TV Talk: May sweeps ratings released; ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ ends

Although sweeps periods are diminished by daily ratings measurement, ratings periods in February, May and November still offer a snapshot of a Pittsburgh market that remains competitive.

KDKA-TV crept ahead of WPXI at 5 and 6 a.m. in households (WTAE remained No. 1). But in the key demo of viewers ages 25-54, WPXI stayed in second place at 5 a.m. (behind WTAE) and eked out a first-place finish at 6 a.m. The most notable on-air change to the time period: WPXI-TV jettisoned morning anchor Katherine Amenta just before May sweeps began.

Ratings released last week by Nielsen include household ratings that reflect a measure of popularity and the more important-to-­stations demographic ratings, including the key demo of ages 25-54, that are used in setting ad rates.

WPXI came in first in the demo at 4, 5 and 11 p.m. and tied with WTAE for first in the demo at 6 p.m. KDKA came in first in the demo at noon.

In households, WTAE had first-place finishes at 5 and 6 a.m. and 4, 5 and 6 p.m. KDKA ranked first in households at 12 and 11 p.m.

The WPXI-produced 10 p.m. news on WPGH-TV came in ahead in households and the key demo compared with the KDKA-produced news at 10 p.m. on WPKD-­TV.

KDKA’s “Pittsburgh Today Live,” which celebrated its 20th anniversary this month, finished well ahead of its competitors in households, but in the key demo ranked second behind the third hour of NBC’s “Today” on WPXI.

In 7 a.m. local newscast competition, KDKA’s news on WPKD-TV ranked first among local newscasts at the hour in households and the demo; WPXI’s news on WPGH-TV was second.

At 7:30 p.m. in households and the demo, “Jeopardy!” on WPXI came in first, “Entertainment Tonight” on WTAE was second and local news on KDKA ranked third.

KDKA’s 8 p.m. newscast on WPKD ranked fifth among local broadcast channels in households and the key demo ahead of sixth-place WPNT-TV.

KDKA-TV’s new hire

Chilekasi Adele, who graduated in May from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, posted on May 17 that he has been hired by KDKA as a reporter.

“I’ll be shooting many of my own stories too,” the Philadelphia native posted to X/Twitter, suggesting he’ll be another multimedia journalist at the station, a reporter who also acts as his or her own videographer. “Can’t wait to work with such an experienced team at a station with such a strong legacy.”

KDKA news director Shawn Hoder said Adele will first appear on air in July.

Even as Pittsburgh has fallen in Nielsen rank (from No. 19 largest market nationally in 1998 to No. 28 today), most reporters come to Pittsburgh stations at least a few years out of college after working for TV stations in smaller markets.

KDKA did hire Sonni Abatta straight out of Carnegie Mellon in 2003 and that worked out well, but she was a native Pittsburgher and interned at the station before she was hired as a “reporter trainee.” (She moved into an anchor role in 2005.)

‘Discovery’ ends

Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Discovery” wraps its journey with an 88-minute series finale that’s now streaming. This fifth season wasn’t intended to be the show’s end point, but Paramount+ canceled “Discovery” and then gave producers time and money to add an extra 20 minutes onto the season finale.

That coda flash-forwards to the future where now-Admiral Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) is gray-haired, living in domestic happiness on an alien world with some new relationships revealed. There’s a hint of breadcrumbs being laid for some future “Trek” to follow up on and lots of hugging, but these final moments can’t help but feel like a tacked-on addition rather than a natural conclusion.

Netflix’s ‘Eric’

Netflix doesn’t go bleak often — its series nowadays, described by Netflix boss Bela Bajaria as “gourmet cheeseburgers,” aim for broader appeal — but when Netflix goes dark, it can be hard to watch. Think: the first episode of 2021’s “Maid.”

Add Netflix’s “Eric,” now streaming, to the ranks of Netflix outliers.

Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Vincent, a grumpy puppeteer on a 1980s New York kids’ show (think: a nasty Mister Rogers) whose life spins out of control when his elementary school-age son Edgar (Ivan Morris Howe) disappears after leaving for school. Suddenly, Vincent starts seeing a 7-foot-tall monster character Edgar had been imagining before his disappearance.

Like Showtime’s Jim Carrey series “Kidding,” “Eric” explores the ugly underbelly of children’s TV production in this series from writer Abi Morgan (“The Hour”).

Vincent’s an obnoxious guy and not particularly sympathetic, even after Edgar goes missing. A cop (McKinley Belcher III) on the case is more likable, but it’s hard to imagine how any of this, outside scenes set behind the scenes of the puppet show “Good Day Sunshine,” entertains a broad audience.

Canceled

Amazon Freevee canceled “High School” after a single season.

Max’s “The Girls on the Bus” is also one-and-done.

Channel surfing

In a lawsuit, an indie production company accused the sons of Pirates legend Roberto Clemente of double-­dealing, selling it the film rights for a Clemente movie after previously selling the rights to Legendary Pictures in 2015. … Former Pittsburgher and “Dance Moms” star Kelly Hyland is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. … New FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channel 80s Sitcom Flashback streams episodes of “Three’s Company,” “The Ropers,” “Three’s a Crowd” and “Too Close for Comfort” among other sitcoms via Plex initially and eventually on other streaming platforms. … Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” gets a full series DVD/Blu-ray release July 30. … Season 4 of Biblical drama “The Chosen,” which debuted first in theaters, will stream its season premiere in “The Chosen” app at 7 p.m. Sunday before airing on other platforms later this year (including, possibly, The CW, which aired earlier seasons). … The CW will televise the “2024 Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl” (4:30 p.m. Dec. 28) featuring teams from the Mountain West conference and the Mid-American Conference.