Stand Up to Cancer is prepping a return to the airwaves.
The nonprofit has set an Aug. 19 fundraising special that will feature a slew of stars raising money for the cause while also toasting the org’s milestone 15th anniversary. The one-hour show — titled “How it Started, How it’s Going” — will feature a new format when it airs on Aug. 19, simultaneously on more than 50 participating platforms across the United States and Canada, including all four major broadcast networks in the U.S. It will be filmed at NeueHouse Hollywood.
Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Biel, Don Cheadle, Katie Couric, Danai Gurira, Tony Hale, Ken Jeong, Maria Menounos, Julianne Moore, Tig Notaro, Jimmy Smits, Eric Stonestreet and Justin Timberlake are confirmed to appear. Meanwhile, a montage of skits from past shows will feature Jack Black, Ben Falcone, Zach Galifianakis, Brad Garrett, Bill Hader, Jon Hamm, Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Melissa McCarthy, and Matthew McConaughey. Past musical performances from Brittany Howard, Simone Ledward Boseman and The Who will also be featured.
“We started this movement in 2008 to save lives and it is remarkable to see that in 15 years our scientists have accomplished this goal through breakthrough research that intercepts and treats cancer in ways we never thought possible,” said Katie Couric, SU2C co-founder. “There is more work to do to cure cancer and every dollar counts; we will not stop until we make every cancer patient a long-term survivor.”
Added Russell Chew, president and CEO of SU2C: “Our telecast is a powerful tribute that demonstrates the importance of standing together to save lives. Everyone plays a critical role in this goal, and we are so grateful for the support of the entertainment community, the broadcast networks, our generous donors, and the incredible researchers who work tirelessly to develop new cancer treatments.”
Stand Up to Cancer was established in 2008 by a group of women who wanted to galvanize the entertainment community to raise awareness and funding to accelerate collaborative cancer research. Founders include Couric, Sherry Lansing, Kathleen Lobb, Lisa Paulsen, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Pamela Oas Williams, Ellen Ziffren and the late Laura Ziskin and Noreen Fraser. Since its inception, SU2C has raised more than $746 million to bring together more than 3,000 of the best scientists from over 210 leading institutions to collaborate toward ending cancer’s reign as a leading cause of death worldwide.
