PITTSBURGH - WQED President George Miles announced that the station is launching a sister channel this January designed to appeal to "public television viewers looking for titillation, not information." Miles said the new station, "WQED After Dark," will offer original programming and previously unseen lurid and adult-oriented footage of WQED personalities and programs from the WQED archives. Most of this material, long-rumored to exist, has been sought by public television collectors for years. "We’ve got some stuff that will just blow you away," said Miles.Asked whether the combing of the QED catacombs has turned up footage of the legendary on-set blow-up between Mr. Rogers and Mr. McFeely, Miles confirmed it exists. "I’ve seen it. It’s all there," he said. "The choking, the slapping, the waving of the revolver." Miles refused to say when the clip would air, "but it will definitely run during a pledge week, let's leave it at that."
In addition to outtakes, Miles said beloved QED filmmaker Rick Sebak will produce a series of programs dedicated to "revealing the seamy underbelly of our city." Sebak’s first special, "Pittsburgh Brothels That Aren’t There Anymore," featuring classic, grainy black and white footage of Pittsburgh's streetwalkers, will be broadcast on Valentine’s Day. In WQED's lobby, Sebak's calm voice is heard throughout the day as clips of the special play repeatedly: "Madam Tripoli's family has owned this Penn Avenue brothel since the mid '40's. The Madam showed us the system that her grandmother developed, and that she still uses, to let the other girls know a bedroom is being used . . . ."
The show is "by far the best thing Sebak has ever done," according to Miles.
"WQED After Dark" will be available to all Comcast subscribers over the age of 18 starting January 1, 2007.
