MIAMI - Don Francisco is returning to Univision with GIGANTES con Don Francisco, a new special program that will bring the legendary host back to the network with celebrity interviews, surprise reunions, music, nostalgia, and the warmth that made Sábado Gigante a fixture in Hispanic households for generations.
TelevisaUnivision announced that GIGANTES con Don Francisco will premiere in October on Univision. Full episodes will be available on ViX the day after their television broadcasts, while highlights and additional material will roll out across Univision's social and digital platforms. The network said it will announce the show's premiere date and guest lineup soon.
The new program marks a high-profile return for Mario Kreutzberger, the Chilean-born television icon known around the world as Don Francisco. For more than five decades, he hosted Sábado Gigante, the variety show that began in Chile in 1962 and later became one of the defining programs in U.S. Spanish-language television after arriving on Univision in 1986.
The format mixed celebrity performances, contests, comedy, human-interest stories and audience participation, becoming the kind of show that could turn a Saturday night into a family gathering. Its remarkable longevity earned Sábado Gigante a Guinness World Records title as the longest-running variety television program hosted by the same presenter.
The show ended in 2015 after a 53-year run, but Don Francisco's influence never truly left the culture. Artists across Latin music, television and film appeared on its stage, while its recurring games, live performances and oversized prizes helped establish a television language that felt especially familiar to Latino families in the United States and across Latin America.
Now, GIGANTES con Don Francisco will revisit that legacy while updating it for a new audience. Each episode will center on an influential Latin personality and feature an in-depth conversation about the guest's life, career, defining moments and cultural impact. The specials will also include a live musical band, surprises and reunions with family members, friends and colleagues.
Viewers can also expect a return to a classic piece of the Don Francisco experience: prizes. The new program will give contestants opportunities to win cash and even a car, a detail likely to bring back memories for longtime Sábado Gigante viewers.
"Returning to Univision brings a sense of emotion and nostalgia, but above all, it is an opportunity to reconnect with the audience that accompanied us for so many years and with many of the great artists who were part of our history," Don Francisco said in a statement. "It will be a reunion between what we experienced together and who we are today. I am very happy to reconnect with you."
The announcement comes at a moment when Spanish-language television is increasingly looking for formats that can create live-event energy while also traveling across streaming, social media and on-demand viewing. GIGANTES con Don Francisco is designed to do both, preserving the host's humor and personal connection while using ViX and Univision's digital platforms to reach viewers wherever they watch.
For Don Francisco, the return also carries a deeper emotional significance. Sábado Gigante was not merely a television show. It was a shared cultural space for immigrant families and Spanish-speaking viewers, a place where major stars could appear alongside ordinary people with extraordinary stories.
When the show ended, its impact was widely recognized beyond Hispanic media. Sábado Gigante had become a staple of Spanish-language television through its mix of music, contests and comedy, while Don Francisco's decades-long run made him one of the medium's most enduring hosts.
With GIGANTES con Don Francisco, he will again sit down with the artists who have helped shape Latin popular culture, this time with the benefit of history, distance and a few more stories to tell.
