Conan O’Brien has been announced as the host of the 97th Academy Awards.
The comedian and TV personality, 61, who is known for presenting the talk shows Late Night and Conan, will take over from fellow comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted in 2023 and 2024.
O’Brien, who has won five Emmy awards for his non fiction series and talk shows, will be the sole Oscars host, despite Deadpool & Wolverine stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman being rumoured to present.
O’Brien joked about his appointment: “America demanded it and now it’s happening: Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars.”
Meanwhile, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said: “We are thrilled and honored to have the incomparable Conan O’Brien host the Oscars this year.
“He is the perfect person to help lead our global celebration of film with his brilliant humor, his love of movies, and his live TV expertise.
“His remarkable ability to connect with audiences will bring viewers together to do what the Oscars do best–honor the spectacular films and filmmakers of this year.”
O’Brien briefly hosted NBC’s Tonight Show for two seasons following his tenure hosting the network’s Late Night show from 1993 to 2009. He was fired from the former in 2010 when host Jay Leno decided to return.
The comedian, writer and producer has since fronted numerous self-titled series, including his late night TBS show, Conan, his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend and travel programme Conan O’Brien Must Go.
Although O’Brien has never hosted the Oscars, he previously presented the Emmys in 2002 and 2006, as well as the MTV Movie Awards in 2014.
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The news of O’Brien’s appointment comes shortly after it was confirmed in July that both Jimmy Kimmel and the comedian John Mulaney had turned down the role, per Entertainment Weekly.
Kimmel later explained on the Politickin‘ podcast that he didn’t want preparation for the awards show to distract him from working on nightly episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live for a third year.
“It’s hard and it’s a lot of work and the show suffers a little bit to be honest,” he said. “When I’m focused on the Oscars, I’m less focused on the show. And I just decided I didn’t want to deal with that this year.
“It was just too much last year,” Kimmel admitted.
For 2025, the 97th Academy Awards will be held on 2 March at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences – a week earlier than the 2024 ceremony.
The film academy is also sticking with an earlier start for the awards. Like this year’s show, the Oscars will kick off at 7pm EST, which is an hour earlier than they have typically done.
This year’s ceremony saw four-year high audience numbers with 19.5million people watching the awards show in the US.
Nominations for next year’s Oscars will be announced on 17 January with Edward Berger’s Conclave, Sean Baker’s Anora and Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist among favourites to be recognised.