Anthony Anderson will host the 2026 Soul Train Awards when the ceremony returns to Chicago, bringing the franchise back to the city where Soul Train first began. The awards show is scheduled to air Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET and CBS.

It is a notably fitting assignment: Anderson is a veteran awards-show host with a long history at BET, while Chicago is inseparable from the legacy of Don Cornelius’ landmark music program. The event is being framed around both the artists who helped establish the sound and cultural reach of Soul Train and the contemporary performers shaping R&B and soul.

Performers, honorees and further programming details have not yet been announced. That leaves the host reveal as the clearest early indication of the ceremony’s intended tone: a celebration of a major Black music institution with an entertainer who has extensive live-TV and awards-show experience.

Why Chicago matters to the Soul Train Awards

Soul Train was created by Cornelius in Chicago in 1971. It grew into a national television institution and offered a prominent platform for Black artists, dance, fashion and musical styles across generations. Its programming encompassed R&B and soul alongside pop, funk, jazz and disco, and later included hip-hop.

That history makes Chicago more than a backdrop for the 2026 event. Returning to the franchise’s birthplace directly connects a present-day awards show to the local origin of a program that ultimately became nationally influential. The location reinforces the organizers’ stated desire to join legacy artists and current R&B voices in the same celebration.

The original Soul Train television run lasted 35 years and ended in 2006. BET acquired the Soul Train brand in 2016 and has continued to develop it while keeping Cornelius’ original creation at the center of its identity.

In practical terms, the distinction between the program and the awards matters. Soul Train was a long-running television series built around music performance and youth culture; the Soul Train Awards are an awards event carrying that legacy forward. Both are tied to the same cultural lineage, but the Chicago return is specifically an opportunity to foreground where that lineage started.

Anderson brings a deep awards-show résumé

Anderson is not making his first trip to the podium. He previously hosted the BET Awards in 2015 and 2016, hosted the NAACP Image Awards for eight consecutive years, and hosted the 75th Annual Emmy Awards. Those credits matter for a broadcast where a host must do more than deliver scripted introductions.

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An awards-show host typically has to maintain the pace between performances and acceptance speeches, set the mood for the broadcast, connect disparate segments and provide enough comic energy to keep transitions from feeling mechanical. Anderson’s established comedic work and familiarity with high-profile televised ceremonies make him a logical choice for that role.

He also arrives with substantial recognition for his work on black-ish. The series earned Anderson seven consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He additionally received four Emmy nominations as a producer, three Golden Globe nominations and three Critics Choice nominations. His honors include eight NAACP Image Awards, and he has received six BET Award nominations.

That résumé does not reveal what the 2026 program will look like or which artists will appear. It does, however, explain why the hosting decision emphasizes confidence in the room and experience on a live awards-stage scale rather than treating the role as a simple celebrity cameo.

“Soul Train is more than a television show or an awards franchise; it’s a piece of our cultural history,” Anderson said, describing Chicago as an especially meaningful location for the event.

A celebration with two musical timeframes

The 2026 ceremony is positioned as a bridge between established figures associated with the Soul Train legacy and the artists carrying R&B and soul forward today. That is a broad mission rather than a confirmed performance lineup, so viewers should be careful not to read any unannounced honorees or performers into the host news.

Still, the framing is important. Awards programming can look backward through tributes and honors, or look ahead through emerging and current performers. The stated approach suggests the Soul Train Awards intends to do both: acknowledge the artists and sounds that made the franchise enduring while making room for the music being made now.

R&B, in this context, refers to rhythm and blues and its evolving contemporary forms. Soul is a related musical tradition often associated with vocal expression, gospel and rhythm-and-blues roots, though artists and audiences can use both labels in overlapping ways. The available information does not define eligibility rules, award categories or an artist slate for 2026, but it explicitly identifies R&B and soul as the heart of the intended celebration.

For Anderson, the task will be to make that generational conversation feel lively rather than museum-like. His background in comedy is relevant here: the ideal host can honor the emotional and historical stakes of a night while keeping the broadcast nimble, welcoming and entertaining.

What has been confirmed—and what is still to come

The confirmed details are straightforward:

  • Anthony Anderson will host the 2026 Soul Train Awards.
  • The event will take place in Chicago, where Soul Train began in 1971.
  • The broadcast is scheduled for Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
  • BET and CBS will air the ceremony.
  • Additional performers, honorees and programming are expected to be announced later.

There is no confirmed list yet of nominees, performers, special tributes, award recipients or additional on-air participants. Those gaps are significant because they will ultimately determine how specifically the show interprets its Chicago homecoming and its promise to celebrate multiple generations of music.

For now, the announcement places a familiar and capable host at the center of a franchise with unusually deep cultural roots. Anderson’s return to BET and the event’s return to Chicago create a clear through line: the 2026 Soul Train Awards will be asking viewers to recognize not just a list of winners, but a continuing musical and television legacy.

Music-centered pop culture events often work best when the presenter understands the occasion is larger than the jokes between envelopes. Anderson’s comments and the event’s Chicago setting point toward precisely that balance—respect for the legacy, attention to current artists and, as he put it, “a whole lot of fun” along the way.

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