Marcello Hernandez at the "Saturday Night Live" FYC event held at the Saban Media Center on June 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Katie Flores/Variety
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Marcello Hernández is set to host the 2026 ESPYS, which will air live from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York on Wednesday, July 15, at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on ABC.
Hernández recently concluded his fourth season on Saturday Night Live. His debut comedy special, Marcello Hernández: American Boy, premiered in January on Netflix. Hernández, 28, is also an avid sports fan, having played soccer at John Carroll University.
“I started doing comedy 10 years ago, in Cleveland, Ohio, and I would take the train 12 hours to New York to sell comedy tickets on the street in Greenwich Village in exchange for stage time,” Hernández said in a statement. “It is an honor and frankly feels crazy to be hosting the ESPYS this year in New York. I’m sure the energy is going to be great.”
“Marcello is one of the most electric, young comedians today,” said Craig Lazarus, ESPN vp and The ESPYS executive producer. “His genuine enthusiasm for sports and his ties to New York City make him a natural fit to host this year’s ESPYS.”
Hernández joins a long line of comedians to host the ESPYS, including Dennis Miller, who hosted the first two shows in 1993 and 1994, Jeff Foxworthy, Norm Macdonald, Jamie Foxx, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Rob Riggle, Joel McHale, Tracy Morgan and Shane Gillis, who hosted last year’s show. (In addition, athletes and TV and film actors have hosted the show over the years.)
The ESPYS were held in New York City for its first seven years (1993-99). The 2021 show was also held in New York City. In other years, the show was held in either Las Vegas or Los Angeles.
This year’s show will also stream on the ESPN App in pattern with ABC airings across time zones, and be available to stream on-demand the next day on Disney+, Hulu, the ESPN App and ABC Video on Demand.
The ESPYS Presented by Capital One is co-produced by ESPN, Full Day Productions, the live production arm of Words + Pictures, and Fanatics Studios, a Fanatics and OBB company. The show is executive produced by Connor Schell, Dave Chamberlin and Jennifer Aiello for Full Day and Michael D. Ratner, Kfir Goldberg and Camille Maratchi for Fanatics Studios.