Anthony Anderson to Host 2026 Soul Train Awards Return
Anthony Anderson will host the 2026 Soul Train Awards. The two-hour programme will air Friday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET and CBS, Billboard reported.
The show will be taped on Thursday, Nov. 5 at the Harris Theater in Chicago. That taped broadcast will then go out on both cable and free-to-air television in the United States.
The 2026 edition is the first Soul Train Awards since 2023. It is also the first time the ceremony will air on CBS.
For Anderson, it is a return. He previously hosted the Soul Train Awards in 2013. That show was held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
He arrives with long experience as an awards host. He hosted the NAACP Image Awards for nine consecutive years from 2014 to 2022. He hosted the 75th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 2024.
Anderson also co-hosted the BET Awards in 2015 and 2016 with Tracee Ellis Ross. The pair are the only hosting duo in BET Awards history to return for back-to-back years.
Anderson is best recognised for his role on ABC's Black-ish. For that role, he received seven consecutive Primetime Emmy nominations for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series from 2015 to 2021. He has won eight Image Awards and received six BET Award nominations.
What makes this stand out is continuity. The Soul Train Awards are coming back after a two-year gap. They are doing so with a host who knows the format, the room and the broadcast audience.
For fans, this means dates to hold. Taping in Chicago on Nov. 5. Broadcast on BET and CBS on Nov. 27.
