MOLINE, ILLINOIS (November 24, 2025) — On Thanksgiving evening, November 27, 2025, join WQPT PBS, 7PM, for their premier airing of We♥Public Television!
This new three-hour program, taped on November 8 by PBS SoCal’s Burbank studios, features 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.
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.
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. Talent featured 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 also includes three special performances taped in the Nashville PBS studios featuring Kathy Mattea, Sierra Hull, Molly Tuttle, and Ketch Secor.
We❤️Public Television! will also be available on the free PBS App from November 27–December 24, 2025. You can easily download the PBS App by going to WQPT.org/watch.
About WQPT PBS: WQPT connects our region’s communities through public media. As the region’s only locally-owned and independently-managed television station, WQPT operates with a public service mission, not with commercial interest. We build community through television, educational services, and unique experiences. For 42 years, we have supported education — at home, in the classroom, and throughout the community. To fulfill our public service mission, we rely on local support, including individual donations (memberships), corporate and underwriting sponsorships, and local foundation grants.
