TV Q&A: Will there be new episodes of WQED-TV’s ‘QED Cooks’?

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: Are Chris Fennimore and Nancy Polinsky still making local cooking shows on WQED?

— Margo, via email

Rob: Production on new “QED Cooks” episodes stopped with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, but a new special, “When in Rome,” will tape Oct. 27 for airing in December (date/time not yet announced).

The program, featuring Fennimore and Polinsky, will focus on authentic recipes from Rome, Italy, and will be made available to PBS stations nationally through distributor American Public Television.

Q: For the past few weeks on Verizon FiOS, Cinemoi, Channel 236, has had a black screen with nothing broadcasting. Then at the beginning of this week, a white screen with a message appeared which reads: “Your FIOS TV is working. The content provider is not currently sending programming for this channel.”

This is not the first time this has happened. Is Verizon removing this channel from their lineup or is there a serious broadcasting problem originating from Cinemoi itself?

—Joe, Pittsburgh

Rob: All signs suggest some weirdness at Cinemoi, which has not posted on Facebook or Twitter since January 2022. The most recent schedule on the Cinemoi website dates to July 2022. I managed to track down Cinemoi CEO Rod Sherwood, who said the channel is expected to telecast again in the next few weeks.

“We’re currently doing some restructuring of our delivery mechanism, trying to make everything domestic for now,” Sherwood said. “The channel should be up shortly. We’re also doing some alignment to focus further on conscientious media, opening new dimensions with a focus on everyday heroes.”

Q: Where did all four favorites on “Saturday Night Live” go? Cecily Strong also left?

— Mary Kay, Greensburg

Rob: Four? Try eight! Yes, eight cast members exited NBC’s “SNL” ahead of season 48 as we discussed on a recent episode of the Pittsburgh Pop podcast.

Chris Redd, Alex Moffat, Melissa Villaseñor, Aristotle Athari, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Pete Davidson all departed the sketch comedy show.

Cecily Strong is currently performing in a one-woman show in Los Angeles and will reportedly return to “SNL” this season, though some have speculated she may return and then exit “SNL” by the end of the 2022-23 season.

Q: Will new episodes of “Pit Bulls and Parolees” return to TV?

— Kim, via email

Rob: Yes, the final season of “Pit Bulls Parolees” premieres at 9 p.m. Oct. 22 on Animal Planet.

Q: What’s with Stephen Colbert going onto Comedy Central? Don Lemon got demoted to a morning show from his CNN prime-time show. Who gets up in the morning?

What’s Chris Cuomo doing now?

— Eileen, Latrobe

Rob: Colbert is not going to Comedy Central. He’s staying with “The Late Show” on CBS. But on “The Late Show,” he has promoted another program he executive produces, “Tooning Out the News,” which started airing new episodes on Comedy Central at 11:30 p.m. weekdays earlier this month.

While Don Lemon’s show in prime-time was a bigger pulpit, CNN is desperate to get some traction for its morning show, which is why they pulled Lemon to mornings.

Cuomo now hosts his own show weeknights at 8 p.m. on cable’s NewsNation channel.