What’s going on with KDKA-TV’s morning news?
Q: What is going on with Channel 2? First they let Rick Dayton and Susan Koeppen go, but now they bring John Shumway to the morning news?
— MARIE VIA EMAIL
Rob: At first I thought maybe Shumway was just subbing in the mornings, but his Facebook post from earlier this month says morning work is his new assignment, moving him off afternoon reporting.
Every half-hour from 5-7 a.m. Shumway is in studio to present a local story he’s produced for the morning news. Then he solo anchors the 7-9 a.m. news block on WPCWTV while doing local cut-ins during “CBS This Morning” on KDKA-TV.
This change-up follows KDKA’s layoff of morning anchor Rich Dayton. Adding Shumway takes some of the load off remaining morning anchor Heather Abraham.
Q: What happened to MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer? I’ve not seen her on the air in years and can find nothing online about where she’s gone.
And where is MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts, and why isn’t he anchoring anymore?
— LAINA, REGENT SQUARE
Rob: Brewer left MSNBC in 2011. She joined CNBC as a correspondent and fill-in anchor in 2017.
Roberts left MSNBC in 2017 and in June 2018 became an evening anchor at the CBS affiliate in Atlanta, a job he left in August 2019.
Q: Is there any news on when Xfinity will add the app for HBO Max?
— LINDA VIA EMAIL
Rob: There is still no deal between Comcast and WarnerMedia to bring an HBO Max app to Xfinity.
Q: What happened to MacGyver’s sidekick, Jack?
— JP VIA FACEBOOK
Rob: Actor George Eads chose to leave the series, reportedly to spend more time with his daughter in Los Angeles. (“MacGyver” films in Atlanta.)
His November 2018 request to producers to leave the show came after reports of
some sort of altercation in October 2018 where he stormed off the set.
Q: Why did Conan O’Brien’s show on TBS go from an hour to a halfhour? Was any reason ever given?
— JARED VIA EMAIL
Rob: Yes, this was covered extensively when the announcement was made in 2018. Basically, there’s a lot of competition in late-night, and “Conan” found more success in special episodes — like his visits to foreign countries — than in the regular late-night talk-show format. So TBS opted to rejigger the show’s format to the style that was working best for it already.
“I’ve been pushing for this for a while: something that fits the modern landscape, that certainly fits the way I interact with my fans more,” O’Brien said in a conference call with reporters covered by The New York Times. “I was looking for something more lean and agile.”
Earlier this month “Conan” became the first late-night talk show during the pandemic to resume filming from a performance space, moving into Los Angeles’ Largo at the Coronet.