PBS SoCal Announces WE ❤️ PUBLIC TELEVISION! A Star-Studded Cast Honors 55 Remarkable Years of Public Television in All-New Historic 3-Hour Program Recorded LIVE!
Press Contact
JP Shields
jpshields@pbssocal.org
747-201-5886
For downloadable artwork, please visit pbssocal.org/press
https://www.heartpublictv.org/
Los Angeles, Calif. – October 21, 2025 – PBS SoCal, Southern California’s flagship PBS organization, announced today WE ❤️ PUBLIC TELEVISION! – a three-hour program recorded LIVE from PBS SoCal’s Burbank Studios featuring a star-studded cast honoring 55 remarkable years of public television - America’s trusted, free public media service that reaches every city, town and rural community across the nation. Talent featured (subject to change) includes music director Rickey Minor and appearances by Josh Groban, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ken Burns, Ziggy Marley, Lily Tomlin, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Marlee Matlin, Noel Paul Stookey, Rick Steves, David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Adam Arkin, Courtney B. Vance, Martha Plimpton, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Joe Bonamassa, Sheléa, Jesse Cook, Judy Blume, Celtic Woman, Mychal the Librarian, Lindsey Stirling and many more. The telethon will include three special performances from the Nashville PBS studios featuring Kathy Mattea, Sierra Hull, Molly Tuttle and Ketch Secor. This program celebrates the extraordinary musical artists and personalities who have graced PBS stages and screens, showcasing the cultural richness that public media and local PBS stations offer all Americans. The three-hour LIVE telecast will take place on Sat., Nov. 8 from 4-7pm on PBS SoCal and will encore on Thurs., Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving night) from 7-10pm on PBS SoCal.
Following the broadcast, WE ❤️ PUBLIC TELEVISION! will be available on the free PBS App from Nov. 27 – Dec. 24, 2025.
“This Telethon is going to be a giant lovefest celebrating Public Television. We will feature great music, some classic clips from viewers’ favorite PBS series and a few surprises,” commented PBS SoCal’s Executive Producer for the Telethon, Maura Daly Phinney. “Every contribution that viewers make will go to their local public television station and help them fill the gap created by the loss of our federal funding.”
WE ❤️ PUBLIC TELEVISION! will include a variety of live musical performances, celebrity appearances and viewer testimonials, plus archival material from iconic public television shows including MASTERPIECE, Austin City Limits, Great Performances and Sesame Street. The program will air on Thanksgiving night on PBS stations nationwide.
How to Get Involved
Corporate Sponsors: Contact Robert Dea, Vice President of Corporate & Nonprofit Sponsorships, to explore opportunities at RDea@pbssocal.org
Viewers: Tune in LIVE, stream online and amplify the message on social media. DONATE!
WE ❤️ PUBLIC TELEVISION! is supported by the members of PBS SoCal and other generous institutional funders.
For more information, follow us on social at @pbssocal
About PBS SoCal
PBS SoCal uses the power of public media for good, strengthening the civic fabric of Southern California and providing our community with an essential connection to a wider world. As a local, donor/member-supported non-profit organization, PBS SoCal is available to stream on the PBS app and the PBS Kids App and reaches nearly 19M viewers across 7 Broadcast channels — including 2 primary channels, PBS SoCal and PBS SoCal Plus and 5 digital subchannels. Select programming is also available on PBS SoCal’s YouTube channel. With a commitment to make content available anytime and anywhere for free, PBS SoCal offers programming that reflects the diversity of Southern California and showcases the full schedule of beloved and trusted PBS content spanning Education, News, Environment and Arts & Culture. PBS SoCal also sparks the sharing of ideas at in-person cultural events and community conversations as well as prepares children for kindergarten and beyond by bringing bilingual, hands-on learning experiences to the community for free.