TV Talk: Ming-Na Wen has more 'Gremlins' adventures; WTAE reporter exits

Before we talked about the second season of Max’s animated “Gremlins” series, there was a local matter to discuss with actress Ming-Na Wen: Her family’s business, Chinatown Inn (owned by her brother, Jonathan Yee), is the latest model added to Carnegie Science Center’s Miniature Railroad & Village.

“It is so exciting, such an honor and I can’t wait to go back to Pittsburgh and check it out,” Wen, who grew up in Mt. Lebanon and is a Carnegie Mellon University grad, said in a Zoom interview last month from Los Angeles. “It’s just wonderful that our restaurant is sort of museum-esque now.”

For the new season of her Max show “Gremlins: The Wild Batch” (now streaming), Wen’s Fong Wing, mother of Gizmo caretaker Sam Wing (voice of Izaac Wang), has new worries about the adventures of her son, his friend Elle (Gabrille Neveah) and cuddly Gremlin Gizmo.

“Season one was definitely introducing the characters to the audience, who young Sam was,” she said. “For season two, we were able to go on more of an adventure and go to America. This is the beginning of understanding the original story of how Gizmo got to San Francisco. I love that connection to the original film as a fan of it.”

Wen didn’t have an update on when “Star Wars” fans might see her character, Fennec Shand, again in a live-action or animated story.

“She is alive and well in spirit, and I know the fans love her, which I’m so grateful for. I love her, and I miss being her,” Wen said. “I get jealous if I ever go to Disneyland and I see cosplay versions of her in ‘Star Wars’ land. I hope to be able to put on that uniform again real soon.”

In addition to her roles in “Star Wars” and Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Wen will add another franchise to her resume when she appears in a new “Karate Kid” movie, though she couldn’t reveal her role.

“I am so thrilled I got to work with Jackie Chan, one of my heroes, and after meeting him, I am such a bigger fan by a thousandfold,” Wen said. “And Ralph Macchio — I’ve known him for a few years from a lot of the (sci-fi) conventions — and I got to hang out with him a bit on set.

“I feel like I’m reliving my childhood (with these roles),” she continued. “Those days when I was (growing up) in Pittsburgh going to the (movie) theaters just fantasizing about all these characters and now I’m a part of those worlds. It’s a strange feeling.”

‘Scariest House’ in Bedford

HGTV’s “Scariest House in America,” a spinoff of the network’s “Ugliest House in America,” will profile a bat-infested home in Bedford, Bedford County, in the season premiere (9 p.m. Oct. 4, HGTV).

Host Retta visits Doreen and Jon, who own the former Bedford County Jail, a 7,880 square foot, five-bedroom house built in 1895. The front part of the building is a Victorian-style home where the sheriff once lived; the back half still contains jail cells that have been vacant since the jail closed in 1996.

‘The Franchise’

There have been great series about the making of movies/TV shows, but HBO’s “The Franchise” (10 p.m. Sunday) is not among them.

Fitfully amusing, it’s a cynical depiction of the filmmaking process on a franchise superhero movie told from the point of view of the first assistant director (Himesh Patel), who vapes his way through production on a London soundstage. (I don’t know the law in England, but vaping would not fly on a Los Angeles soundstage.)

Unlike, say, Showtime’s “Episodes,” which depicts how the TV sausage gets made in all its absurdity while still showing characters with heart, “The Franchise” gives no reason to have sympathy for any of its selfish narcissists.

The funniest parts of “The Franchise” are the outtakes from on-set interviews that play over the end credits.

‘Citizen Nation’

Four-part PBS docu-series “Citizen Nation” (9 p.m. Oct. 8, 15, 22 and 29, WQED-TV) offers reassurance that the kids are alright as it traces high school teams in eight states as they prepare to compete in the annual We the People civics competition.

It’s a feel-good program that highlights not only the efforts of students from all walks of life (wealthy, impoverished, liberal, conservative) but also the dedicated teachers doing their best to lead them. It’s worth watching.

Kept/canceled/spun off

A third and final season of “Billy the Kid” will air/stream on MGM+ in 2025.

Hulu’s Onyx canceled “UnPrisoned” after two seasons and “Black Cake” after one.

Syfy/USA canceled “Chucky” after three seasons.

Amazon’s Prime Video ordered a “Reacher” spinoff centered on Frances Neagley (Maria Sten).

WTAE reporter exits

Mike Valente, who joined WTAE as a general assignment reporter in September 2022, posted to X/Twitter that his last day at the station was Monday.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better experience or better viewers,” he wrote. “In an industry where truth is paramount, I’m grateful that I worked for a station where every single person is striving to deliver the most honest, accurate information we can get. I’m also appreciative of our competitors, because their drive makes us better too.”

Valente did not state what his plans are, and he did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Channel surfing

After Lego rejected a proposal for a Lego set based on the set of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” in May — per Fred Rogers Productions, Lego never contacted them about the possibility of such a Lego set being made — the same designer has submitted an idea for another Lego set, this one based on Trolley from the “Neighborhood.” … Hoda Kotb announced her intention to depart NBC’s “Today” in early January, portending the departures of more big-name national news anchors as media companies look to rein in costs. … DirecTV will buy DISH Network. … Documentary “¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!,” which chronicles the creators of “South Park” and their renovation of a wild landmark Denver restaurant (Cliff divers! Pinata! Puppet show!) that was featured in an early season of “South Park,” is now streaming on Paramount+.