SNL star Marcello Hernndez to host 2026 ESPYs as show leaves L.A. for New York

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Comedian and “Saturday Night Live” standout Marcello Hernández will host this year’s ESPY Awards, the network announced Wednesday.The event, honoring excellence in sports performance, will be broadcast live on ABC and the ESPN app from the David H.Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on July 15, making it the first ESPYs in New York City since 1999.

For the past 25 years, the awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles.“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.”Hernández recently headlined the biggest Spanish-language comedy show ever at the Hollywood Bowl as part of the Netflix Is a Joke Festival in May, and wrapped up his fourth season of “SNL” soon after.His first stand-up special, “American Boy,” debuted on Netflix in January.The Latino comic brought ‘Sabado Gigante’ to ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Come May 10, he and Feid will headline the first all-Spanish comedy show at the Hollywood Bowl for Netflix Is a Joke fest.He’s also a sports enthusiast, having grown up playing soccer and competing at the collegiate level during his time at John Carroll University in Ohio.“Marcello is one of the most electric, young comedians today.

His genuine enthusiasm for sports and his ties to New York City make him a natural fit to host this year’s ESPYs,” Craig Lazarus, ESPN vice president and executive producer of the ESPYs, said in a statement.Hernández succeeds last year’s emcee, comedian Shane Gillis, as well as past hosts that include Jimmy Kimmel, John Cena, LeBron James and Peyton Manning.In January, Puck reported that the change in venue is an ...