American comedian Conan O’Brien will present the 97th edition of the Oscars on March 2, 2025 in Los Angeles, the Hollywood Academy reported this Friday.
Through a press release, the Academy confirmed that the presenter will also replace Jimmy Kimmel, who led the ceremony the last two years (and also in 2017 and 2018) and refused to do so for the next edition.
It will be the first time that the Emmy-winning television host and comedian has been at the helm of the highest awards in American cinema.
“He is the perfect person to help us lead our global celebration of cinema with his brilliant humor, love of cinema and live television experience,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Janet Yang, president of the Academy.
His “remarkable ability to connect with audiences,” they added, “will bring audiences together to do what the Oscars do best: honor this year’s spectacular films and filmmakers.”
According to Oscar executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan, O’Brien “has all the makings of a great host” for this event: “He is incredibly witty, charismatic and funny and has proven himself to be a master of television live event. » .
O’Brien is known for hosting the late-night talk shows “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”, “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” and “Conan”.
The comedian left late-night television in 2021 and has since focused on a podcast, “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” and a travel show for Max called “Conan O’Brien Must Go.”
The announcement was also made on the social network It’s incredible. “They gave me an Oscar,” grabbing one of the statuettes.
In its quest to capture more audiences, the Academy and the ABC network have been changing formats in recent years. In 2022, there were three hosts (Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall, Amy Schumer) and none between 2019 and 2021.
In 2023 and 2024, the Academy had Kimmel again, after the most impactful event at a gala in recent years happened a year earlier: Will’s punch Smith versus comedian Chris Rock.
ABC’s broadcast of the 96th edition earlier this year attracted 19.5 million viewers, the highest audience in four years.
