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 began watching the “The Trouble with Maggie Cole” on PBS (8 p.m. Sunday, WQED-TV) and it seems to me that where they are filming is remarkably similar to the town in which Doc Martin is set. Are they shot in the same place, or is this a case of “if you’ve seen one British seaside community…”
-Buzz via email
Rob: Turns out it’s more of the latter.
“Doc Martin” films in Port Isaac in Cornwall, England, and “Maggie Cole” was filmed in Noss Mayo in South West Devon, England.
About 60 miles separate the two towns with Port Isaac on the Celtic Sea coast of England and Noss Mayo on the English Channel.
Q: Where is Judge Napolitano on Fox News Channel? Haven’t seen him lately.
-Rita via voicemail
Rob: Napolitano continues to write opinion pieces for the network’s website but if you’re seeing him less frequently on air, this could be a reason why: In the book “Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth”, author Brian Stelter writes that Napolitano saw his air time on Fox News reduced due to his criticisms for President Trump.
Q: Do you know where former Channel 4 reporter Beau Berman ended up? He was one of my favorite newsmen in Pittsburgh before he left. I’m guessing he went to a bigger TV city.
-Evan via email
Rob: Berman has kept busy since leaving WTAE in May 2019. He got married, took a cross-country road trip from Pennsylvania to California, spent a month in the Middle East and Asia, launched the podcast “RPRTR,” worked as a freelance media consultant for a Pittsburgh tech startup, created a digital media program at Neshannock Township School District and moved to upstate New York.
“I’m flattered that a viewer is wondering what I’m up to!” Berman says. “I’m now partnering with two Cornell University-trained scientists as the co-founder and marketing director of a nutrition startup called Layer Origin Natural Supplements. While I’m enjoying life as an entrepreneur, I’m not ruling out a news comeback one day. I miss my hometown (Pittsburgh) and will be visiting often!”
Q: Do you know what’s going to happen to the shows made for Quibi? I saw a clip of the “Reno 911!” crew back together when they were first advertising the service.
-Shannon via Facebook
Rob: I’ve been trying to get an answer to this since news of Quibi shutting down emerged last month. I think a lot of the programming made for Quibi may just be out of luck in finding a new home but “Reno 911!” is a known brand with corporate backing. “Reno 911!” was produced for Quibi by Comedy Central Productions so I think those Quibi episodes, which are actually quite good, will show up somewhere.
They could be re-edited into half-hour episodes for Comedy Central’s linear cable channel or perhaps they’ll leave them as-is and make them available on Paramount +, Viacom’s successor streaming service to CBS All Access which will launch in 2021. Or perhaps the Quibi episodes will be sold to HBO Max which has already announced plans to carry “Reno 911!” reruns from the show’s original cable run.
