Anthony Anderson to Host Soul Train Awards 2026 as Ceremony Returns to Chicago and Airs on CBS for the First Time

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2026 — The Soul Train Awards are coming home — and they have found their conductor. BET announced Thursday that Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actor, comedian, and veteran awards-show host Anthony Anderson will host "SOUL TRAIN AWARDS 2026," airing Friday, November 27 at 8 PM ET/PT on BET and, for the first time in the show's history, CBS.

Returning to the BET stage, Anderson will lead a celebration of the artists, music, and enduring cultural legacy of the iconic Soul Train franchise, with a night of performances, tributes, and honors, according to the network's announcement. The two-hour ceremony will tape on Thursday, November 5, at the Harris Theater in Chicago — a homecoming loaded with meaning, since Chicago is where the Soul Train legacy began.

Chicago, where it all started

Don Cornelius launched Soul Train as a local production in Chicago in 1970 before taking it national a year later, and the city has been the spiritual home of the franchise ever since. Bringing the awards back to Chicago is a deliberate full-circle moment, and Anderson acknowledged it directly in his announcement statement.

"I'm thrilled to be back with BET and especially excited to host SOUL TRAIN AWARDS in Chicago, where the Soul Train legacy began," Anderson said. "Soul Train is more than a television show or an awards franchise; it's a piece of our cultural history. Don Cornelius created a platform that gave Black artists a place to shine, and generations later, that spirit is still alive. I'm looking forward to celebrating the legends, the artists shaping R&B and soul today, and bringing a whole lot of fun to the night."

The first show since 2023

This year's ceremony marks the awards' return after a three-year break. The last Soul Train Awards aired in 2023, with Keke Palmer hosting. In August 2025, BET suspended both the Soul Train Awards and the BET Hip Hop Awards indefinitely while the network reconsidered its broadcast strategy — making this year's revival, now with a broadcast partner in CBS, the franchise's biggest platform play yet.

The CBS simulcast is a first for the Soul Train Awards and signals serious ambition: the celebration of R&B, soul, and Black music moves from a cable-network showcase to a broadcast-network stage the day after Thanksgiving, one of television's most-watched family viewing nights. Performers and honorees for the November 27 ceremony have not yet been announced.

A host who has done this before

Anderson is not new to the BET stage — or to the Soul Train Awards themselves. He hosted the Soul Train Awards in 2013, and he co-hosted the BET Awards in 2015 and 2016 alongside his Black-ish co-star Tracee Ellis Ross. His awards-show résumé runs deep: eight consecutive years hosting the NAACP Image Awards, according to BET, and a turn hosting the 75th Annual Emmy Awards.

On the acting side, Anderson is best known for his long-running role on ABC's Black-ish, which earned him seven consecutive Emmy nominations. BET's announcement leaned into that combination of craft and credibility: "Anthony brings an incredible combination of comedic instinct, musical knowledge and genuine love for this culture," said Connie Orlando, BET's executive vice president of specials, music programming and music strategy. "His longstanding relationship with BET, coupled with his experience hosting some of television's biggest award shows, makes him a natural fit for this new chapter of SOUL TRAIN AWARDS."

"A genuine connection to BET and the culture"

BET president Louis Carr framed the choice as both a creative and a cultural fit. "Anthony Anderson is an exceptional entertainer with a genuine connection to BET and the culture that Soul Train represents," Carr said. "He understands the legacy, the music and the importance of creating a moment that brings people together. As we return Soul Train Awards to Chicago, the birthplace of the franchise, we're excited to have Anthony at the center of this celebration."

That legacy is the through line of the entire announcement. Created by Don Cornelius in 1971, Soul Train became a groundbreaking television institution, showcasing R&B, soul, funk, gospel, disco, hip-hop, and pop artists while introducing audiences to the dancers and styles that became part of the show's enduring identity. The 2026 ceremony is expected to bring together the artists who helped define R&B and soul alongside a new generation continuing to shape the sound and culture today, with performances, tributes, honors, and additional special moments to be announced in the coming weeks.

Why the timing matters

The revival arrives at a moment when legacy music brands are being tested in real time. Awards shows across the board have been rethinking their formats, their networks, and their relevance — and BET's answer for Soul Train is to go bigger, not smaller: a historic venue in the franchise's birthplace, a beloved host with a proven track record, and a first-ever CBS simulcast that puts Black music's celebration in front of a broadcast audience.

Anderson, for his part, sounds like a man who knows exactly what the assignment is. "I'm looking forward to celebrating the legends, the artists shaping R&B and soul today, and bringing a whole lot of fun to the night." In a year when the music industry keeps asking what an awards show is for, the Soul Train Awards have a ready answer: the culture, the legacy, and Chicago. Tune in November 27.

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