Former ‘Jersey Shore’ star Snooki says she has cervical cancer
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi said Friday that she has cervical cancer. The former “Jersey Shore” star said in a video posted to TikTok that a biopsy had revealed the stage one cancer. “Obviously not the news that I was hoping for,” she said, sitting in her car...
‘The Pitt’ hits Season 2 midpoint as tensions rise
It’s 1 p.m. inside Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, and things are heating up. Episode 7 marked the halfway point in Season 2 of “The Pitt,” and it felt like it, with juicy additions to several storylines. Charge nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) continues to feature as one of the show’s...
Eric Dane, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star and ALS awareness advocate, dies at 53
Eric Dane, the celebrated actor best known for his roles on “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Euphoria” and who later in life became advocate for ALS awareness, died Thursday. He was 53. His representatives said Dane died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known also as Lou Gehrig’s disease, less than a year after...
FCC confirms ‘enforcement action’ against ‘The View’ after James Talarico interview
The Federal Communications Commission has confirmed an “enforcement action” is underway against ABC’s “The View” after the talk show featured James Talarico, a Democratic Texas representative running for U.S. Senate. ” We’re taking a look at it,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told reporters, without providing specifics. His comments came nearly...
Tom Noonan, ‘Manhunter’ character actor who also wrote and directed films, dies at 74
LOS ANGELES — Tom Noonan, a character actor and filmmaker known for playing villains in “Manhunter” and “The Last Action Hero,” died on Valentine’s Day. He was 74. The death was confirmed by Fred Dekker, director of “The Monster Squad,” who wrote on Facebook, “Tom’s indelible performance as Frankenstein …...
TV Talk: East Liberty entrepreneur competes on ’60 Day Hustle;’ ‘Expedition X’ visits Laurel Highlands
East Liberty native and resident Jordyn Ford went on a “60 Day Hustle” last year, competing in season two of the competition series that’s now streaming all six episodes on Amazon. “60 Day Hustle” is different from many reality competitions because it was not commissioned by Prime and is not...
TV Talk: WTAE promotes from within, names new morning co-anchor
Following Michelle Wright’s Feb. 27 final broadcast before retirement, morning traffic reporter Elena LaQuatra will succeed Wright at the anchor desk as WTAE returns to a two-anchor morning format. Janelle Hall will remain at the morning anchor desk alongside LaQuatra and meteorologist Ashley Dougherty but Ryan Recker will move to...
Movie review: In ‘How to Make a Killing,’ a new riff on an Ealing black comedy classicVideo
“How to Make a Killing,” starring Glen Powell as a working-class man who sets out to murderously reclaim his inheritance, has a clear inspiration: the great Ealing black comedy “Kind Hearts and Coronets.” In that sublimely wicked 1949 film, Alec Guinness played all eight of the relatives that Dennis Price’s...
TV Q&A: How do news anchors get to TV stations during snowstorms?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Saturday Tribune-Review. Q: I’ve often wondered how local TV news anchors manage to get to the studio during major snow events, such as the one we experienced recently....
Anderson Cooper says he’s exiting from ’60 Minutes,’ but staying with CNN
Anderson Cooper, who has reported for CBS’ “60 Minutes” for the past two decades in addition to hosting a weeknight news program on CNN, said Monday that he’s leaving the CBS broadcast to spend more time with his family. His decision comes at a time of turmoil at “60 Minutes.”...
Stephen Colbert says CBS lawyers pulled James Talarico interview as early voting begins in Texas
AUSTIN — Late-night host Stephen Colbert said his interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was pulled from Monday night’s broadcast over network fears it would violate regulatory guidance from the Trump administration on giving equal time to political candidates. The issue came just hours before early voting opened...
Actor Shia LaBeouf arrested after alleged fight during Mardi Gras in New Orleans
Actor Shia LaBeouf has been arrested after being accused of hitting two men early Tuesday morning during Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, police said. LaBeouf was charged with two counts of simple battery, New Orleans police said in a statement. Officers were called to a business around the French...
Warner Bros reopens takeover talks with Paramount after receiving a waiver from Netflix
NEW YORK — Warner Bros. Discovery is briefly reopening takeover talks with Skydance-owned Paramount to hear the company’s “best and final” offer, while the Hollywood giant continues to back the studio and streaming deal it struck with Netflix. In a Tuesday regulatory filing, Warner said it had received a waiver...
‘The Pitt’ tries a Pittsburgh accent, and locals have opinionsVideo
The Pittsburgh accent is one of those “if you know, you know” things. Lifelong denizens of the 412 can recognize it in others immediately, but outsiders can struggle to pick it out — or pick it up. “Growing up in Pittsburgh, I didn’t know there was anything particular about it...
TV Talk: Catchy loves ‘Lucy;’ HBO documents crazy ‘Neighbors’Video
Digital subchannel Catchy Comedy, available locally over the air on Channel 2.5, debuts a new programming block featuring all five TV series starring Lucille Ball, presented together for the first time. From her 1951-60 classic sitcom “I Love Lucy” to her final, misbegotten ABC sitcom “Life with Lucy” (1986), Catchy...
James Van Der Beek, the ‘Dawson’s Creek’ star who later mocked his own hunky persona, dies at 48
NEW YORK — James Van Der Beek, a heartthrob who starred in coming-of-age dramas at the dawn of the new millennium, shooting to fame playing the titular character in “Dawson’s Creek” and in later years mocking his own hunky persona, has died. He was 48. “Our beloved James David Van...
TV Q&A: What happened to ‘Fan N’Ation’?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Saturday Tribune-Review. Q: What happened to “Fan N’Ation” on KDKA+? Has it been canceled, or will it eventually return? Their page on X/Twitter hasn’t been updated in a...
TV Talk: AMC’s ‘Dark Winds’ road trips to L.A. in 4th season
It was always going to be a challenge for AMC’s “Dark Winds” to top its third season, the series’ best so far. Although the new fourth season lacks a defining episode like season three’s sixth episode, “Abidooniidee (What We Had Been Told),” featuring lead character Joe Leaphorn on an emotional,...
TV Talk: Super Bowl ads embrace AI, nostalgia, warmth
Super Bowl LX commercials put an emphasis on artificial intelligence, 1980s and ’90s culture, feel-good situations, Pittsburgh celebrities and, uh, an out-there focus on rear ends. Pittsburgh native actor Jeff Goldblum (“Wicked: For Good”) turned up in ads for Comcast Xfinity’s Wi-Fi, revisiting his “Jurassic Park” role, and in another...
Report: ABC’s ‘The View’ under federal investigation by Trump administration
The Trump administration is said to be investigating ABC’s “The View” over allegations that it doesn’t provide equal treatment for political candidates and parties. A source at the Federal Communications Commission reportedly told Fox News Digital that the agency is examining the “fake news” morning program amid a crackdown on...
‘Melania’ falls steeply and ‘Send Help’ holds steady at No. 1 on a quiet weekend in theaters
NEW YORK — Hollywood largely ceded attention to football over a slow box-office weekend, with the survival thriller “Send Help” repeating as No. 1 in ticket sales and the Melania Trump documentary “Melania” falling sharply in its second weekend. Super Bowl weekend is typically one of the lowest attended moviegoing...
Verizon’s FIOS TV customers will be able to watch the Super Bowl, Olympics on WPXI
FIOS TV customers will be able to watch the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics on Pittsburgh’s WPXI after a dispute that started in December between the Verizon television service and Cox Media Group. Cox Media is WPXI’s parent company. Verizon failed to reach an agreement on a new retransmission...
Actor Timothy Busfield indicted in New Mexico on 4 counts of sexual contact with a child
SANTA FE, N.M. — “West Wing” and “Field of Dreams” actor Timothy Busfield has been indicted by a grand jury on four counts of criminal sexual contact with a child under age 13, a New Mexico prosecutor announced Friday. The allegations are tied to Busfield’s work as a director on...
Super Bowl ad features Cam Heyward, group of Boys & Girls Club of Western PA
Cheri Green signed her now 10-year-old daughter up for the Northern Area Boys & Girls Club of Western PA two years ago, never expecting it would lead to a role in a national Super Bowl ad. When the invitation came to have CiAnna Green appear alongside Steelers defensive lineman Cam...
Penguins logo makes cameo in branding gone awry during ‘The Pitt’
Pittsburgh gets yet another nod in the latest episode of “The Pitt,” when a Penguins logo becomes the punchline of a painfully silly experiment — a don’t-try-this-home branding attempt at wearing hometown pride on one’s chest. Dr. Frank Langdon and nurse Donnie Donahue treat an unlucky patient with dry-ice burns...