Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama grad Olivia Kuper Harris advanced to the Battle Rounds of NBC’s “The Voice” that begin airing at 8 tonight on WPXI.
A 2013 CMU grad, Harris performed “Dream a Little Dream of Me” in the Feb. 23 blind audition rounds of “The Voice,” where she was picked to continue in the competition.
“There’s an ethereal quality to what you do that kind of transcends any one thing,” “The Voice” coach Adam Levine said. “You’re really gonna have a great run on the show.”
John Legend said Harris took risks in her performance.
“I can hear you being a singer-songwriter, I can hear you playing in Broadway, I can hear you doing a big pop song,” coach Kelsea Ballerini said.
Harris ultimately chose Legend to be her coach.
Harris grew up in Dallas singing and playing piano, violin and guitar. She acted in the 2012 indie feature “The Playroom” and later released several albums. She sang with Pittsburgh native Jeff Goldblum’s jazz band in Los Angeles. Harris was featured in the MTV documentary “Each and Every Day” alongside her musical influence, India Arie, and performed in season three of Fox’s “I Can See Your Voice” prior to getting cast on “The Voice.”
‘Dark Winds’ cameos
Eagle-eyed “Dark Winds” fans may have caught a brief glimpse of the show’s two famous executive producers in the March 9 season premiere: Actor Robert Redford and “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin made cameo appearances in a tribal police jail cell. Redford and Martin shepherded the late author Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn and Chee book series as it made the jump to become an AMC cable series.
“We had been working on trying to figure out a way to get those two gentlemen in the show, and we had a couple of missed attempts (in past seasons),” “Dark Winds” showrunner John Wirth said. “It was a question of getting Bob’s schedule worked out with George’s schedule and then figuring out how to get it into the show. I took a couple runs at writing cameo scenes, which existed on their own at the end of an episode, and then George had the idea that they should be in the jail (cell) in the Navajo tribal police (station). … As an Easter egg, it’s fun. It doesn’t distract from the story. It was very fun to do and challenging to put it all together.”
CW series returns
Two existing CW series return to the prime-time schedule in the months ahead: “Sullivan’s Crossing” is back for its third season at 8 p.m. May 7. “Children Ruin Everything” is back at 9 p.m. June 18.
New series “Sherlock & Daughter” (9 p.m. April 16), about a young woman (Blu Hunt) who may be the daughter of Sherlock Holmes (David Thewlis) and helps the legendary detective solve crimes, joins the schedule next month.
Alma at the Carnegie
Fred Rogers Productions’ PBS Kids show “Alma’s Way” will offer screenings of museum-set stories along with free admission to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Oakland from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 5. Screenings of the 30 minutes of “Alma’s Way” begin at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. and 12:30, 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. Advance free registration is required at giving.fredrogers.org.
Kept/canceled
Paramount ’s “Criminal Minds: Evolution” returns for a new 10-episode season May 8 and has been renewed for another season beyond that one.
Hallmark Channel will bring back “The Way Home” for a fourth season.
Netflix renewed “Running Point” for a second season.
Syfy renewed “The Ark” for a third season to air in 2026.
CBS canceled “S.W.A.T.” again. CBS has canceled the show before and revived it. That seems unlikely this time.
Netflix canceled “The Recruit” after two seasons.
The upcoming third season of Amazon Prime Video’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” starring former Carnegie Mellon University student Lola Tung, will be its last.
Channel surfing
NBC News named Tom Llamas the new anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” taking over after Lester Holt vacates the anchor chair this summer. … After disappearing from Hearst-owned WTAE’s newscasts for several months, consumer reporter Jeff Rossen apparently made a new deal with Hearst Television — his reports will return to Hearst stations, including WTAE, this week.