Disney kicked off its 2026 Upfront on Tuesday, May 12, with The Devil Wears Prada 2 star and newly announced Disney Legend Anne Hathaway introducing Josh D’Amaro to the stage for his first upfront presentation as Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company—setting the tone for an electrifying showcase spanning Disney’s influence across entertainment, sports, streaming, movies, and technology. Looking ahead to 2027, Disney will bring together four of the year’s most significant cultural moments: the College Football Playoff Championship Game, the GRAMMYs®, Super Bowl LXI, and the Oscars®--with New Year’s Rockin’ Eve kicking off the year!
Rita Ferro, president of global advertising, highlighted the strength of Disney’s iconic entertainment and sports portfolio—spotlighting the stories that move people; the franchises that fuel fandom; and the live moments that unite audiences all around the globe.
Key Highlights
The record-breaking, sports-entertainment phenomenon Savannah Bananas, featuring Tony®-nominated actor Derek Klena, welcomed guests with an interactive performance of “The Greatest Show” from The Greatest Showman. Then, Hathaway opened the show with an introduction of D’Amaro—and in a “this just in” moment, Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts revealed that Conan O’Brien will return to host the 99th Academy Awards® for what’s sure to be a phenomenal three-peat.
Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Gabourey Sidibe, Billie Lourd and Emma Roberts welcomed Paul Anthony Kelly to FX’s American Horror Story, revealing that the Love Story actor will join the star-studded 13th installment of the award-winning series.
Plus, Hollywood heavyweights unveiled first-looks at a robust slate of highly-anticipated titles—including Brie Larson and Olivia Colman for FX’s high-stakes psychological drama, the limited series Cry Wolf; Kaia Gerber, Igby Rigney and Homer Gere for FX’s seductive Ryan Murphy thriller, The Shards; Christopher Meloni, William H. Macy, and Mandy Moore for Hulu’s Dan Fogelman football family drama, The Land; Lindsay Lohan, Shailene Woodley, and Kit Harington for Hulu’s limited series Count My Lies; and Claire Danes and Ewan McGregor for Hulu’s drama series The Spot.
Jason Kelce and Laura Rutledge surprised the audience with the introduction of an all-star lineup of Super Bowl MVPs including Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Steve Young, Emmitt Smith, Desmond Howard, Jerry Rice, Hines Ward, Kurt Warner and Nick Foles—all on-stage at the Javits Center in celebration of Super Bowl LXI on ESPN and ABC.
The Manning brothers teased their participation in ESPN’s official Super Bowl pre-game show appearing onstage alongside the Monday Night Football and Super Bowl broadcasting crew of Joe Buck, Aikman, Lisa Salters and Rutledge. Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos unveiled that, following the GRAMMYs on ABC on February 7, 2027, Live with Kelly and Mark will broadcast live from the iconic Santa Monica Pier all week leading into the big game. The state‑of‑the‑art ESPN Beach will anchor studio coverage from the historic pier and serve as ESPN’s multiplatform hub of Super Bowl content with fan activations and beach-wide experiences. Plus, Buck and commissioner of the National Football League, Roger Goodell, highlighted the NFL and ESPN’s expanded relationship including NFL Network, NFL RedZone distribution, and the NFL Fantasy App.
Dancing with the Stars season 34 winner and host of Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro Robert Irwin, alongside 40 pro dancers—including Mark Ballas, Alan Bersten, Witney Carson, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Jenna Johnson, Danielle Karagach, Pasha Pashkov, Emma Slater, Ezra Sosa and more—brought Halftime to the Upfront with a show-stopping performance. Irwin also announced that Savannah Bananas fan-favorite Jackson Olson will be one of next season’s Mirrorball contestants.
That’s not all: Olson revealed that Disney+ is now the official home of the Banana Bowl—set to feature the top teams in the Banana Ball league facing off for the season championship!
Sigourney Weaver announced that Avatar: Fire and Ash launches on Disney+ on June 24, 2026. Rosario Dawson shared that Ahsoka Season 2 will launch on Disney+ early 2027—and revealed that production recently wrapped, promising that “it goes even bigger and more expansive with some very thrilling turns.” Disney Legend Robert Downey Jr., Tom Hiddleston, and Paul Bettany took the stage to guide the audience through the Marvel portion of the presentation, celebrating the legacy and future of the MCU. During the appearance, Bettany announced that VisionQuest—the conclusion of the WandaVision trilogy—will debut on Disney+ on October 14, 2026.
All the way from Springfield, special guests from The Simpsons—Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa Simpson—introduced beloved Scrubs stars Zach Braff, Donald Faison, and Sarah Chalke to the stage to reveal that the long-awaited revival, recently renewed for a second season, was the #1 new comedy of the season!
Shaquille O’Neal dropped a few “Shaq Stats” with his Inside the NBA co-host Kenny Smith and NBA Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg. Following that, some of the most elite athletes in sports—Lauren Betts, Sarah Strong, and SportsCenter’s Christine Williamson—united to introduce American tennis legend Billie Jean King... who energized the crowd with a few volleys and shared an exclusive look at ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary Give Me the Ball!
College GameDay host Rece Davis and analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, and Nick Saban took the stage to unveil the first two weeks of the 40th season of College GameDay, and revealed ESPN’s early season college football schedule—which kicks off with Week 0 on three different continents before Week 1 action takes over ABC and ESPN.
Disney’s 2026 Upfront came to a close when Jimmy Kimmel and his daughter Jane introduced 14-time GRAMMY nominee and three-time GRAMMY winner Olivia Rodrigo—who began her Disney career when she was just 13 years old—to close out the presentation with a show-stopping musical performance.
Stay tuned for more information all these incredible series and special events in the months to come!