It's official. The 97th Academy Awards has a host named Conan O'Brien.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang today announced that the Emmy Award-winning television host, writer, producer and comedian will serve as the sole host of the 97th Academy Awards on March 2, 2025. This will be O'Brien's first time hosting the broadcast.
“We are thrilled and honored to have the incomparable Conan O’Brien hosting this year’s Academy Awards,” Kramer and Yang said. “With his great sense of humor, love of movies and experience in live television, he is the perfect person to help lead our global celebration of film. His incredible ability to connect with audiences will bring viewers together to do what the Oscars do best, which is honor the year's great films and filmmakers.” .
“America demanded it and now it's happening: Taco Bell's new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I'll be hosting the Oscars,” O'Brien said.
O'Brien's selection comes as a bit of a surprise given that his name has not been mentioned prominently as a potential Oscar host this year. Recent speculation and word from reliable sources indicated that the Academy was leaning towards a format in which multiple hosts would share duties throughout the show. This was brought up after Jimmy Kimmel, who has hosted the four-time Emmy-winning 96th Academy Awards show, and John Mulaney, who hosted the non-televised Governors Awards to much praise, both turned down the gig. A group of Deadpool Wolverine Stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman were also among those who were keen to be in the mix, but as I mentioned last week Reynolds told me that was Extremely Unlikely though he has said he would love to host with Jackman “one day”.
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O'Brien, of course, is best known and beloved as a talk show host. Although he's never hosted the Oscars, he has hosted the Emmys in 2002 and 2006, and the MTV Movie Awards in 2014. He also knows how to bring these shows to life even when he's not hosting. He went viral for his antics at the 2021 Emmys where he was nominated for Outstanding Variety Dialogue Series. Although he did not win, he managed to get more attention than actual winner John Oliver. This look might give an idea of his uncommon comedic style during the live awards show. You can probably count on the kind of clever opening shots shot at the Emmy shows he's hosted to kick off the Oscars. O'Brien is also not known for his political humor like Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Jon Stewart, who have all taken on high-profile awards show hosting duties. One source familiar with the discussions told me they want to move away from that, especially this year with Donald Trump back in the White House. It's clear from this choice that the Academy and ABC prefer the lone traditional comedy host at the helm and O'Brien more than fills the bill.
“Conan is an iconic comedic voice whose success over the decades has been defined by his distinctive sense of humor and perspective,” said Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group. “He joins an illustrious list of comedy greats who have served in this role, and we are very fortunate to have him taking center stage at the Academy Awards.”
“Conan has all the qualities of a great Oscars host: incredibly smart, personal, funny, and has proven himself to be a master of live television,” said Academy Awards executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katie Mullan. “We look forward to working with him to bring a new, exciting and festive take on the biggest night in Hollywood.”
O'Brien is known for hosting late night talk shows such as 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien', 'The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien' and 'Conan'. Before his more than two decades in hosting, he worked as a writer for “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons.” O'Brien currently hosts the podcast “Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend” and most recently starred in the 2024 travel show “Conan O'Brien Must Go”. He has won five Primetime Emmys and received 31 nominations for his work.
The 97th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby® Theater at Ovation Hollywood and will be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT and in more than 200 territories around the world. With the official live red carpet show airing at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT.
