The 2026 Kids’ Choice Awards went out live on CBS for the first time on Saturday, November 14, with “Ordinary” singer Alex Warren hosting from Television City in Los Angeles. Nickelodeon simulcast the 90-minute show on its own channel, and from Sunday, November 15, it is available on demand to every Paramount+ subscriber in the US.
That CBS slot is the headline change. For 38 previous editions the slime-soaked ceremony lived on Nickelodeon; this year, the network’s parent company put its 39th edition in front of a broadcast audience on a Saturday night.
Who hosted the Kids’ Choice Awards 2026
Warren, a 26-year-old Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, fronted the night. Paramount’s own guide promised 36 fan-voted categories, celebrity appearances and plenty of green slime, with every winner taking home the orange blimp trophy.
Chris Pratt was named this year’s King of Comedy, receiving the Silver Blimp before getting the slime treatment. He was also up for Favorite Male Animated Voice From a Movie for playing Mario in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
Welsh singer Jamie Miller was booked to open with the US television debut of “Babydoll”, in a dance medley nodding to Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation”, Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody”, Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” and PSY’s “Gangnam Style”. Ashe was set to sing “Stop the Wedding!” and Sofi Tukker to perform “TSUNAMI”. Before the main show, Owen Holt hosted an orange carpet livestream on Nickelodeon’s YouTube channel.
The most-nominated names
Taylor Swift led all individual nominees with six nods, ahead of Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter on five each. Among shows, Stranger Things led with seven nominations, and Wednesday had six. On the movie side, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Toy Story 5 and Wicked: For Good shared the lead with six apiece.
A few of the headline categories looked like this:
- Favorite Movie: Superman and Spider-Man: Brand New Day went up against Wicked: For Good, the live-action Moana and Lilo & Stitch, plus Jurassic World Rebirth, Avatar: Fire and Ash and How to Train Your Dragon.
- Favorite Animated Movie: eight contenders, including Zootopia 2, Toy Story 5, KPop Demon Hunters and the Mario sequel.
- Favorite Male Creator: eight nominees, with MrBeast, Kai Cenat, IShowSpeed, Airrack and Dude Perfect in the mix.
- Favorite Video Game: Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnite faced Among Us, Super Mario Bros. Wonder and a new Avatar fighting game.
Three categories made their debut: a clutch-player award for sport, an on-screen duo or trio prize, and Watch Party: Kids’ Choice for TV movies. Fan voting, which opened on October 8, closed on Friday, November 13.
Why the UK is searching for it
Viewers outside the US went looking for the show after the weekend broadcast, and the nominee list explains part of the pull. British acts were scattered through the ballot, with Olivia Dean named in the UK slot of Favorite Global Music Star and Raye, Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles also nominated. The Paramount+ on-demand window announced for November 15 applies to the US.
Taylor Swift’s six nominations cap a busy month, which included Badiyaa’s report that she will perform at the CMA Awards for the first time in 13 years. Nickelodeon’s Avatar franchise, nominated here for both its live-action series and its animated movie, also has news: Avatar: Seven Havens Book Two is set for May 21, 2027.
Watch for the official winners list from Nickelodeon on its awards site, kca.nick.tv, which was still showing the voting page when Badiyaa checked on Sunday morning.
Further reading
Image: Premeditated, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our Editorial Desk. How we work.
