NBC picks up Betty White senior prank show, prepares 90th birthday special

Betty White is experiencing late-career success like no one could have predicted. The Hot in Cleveland star will turn 90 on Jan. 17 and NBC plans to celebrate the birthday in style. The struggling network plans to air a special dedicated to her and also announced that they have picked up a prank show that she will host.

According to The Associated Press, NBC will air a 90th birthday special on Jan. 16. The Hollywood Reporter adds that the special will be titled Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America's Golden Girl and will feature a non-stop parade of celebrities to pay tribute to her. Ellen DeGeneres, Morgan Freeman, Tina Fey, Ray Romano, Seth Meyers and Tracy Morgan were all added to the list of guests on Friday. Her Hot in Cleveland co-stars, Valerie Bertinelli, Wendie Malick and Jane Leeves, will also attend the show.

At NBC’s Television Critics Association event, the network also announced that it has picked up White’s Off Their Rockers, reports The Deadbolt. The show will feature senior citizens pulling pranks on the younger generation. A sneak preview of the show is scheduled to air immediately after the birthday special. The AP reports that NBC has not scheduled the program’s regular time, though.

“It’s the reverse psychology of the ‘poor old seniors’...We’ve got a sense of humor, too, warped as it may be,” White said of the program, according to the AP.

Canadian Betty White fans will not be shut out of Off Their Rockers, as CTV announced that they will air the show. The network already runs Hot in Cleveland, which is shown on TV Land in the U.S.