TV Talk: Western Pa. natives star in new seasons of ‘Deadliest Catch,’ ‘Love Island USA’

Next week, Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” returns for its 20th season (8 p.m. June 11) and for the first time in several years the show’s crabbers had the ability to catch red king crab during the October 2023 to February 2024 season (fishing for king crab was forbidden beginning in 2021 due to a declining king crab population).

“I always call it the Kentucky Derby of crabbing,” said Westmoreland City native “Wild” Bill Wichrowski, captain of the Summer Bay. “If you get 800 opilio [crab], it’s exciting. You get 100 king crab in a pot, that’s over the top.”

Although Wichrowski isn’t in the season premiere that much, the show is sure to revisit its cliffhanger from the end of season 19: Wichrowski was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“They gave me hormones and implanted radioactive pellets,” said Wichrowski, who was in treatment while filming this 20th season of “Deadliest Catch.” “I had the first hormone shot administered in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, [before going out to sea for the season]. Honestly, I hardly noticed, I’m so hard-headed. I was motivated to not have it affect the season for me, the boat or the crew. When I got home, it hit me like a rock. It’s tough to get moving when you get up in the morning.”

But the treatment seems to be having the desired effect.

“My PSA number, which is how they determine the level, is near zero,” said Wichrowski, who splits his time between Lake Marion, S.C., and Sonora, Mexico. “[The doctors] are really excited.”

Wichrowski was back in Western Pennsylvania in March to visit his brother, Chuck Wichrowski, who operates Baum Boulevard Automotive in Pittsburgh.

“We went up to Seven Springs, rented a cabin on the stream, took the dogs for walks, cooked dinners at the house,” Wichrowski said. “We both like to have a cook-off.”

Now he’s eager to see how viewers respond to the latest episodes of “Deadliest Catch,” which will also stream the same day on Max and Discovery+.

“Season 20, that’s a big deal,” Wichrowski said. “Any show being on 20 years, that’s off the charts, and it’s been a bit of a challenge. … When this thing first started my king crab quota was 256,000 pounds and that’s about what the fleet caught [this] season. Things have changed dramatically. People watch the show so much they’re pretty sharp on what’s going on. If it’s not legit what you’re doing, people call you on it all the time. So it’s been my position to keep things as straightforward and honest as I can.”

‘Love Island USA’

Western Pennsylvania native Kaylor Martin, a model and grad student (she’ll pursue a master’s degree at Pennsylvania Western University in the fall) who grew up and lives in Connellsville, Fayette County, is among the contestants on Peacock’s “Love Island USA,” debuting June 11.

Filmed in something close to real-time in Fiji, the competition features singles in search of love while living in a villa. Islanders couple up while viewers vote for their favorite couple via the Love Island USA app to determine who will stay and who gets sent home.

Peacock publicists did not make the 22-year-old Martin available for an interview. In the show’s trailer, Martin says, “I’m the wild one, pouring shots in peoples’ mouths and flirting with men. I live in a town of 6,000 people. I stick out like a sore thumb. This is a lot to handle. If you can’t handle all this, then goodbye.”

Duquesne University grad Connor Trott competed on “Love Island USA” in 2020 when the show aired on CBS.

More ‘Mister Rogers’

On the heels of the launch of the PBS Retro Channel on Roku that features 86 “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” episodes in rotation, on Monday FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming Television) channel Pluto TV launches a “MRN” channel that will feature those 86 episodes of the PBS Kids mainstay along with an additional 280 episodes in rotation. The only downside: Since it’s a FAST channel, there will be ads.

‘Hit Man’

Comedic thriller “Hit Man,” which received rave reviews at Sundance in January, debuts on Netflix June 7 and it’s indeed a fun film, a throwback to theatrical ‘80s and ‘90s action-comedies that filmgoers seem to reject today (see: disappointing box office results this spring for “The Fall Guy,” another entertaining romp).

Inspired by a true story but fictionalized by director Richard Linklater, who wrote the script with actor Glen Powell (“Top Gun: Maverick”), “Hit Man” stars Powell as Gary Johnson, a New Orleans psychology professor who does tech support for the police when he gets pulled into going undercover as a hit man. Then he falls in love with a beautiful woman who initially wants to hire Gary to commit murder. He convinces her not to. Months later she tells him he’s gotten a divorce and the two begin dating, with Gary still pretending to be his alter ego, a hit man named Ron. As the film drifts into rom-com territory, Gary’s life starts to go sideways.

Rising star Powell charms in his dual role in this thoroughly entertaining, mixed genre treat.

‘The Acolyte’

Another Disney+ “Star Wars” series, another miss: “The Acolyte,” now streaming its first two episodes, sets its action 100 years before “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” in the peaceful High Republic era, but then fails to give viewers any sense of High Republic society in the first four (of eight) episodes made available for review.

A poky pace mixed with production and costume design circa “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and the completely wasted, too brief use of “The Matrix” star Carrie-Anne Moss as a Jedi Master bring disappointment to “Acolyte” viewers early in a story that’s more murder mystery slow burn than rollicking shoot-‘em-up adventure.

The story kicks off as Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) discovers his former padawan Osha (Amandla Stenberg) may be responsible for a Jedi murder spree.

From there, writer/director Leslye Headland (“Russian Doll”), a “Star Wars” newcomer, explores themes of duality (light side/dark side; Jedi/witches) in brief (32-42 minute) episodes that plod along.

Manny Jacinto (“The Good Place”) makes a positive impression as a scoundrelly accomplice, the only character in “The Acolyte” who seems to be having a good time.

“The Acolyte” hints around at the intriguing notion of Jedi as “the man,” crushing dissenters underfoot, but never commits to it. Episode four ends on a promising cliffhanger, which makes it too soon to pass final judgment but “The Acolyte” gets off to a rocky start.

Channel surfing

The story of McKeesport’s Tanya Kach, who resurfaced in 2006 after being held in captivity for 10 years, gets the Lifetime movie treatment with Jordyn Ashley Olson starring as Kach in “The Girl Locked Upstairs: The Tanya Kach Story” (8 p.m. Saturday, Lifetime). The fictionalized account will be followed by “Beyond the Headlines: The Tanya Kach Story with Elizabeth Smart,” featuring Smart’s interview with the real Kach. .. Patricia Heaton, who played a Pittsburgh news anchor alongside Kelsey Grammer on the short-lived 2007 Fox sitcom “Back to You,” will reunite with Grammer when she guest stars on season two of the Paramount+ “Frasier” reboot. … Max renewed “Hacks” for a fourth season. … Max raised subscription prices this week on ad-free (up $1 to $17 per month) and ultimate ad-free (up $1 to $21 per month) but Max with ads remains $10 per month. … Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy will return in a long-gestating “Peaky Blinders” movie for Netflix.