Shane Gillis BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

This week Shane Gillis made one of the biggest moves of his career, stepping onto the national stage as host of the 2025 ESPY Awards, live from Los Angeles. Variety, AOL, and just about every sports and entertainment outlet zeroed in on his selection, which has been buzzing on social media for days. As the curtain rose Wednesday at the Dolby Theatre and the spotlight hit Gillis, the comedian who was once ousted from Saturday Night Live due to past offensive podcast jokes found himself, quite literally, commanding the room that shapes American sports culture. ABC and ESPN+ aired the ceremony nationwide, while the red-carpet chatter was predictably as much about Gillis as it was the nominees like Shohei Ohtani, Simone Biles, and Saquon Barkley. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the ESPYs broadcast itself forecast a heavy Philly flavor, thanks to Gillis’s Pennsylvania roots and his well-known obsession with Philly sports, and fans fully expected a dose of Eagles riffs and city pride throughout the night.

Gillis’s journey to this primetime gig is as hard-charging as any Super Bowl underdog story. As AOL explained, his dismissal from SNL in 2019 for racially insensitive jokes might have sidelined lesser comics, but instead it became a media touchstone every time his name cropped up. Fast-forward to 2025, and Gillis is headlining arenas on a 40-city comedy tour, starring in and co-creating Tires, a Netflix comedy, which just wrapped its second season in June. He also became one of the rare fired cast members to host SNL, not just once but twice—his February 2024 and March 2025 appearances were lightning rods, especially for his unapologetically raw monologues.

On the business side, tickets to his live shows are moving briskly, with the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City plugged on social channels for his July 18 show, just two days after the ESPYs. Both Instagram and Ticketmaster have been buzzing with reminders, and fans are already snapping up seats for upcoming events, including a major appearance opening for Zach Bryan at Notre Dame Stadium in September.

As for the rumor mill, whispers about Gillis’s next TV or Netflix projects persist, but so far nothing is confirmed about a third season of Tires or new specials. That hasn’t stopped his name from trending in comedy circles, podcasts, and even oddsmaker chatter predicting what topical references he’d drop during his ESPYs monologue.

One thing is clear: Shane Gillis is having a moment. After years dogged by controversy yet buoyed by relentless touring and a devoted podcast fanbase, he’s now hosting one of the most-watched sports events of the year and selling out stadiums. Whatever your take, his career is firmly in high gear and this ESPYs moment may just mark a new era for him.

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