In the wake of the Trump administration’s defunding of public broadcasting, local stations PBS Southern California (KOCE and KCET) are planning television programming from PBS’s Burbank studios next week. “We Are ❤Public Television!” The show is advertised as “celebrating 55 remarkable years of public television, America’s trusted free public media service reaching every city, town, and rural community in America. … The show celebrates the outstanding music artists and celebrities who have graced PBS stages and screens, and showcases the cultural richness that public media and local PBS stations offer to all Americans.”
Scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 8th at 4pm PT, Ricky Minor will serve as musical director for the television broadcast. Current guests include Josh Groban, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ken Burns, Ziggy Marley, Lily Tomlin, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Marley Matlin, Nicholas Ralph, Noel Paul Stookey, Rick Steves, David Foster, Katharine McPhee, Adam Arkin, Courtney Vance, Martha Plimpton and Joe Bonamassa. Sherea, Jesse Cooke, Judy Blume, Celtic Woman, Sarah Silverman, Mikal the Librarian, Lindsay Stirling, and more.
The telethon will also feature appearances from Nashville PBS, including Kathy Mattea, Sierra Hull, Molly Tuttle and Ketch Secor.
“We ❤ Public Television” will air on PBS stations nationwide on Thursday, Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving night) after its initial broadcast on PBS SoCal. It will also be available to watch on the PBS app from November 27th to December 24th. Additionally, PBS SoCal will rebroadcast the event on Thanksgiving night at 7pm PT.
“This telethon is going to be a huge lovefest celebrating public television,” said Maura Daley Finney, executive producer of the telethon for PBS in Southern California. “It will feature great music, classic clips from viewers’ favorite PBS series, and a few surprises. All donations from viewers will go to their local public television station and help fill the gap created by the loss of federal funding.”
It includes live music and celebrity appearances, as well as viewer testimonials and archival material from public television shows such as “We ❤ Public Television!,” “Masterpiece,” “Austin City Limits,” “Great Performances” and “Sesame Street.”
