On Tuesday, comedian Shane Gillis was announced as the host of The ESPYs, the annual awards show from ESPN. The ceremony will be broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles July 16 at 8 p.m. on ABC and stream on ESPN+, with on-demand streaming available the next day on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.
According to a press release, the show, which is officially called The 2025 ESPYs Presented by Capital One, “will recognize major sports achievements, remember unforgettable moments, and honor the leading performers and performances.”
“I’m excited to be at the ESPYS this year,” Gillis said in a statement. “I like sports so this should be a good time.”
Craig Lazarus, ESPN vice president and executive producer of the awards show, said, “We are thrilled to work with him to create an entertaining show celebrating this year’s best moments in sports and are excited to see what he’ll do on stage.”
The comedian currently stars in the Netflix series “Tires,” about a group of employees at an auto repair shop. The show premiered its second season earlier this month, with Thomas Haden Church costarring as Gillis’s father. He’s also known for the podcast he hosts alongside Matt McCusker, “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast.” According to ESPN’s press release, the podcast is the number one Patreon podcast in the world.
Gillis hosted “Saturday Night Live” in March alongside musical guest Tate McRae, which marked his second time hosting the show since his notorious hiring and firing as a cast member back in 2019. At the time, clips of him using a racial slur on his podcast with McCusker in 2018 resurfaced, leading to his dismissal from the show, which “SNL” head Lorne Michaels later said was a decision that came from execs.
Lisa Weidenfeld can be reached at lisa.weidenfeld@globe.com. Follow her on X @LisaWeidenfeld and Instagram @lisaweidenfeld.