Portland-set CBS series premieres with connection to KOIN 6 anchor

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Longtime KOIN 6 anchor Jeff Gianola could have inspired a new character introduced in Portland-set dramedy “So Help Me Todd.”

The series features “Pitch Perfect” star Skylar Astin and Academy-Award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden, who portrays an attorney who hires her son as an investigator at her law firm.

CBS first debuted the show in fall 2022, and it had its season two premiere Thursday night.

The first episode included a guest appearance from former “Days of Our Lives” star and “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” personality Lisa Rinna.

Rinna, who grew up in Medford, plays a woman named Jennifer Gianola. Her character works as an anchor on “AM Portland,” a morning show on fictional TV station KOLP 3.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Harden revealed that the season two premiere centered on a death at the station that’s being investigated as a potential homicide.

CBS has neither confirmed nor denied whether the name of Rinna’s character is a coincidence, but a poster that advertises her morning show features the KOIN Tower.

And KOIN’s very own Gianola has already joked that he has a new wife and co-anchor — who “doesn’t hold a candle” to his current co-anchor Elizabeth Dinh.

“I texted my 99-year-old mother about this and she got confused and told all my brothers and sisters there’s a new co-anchor — “that lady that used to be mean on that “Housewives of Beverly Hills show,” Gianola added, quoting his mother.

Although “So Help Me Todd” is set in the Rose City, it is primarily filmed in Vancouver, B.C. However, co-stars Astin and Harden previously joined Everyday Northwest to gush about Portland’s scenery, “amazing donuts” and local chain McMenamins.

You can catch their show on KOIN 6 at 9 p.m. on Thursday nights, or stream it on Paramount Plus.