TV Talk: KDKA-TV’s Ray Petelin and daughter go viral with sweet video

KDKA-TV meteorologist Ray Petelin and his daughter, Elizabeth, have experience appearing on-camera together in his “Hey Ray!” segments that air on Channel 2, but the pair’s exposure reached a whole new level following Ray’s social media posts last week.

Ray Petelin edited together interviews he did with Elizabeth at the start of the school year from kindergarten to her current senior year at Seneca Valley High School for the video that’s now gone viral. It’s a sweet tribute to the notion that when raising children, the days are long but the years are short.

I interviewed my daughter every first day of school since kindergarten. The last one is now done, since she is a senior. ????.
Here's how it turned out. pic.twitter.com/EeoRt9Pr3l

— Ray Petelin (@RayPetelinWx) August 26, 2024

The one-minute-22-second video struck a nerve, quickly becoming a sensation with 34 million TikTok views, 11.1 million X/Twitter views, 6.6 million Instagram views and 3.4 million Facebook views.

The pair have now appeared in media in Canada, England and Ireland. They were on “CBS Mornings” Tuesday and they’ll be on the syndicated show “Inside Edition” today.

“Even my teachers are like, ‘I saw this, it was so cute, and it made me cry!’ ” Elizabeth said. “This one is definitely more emotional for people.”

Ray Petelin said he’s posted portions of his start-of-the-school-year video interviews with his only child in the past, although he stopped for a few years at Elizabeth’s request when she was in middle school.

“I was like, why are we still doing this?” Elizabeth said. “Once I reached eighth grade and up I was like, I get why he’s doing it and I’m really glad he did. I like seeing my growth as well.”

While viewers commented on past videos, Ray Petelin said this year’s video that shows Elizabeth through the years hit differently.

“When you see them all together and see how a person changes from a cute kindergartener to a young woman, I think the quick passage of time really resonates with a lot of people,” he said, adding that it’s now easier to record the annual videos than when he started, given the advances in cellphone camera technology. “It’s so easy and so high-quality. Parents should at least attempt it. I don’t know if their kids will be into it the whole time but it’s worth trying. Seeing that progression is special.”

In the videos over the years, Elizabeth Petelin expresses interest in a variety of careers but they all involve people. She’s currently looking at colleges to study physical therapy or nursing, or to be a nurse anesthetist.

“I always wanted to do something that helped people,” she said.

As friends and acquaintances continue to send Elizabeth the video, she said she plans to continue to appear in her dad’s “Hey Ray!” segments on KDKA.

“I like making my dad look like he’s weird,” she said.

“She loves roasting her old man, for sure,” Ray Petelin added.

“Someone’s gotta let him know he’s a nerd,” Elizabeth replied as the pair laughed. “I just like to remind him.”

‘PITT’ lawsuit

“ER” was adapted from a script by Michael Crichton, whose widow is now suing Warner Bros. and Carnegie Mellon University grad John Wells over “The PITT,” the Pittsburgh-set medical drama that’s now filming for Max. Wells was showrunner of “ER” and is an executive producer on “The PITT,” which is in the midst of filming its 15-episode first season on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif.

Like “ER,” “The PITT” stars Noah Wyle as a doctor, albeit at a hospital in Pittsburgh rather than one in Chicago. In doing press recently, Wyle revealed the initial plan was to do an “ER” reboot. The lawsuit alleges when talks over the “ER” reboot broke down, producers made the same show under a new title.

Warner Bros. Television responded in a statement: “The lawsuit filed by the Crichton Estate is baseless, as ‘The PITT’ is a new and original show. Any suggestion otherwise is false, and Warner Bros. Television intends to vigorously defend against these meritless claims.”

Channel surfing

Now it’s possible “Yellowstone” won’t end with season five but will continue into a sixth season without Kevin Costner but with co-stars Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser as the new series leads, per Variety. … Earlier this month a judge blocked the fall launch of Disney-Fox-Warner Bros. joint venture sports streaming service Venu over antitrust concerns. … James Spader will reprise his role as Ultron in Disney+’s upcoming Marvel series “Vision.” … Gina Rodriguez, star of the canceled ABC comedy “Not Dead Yet,” will join ABC drama “Will Trent” as a series regular this season, playing an assistant district attorney. … Theatrical hit “A Quiet Place: Day One” is now streaming on Paramount+. … Apple TV+ renewed “Acapulco” for a fourth season.