,” which won five Oscars total. The best Oscar telecast producers could do...

For staff in the Allegheny General Hospital emergency room, Max’s Pittsburgh-set “The Pitt” isn’t just a TV show, but an education for friends and family about the work they do every day. “These aren’t things we actually talk about with our golf group or friends group or at the dinner...

Churchill native Joseph Cannon, son of local broadcaster and former PCNC host Ellis Cannon, gets his biggest acting break to date this weekend with a role in Lifetime’s “Abducted in the Everglades” (8 p.m. Sunday). Joseph Cannon stars in scenes with Tori Spelling (“Beverly Hills, 90210”), who plays a mom...

Although this wasn’t always true, in the modern era it’s safe to conclude anytime there is an upheaval in the general TV order, the reason almost always comes down to one thing: money. This week, Lester Holt announced his departure later this year from anchoring “NBC Nightly News,” a position...

Former KDKA-TV weathercaster and daytime talk show host Jon Burnett died of suspected CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) following a 2022 diagnosis of the disease, according to KDKA. He was 71. Burnett shared his diagnosis with KDKA viewers in February 2024 reports by his longtime “Pittsburgh Today Live” co-host Kristine Sorensen,...

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: What is going on with the KDKA-TV meteorologists? In the mornings, it seems like they are double teaming us, alternating between Ron Smiley and Trey...

“SNL50: The Anniversary Special” offered something for all fans: Those who come for the music (Lil Wayne and The Roots; Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard; Paul McCartney), for viewers who love the recurring sketches/characters (Mike Myers’ Linda Richman; Cecily Strong’s Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at...

Midway through its first season, the Pittsburgh-set medical drama “The Pitt” has been renewed for a second season by Max. The series, which films almost entirely in Burbank, Calif., shot at Allegheny General Hospital on the North Side for a week in September, collecting scenes that have been inserted in...

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Belle Vernon native Jason Bartolozzi never made moonshine until he started watching Discovery Channel’s “Moonshiners: Master Distiller” when it premiered in 2011. Now Bartolozzi, 45, competes in an upcoming episode (9 p.m. Feb. 18, Discovery...

Some companies bought ads during Super Bowl LIX that failed to make clear the purpose of the product being advertised, essentially setting fire to an $8 million investment (the cost to buy a 30-second ad, not including millions of dollars in production costs). Overall, the ads were not memorable (or...

In typical late Friday, take-out-the-trash (e.g. bad news you don’t want too many people to see) fashion, Amazon’s Prime Video confirmed it canceled “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh,” its entertaining-for-the-whole-family comedy about an Indian family that immigrates to Pittsburgh. Although filmed in Toronto, the series was created by veteran TV comedy...

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 was wondering if you knew when the Penguins games will be on WTAE. I know they do a few every year on there. I...