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: The other two “Law & Order” shows have returned but not the Chris Meloni one, “Organized Crime.” How come? What happened to it? Is it coming back?
— Carol, Castle Shannon
Rob: Back in May we learned that “Organized Crime” will shift to streaming service Peacock for its fifth season due to low ratings on NBC but decent viewership on streaming.
Expect new “L&O: OC” episodes to premiere on Peacock sometime this year, but so far no premiere date has been announced.
Q: I read your article on “Watson,” its connections to Pittsburgh and the extensive research the producers did on the city. One thing in the premiere that probably was not written by someone with local knowledge was the scene where Watson slept in his office and the woman who walked in said it was probably best because “half of the bridges were closed by the storm.” I doubt that any storm has ever closed a bridge in Pittsburgh, let alone half of them.
— Doug, via email
Rob: That jumped out at me, too, as unlikely and seemingly inaccurate. If they’d said “Parkway East is closed Downtown at the bathtub” that would make sense to Pittsburghers but probably confuse the rest of the audience. The episode was written by series creator Craig Sweeny, a native of Squirrel Hill.
Ratings for the “Watson” premiere, which followed the AFC Championship game on Jan. 26, were strong, drawing 9.6 million viewers. It was the only entertainment program in prime time that night to draw above a 1 rating in adults 18-49 with a 1.6 coming off the Bills-Chiefs game that notched a 10.6 rating in adults 18-49.
Time will tell if those ratings hold up. “Watson” will air in its regular time period, 9 p.m. Sunday, beginning Feb. 16 on CBS.
Q: Every week at the beginning and end of the NBC show “The Irrational,” there are disclaimers about it being fiction and not about anyone. Since this is pretty unusual, I figure that this must have a specific reason. Any ideas?
— Bob, via Facebook
Rob: Yes, there is a reason for that. “The Irrational” is loosely based on the work of behavioral scientist Dan Ariely. Because of that connection to real life, I’m sure lawyers insisted on the disclaimers.
Q: What gives with this season of PBS’s “Vienna Blood”?
My wife and I are big fans of the show. In the past, there have been around three mysteries with two episodes each. This season had one mystery with four episodes — not much of a season. I’m sure it is a very expensive series because of the locations and other matters.
— Dave, Gibsonia
Rob: PBS said the producers of “Vienna Blood” made a creative decision to structure season four around one storyline, rather than multiple storylines as in the previous three seasons. This was announced when production on season four began.
Per “Vienna Blood” director Umat Dag: “As a director and creative, your approach is always to progress and do better. We wanted to keep as much as we could of the environment that we all know and love from the previous seasons, but also add a little bit more to get a fresh feeling and be closer to the characters. I hope the audience will feel it.”
I couldn’t find many reviews for this season of “Vienna Blood,” but the one I did find was positive while viewer sentiment was decidedly more mixed.