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: Who’s the new weatherman on KDKA-TV?

— Ed, Oil City

Rob: With the TV season now back in full swing, it’s unsurprising that some folks missed TV news that happened over the summer during the travel/vacation season.

KDKA hired Trey Fulbright over the summer, with the young forecaster starting on-air in August.

Fulbright, who has a degree in meteorology (and a minor in journalism) from Iowa State University and is enrolled in the Mississippi State Master of Meteorology distance learning program, joined the station from KCCI-TV in Des Moines, Iowa, after growing up in Dallas and Memphis, Tenn.

Q: During the Oct. 20 Sunday Night Football game between the Steelers and Jets, when there were about three-and-a-half minutes left in the game, WPXI ran a promo for an interview with former President Trump while the game was in progress. The promo consisted of two boxes: A larger box showing the promo and a smaller box showing the game. I have a 65-inch TV and it was very difficult to see the action in the small box. This was not during a timeout. A play was being run during the promo. Given how the promo was presented, I find it very difficult to believe it was an accident. This promo was more appropriate for a crawl across the bottom of the screen instead of interrupting the game. Why did WPXI do this? They had to know it would upset their viewers.

— Bob, Plum

Rob: I agree with Bob that the presence of a “squeezeback” suggests the promo was pre-planned. It’s possible the unfortunate timing was an error, if we want to give Channel 11 the benefit of the doubt. A less charitable read is that WPXI cares less about the viewing experience and cares more about promoting its newscasts in hopes of more people watching, leading to better ratings, which would lead to potentially more advertising revenue. Channel 11 executives did not respond when presented with Bob’s question, leaving viewers to decide for themselves how to interpret why that ill-timed promo aired when it did.

Q: As a bit of a gearhead, I have to ask why MotorTrend TV has not shown any new content in a while. I see they are supposed to be on Discovery but I don’t subscribe to that service. Any idea when they might show new content?

— John, Pittsburgh

Rob: Although the MotorTrend streaming service shut down earlier this year, the cable channel will still have some original programming.

Per a MotorTrend publicist, new shows airing this fall include “Ride of Your Life” (10 p.m. Tuesdays beginning Oct. 29) and “Roadworthy Rescues” (9 p.m. Wednesdays beginning Dec. 3) with more new shows coming in 2025.

Q: Do you know if the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction 2024” will be aired on TV at a later date for people like me who don’t have Disney ?

— Krissy, via Facebook

Rob: I wasn’t sure at first if it would air on linear TV after its Oct. 19 live premiere on Disney , but ABC will indeed broadcast the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction 2024” 8-11 p.m. Jan. 1 and stream it after that on Hulu and Disney .

Inductees at the Cleveland ceremony included Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang and Dionne Warwick.

Q: I watched a series on Apple TV recently called “Shantaram,” which aired in 2022. I liked it very much. Its final episode was a cliffhanger and “to be continued.” However, when I checked for upcoming episodes, it said “no upcoming episodes.” Is that the case or will more episodes be made eventually?

— Lois, via email

Rob: Sorry to report, Apple TV canceled “Shantaram” in December 2022 so there will be no additional episodes.

It seems crazy that some producers persist in thinking that if they craft a cliffhanger, they won’t get canceled. I actually read an interview recently, though I can’t recall for which show, where a producer said something to the effect of, “We gave them no choice, now they have to renew us!” That’s not how it works. That’s never how it’s worked!

Unless a producer knows a show will return, the best way they can respect the audience is to craft a season finale that offers both some closure and pathways for the story to continue.