Snoop Dogg is hosting the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards. CBS and MTV made it official on Thursday, and the show is heading back to the West Coast for the first time since 2017, landing at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on September 27.

Last year it was LL Cool J fronting things from New York. This time the coast has flipped, and so has the host.

Snoop isn't new to this stage. He made his VMAs debut way back in 1994, came back for performances in 1999, 2003, 2005 and again in 2022, and has picked up three wins across 13 nominations over the years. He's also going to serve as an executive producer on the 2026 show, which is a first for him at this event.

"MTV and the VMAs have been part of my story since the beginning," Snoop said in his statement. "Some of the biggest moments of my career happened on that stage and on MTV – they gave hip-hop a place to be loud, fearless and seen by the whole world. So to come back now and host the VMAs, all these years later, that's a full-circle moment for me."

He singled out longtime VMAs producer and former MTV chief Van Toffler for a mention too. "Doing it with my brother Van Toffler makes it even more special," he said. "Van was there during those early MTV days when we were changing the culture in real time, and we've got a whole lot of history together. Now we get to make some new history."

Madonna leads the nominations, Nirvana gets the Vanguard

On the nominations side, Madonna is out in front with 11, including nods for Video of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year. Taylor Swift follows with nine, largely off "The Fate of Ophelia." Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter have seven apiece, while Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson sit at five each.

Nirvana will pick up the Video Vanguard award this year, a piece of news MTV had already put out a day before confirming Snoop as host.

The show is being produced by Gunpowder & Sky, with Toffler on as producer alongside a long list of executive producers and co-producers. Snoop joins that credits list as an EP alongside Sara Ramaker and Jasmin Ratansi.

As for what the actual show looks like beyond the host, MTV hasn't said. Performers and presenters are still to be announced. Given Snoop's recent run of live TV gigs, from Olympics commentary to coaching on The Voice to that Super Bowl halftime moment with Dr. Dre, expectations for how he runs a room are already fairly high.

The 2026 VMAs air Sunday, September 27, at 7:30 pm ET on CBS, simulcast on MTV, and streaming on Paramount+ in the US. The rest of the world gets it a day later, on Paramount+ and MTV.