President Joe Biden to Appear in Betty White Tribute Special; Apple TV Plus Announces ‘Pachinko’ Premiere Date (TV News Roundup)

President Joe Biden will be one of many guests for the upcoming primetime special “Celebrating Betty White: America’s Golden Girl,” NBC announced Thursday.

The special, a tribute to the iconic comedic actress Betty White, will feature a taped tribute from Biden commemorating the late White, who passed away last December. NBC also announced several other stars who will appear in the special, including: Drew Barrymore, Valerie Bertinelli, Cher, Bryan Cranston, Ted Danson, Ellen DeGeneres, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Goldie Hawn, Vicki Lawrence, Jane Leeves, Jay Leno, Anthony Mackie, Wendie Malick, Joel McHale, Tracy Morgan, Jean Smart and Mary Steenburgen. Other special guests have yet to be announced.

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The special will feature co-stars, friends and admirers of White recounting their favorite memories of the late star. The telecast is also slated to include never-before-seen footage of White. The special comes from Brad Lachman Productions. Brad Lachman and Bill Bracken executive produce, and Matt Lachman produces.

A pioneer of early television with a career spanning eight decades, White was best known for her roles in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Golden Girls” and “Hot in Cleveland.” Over the course of her career, she received eight Emmy Awards, three American Comedy Awards, three Screen Actor Guild Awards and a Grammy Award. She was also known for her work as an advocate for animal welfare and support of racial justice and LGBT rights.

“Celebrating Betty White: America’s Golden Girl” will air Monday, Jan. 31 at 10 p.m on NBC. It will be available to stream the next day on Peacock.

Also in today’s TV news Roundup:

DATES

Apple TV Plus’ new international drama ‘Pachinko’ will premiere March 25, the streamer announced Wednesday. Based on the critically-acclaimed novel by Min Jin Lee, ‘Pachinko’ tells a multi-generational story of a Korean family that takes place across Korea, Japan and the United States. The series features Academy Award-winning actress Youn Yuh-Jung, as well as Soji Arai, Jin Ha, Inji Jeong, Minha Kim, Lee Minho, Kaho Minami, Steve Sanghyun Noh, Anna Sawai, Junwoo Han, Eun Chae Jung, Jimmi Simpson and Yu-na Jeon. “Pachinko” was created by Soo Hugh, who executive produces and showruns the series. Kogonada and Justin Chon executive produce and direct four episodes each. Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer executive produce for Media Res; Theresa Kang-Lowe executive produces for Blue Marble Pictures; and Media Res’ Dani Gorin co-executive produces, along with Richard Middleton, David Kim and Sebastian Lee. The series will debut with three episodes, then release an episode weekly through April 29. Apple TV Plus has also shared a first look image: view below.

EXECS

A+E Networks announced on Thursday that Susan Tanamli has been promoted to executive vice president and head of global technology and media operations. Tanamli currently serves as chief technology officer and head of global technology and digital product technology, a position in which she oversees all technology departments and needs of the company. In her new role, she will oversee the network’s global engineering and broadcast operations (headed by Don Jarvis) and global media and production operations (co-headed by Dana Massey and Ed Russo).

LATE NIGHT

Johnny Knoxville and the Walters will guest on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” this Thursday, while Kevin James, Ilana Glazer and Jacques Pépin will appear on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” will feature Kate Hudson, Oliver Hudson and St. Paul and the Broken Bones, while “Late Night With Seth Meyers” will feature Kenan Thompson and Tom Riley. Jared Leto and David Cross will appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden.”

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