Stand Up to Cancer Special Returns in September on 30 Channels

Stand Up to Cancer, a bi-annual special that has raised more than $260 million for cancer research, will return on Friday, Sept. 5, at 8/7c via ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and 26 other channels simultaneously.

The special features performances from music, film and TV stars. Gwyneth Paltrow and Joel Gallen (America: A Tribute to Heroes) will return as executive producers. The goal: To build public support for new cancer research and promising new treatments.

"We are all in this mission together: to turn cancer patients into cancer survivors. It is an honor to be part of a show and a movement that sets a great challenge and works tirelessly to meet it," Gallen says. "This terrible disease has taken too many loved ones and on this special night, we're working together to raise awareness and funds for the groundbreaking research that is saving people's lives. This year, our commitment is stronger than ever -- we expect the top names in film, television, and music, to join us on Sept. 5."

This marks the fourth Stand Up to Cancer, a one-hour commercial-free event from the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) that previously aired in 2008, 2010 and 2012. Besides the four major broadcast networks, the show will also air at the same time on Bravo, Cooking Channel, Discovery Fit & Health, E!, Encore, Encore Espanol, Epix, ESPNEWS, FOX Sports 2, FXM, HBO, HBO Latino, Ion Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Logo TV, MLB Network, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, Palladia, Pivot, Showtime, Smithsonian Channel, Starz, TNT and VH1, as well as the American Forces Network (for military families stationed overseas). All networks are donating an hour on their schedule for the special, which will be broadcast live from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.

Stand Up to Cancer will announce this year's on-screen talent later this summer. Past participants have included Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Beyoncé, Jessica Biel, Jack Black, Mary J. Blige, George Clooney, Coldplay, Katie Couric, Matt Damon, Melissa Etheridge, Jimmy Fallon, Fergie, Jennifer Garner, Tom Hanks, Salma Hayek, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Alicia Keys, Tim McGraw, Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Julia Roberts, Seth Rogen, Ray Romano, Will Smith, Emma Stone, Meryl Streep, Taylor Swift, James Taylor, Justin Timberlake, Carrie Underwood, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker and Stevie Wonder.

For the first time this year, a special Canadian co-broadcast will take place at the same time with Canada-specific content, airing on all four major English-language Canadian networks: CBC, City, CTV and Global.

"When we launched Stand Up To Cancer, our goal was to approach the struggle against cancer in a different way," says Katie Couric, a co-founder of the event. "Just six years into this movement, the incredible generosity of our donors — of every level — has enabled major progress in developing new treatments."

Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!