What to expect from the late night star on Hollywood’s biggest evening

You want him, you actually, actually like him!

The 2025 Oscars telecast is getting a contemporary but acquainted comedic twist, with Conan O’Brien taking the stage as host of the 97th Academy Awards. The Emmy-winning comic and late night time legend will helm Hollywood’s greatest night on Sunday, March 2, at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.

This marks O’Brien’s debut as Oscars host — following a two-year stint by Jimmy Kimmel, who’s hosted the occasion 4 occasions — and he’s already placing his comedic stamp on the position.

“America demanded it, and now it’s occurring: Taco Bell’s new Tacky Chalupa Supreme. In different information, I’m internet hosting the Oscars,” O’Brien joked in a retweet of a playful announcement video shared by the Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences. Within the clip, O’Brien is clutching an Oscar, solely to have a producer snatch the statuette again.

In a joint assertion, Academy CEO Invoice Kramer and president Janet Yang expressed their pleasure concerning the alternative, calling O’Brien “the proper individual to assist lead our international celebration of movie.”

The present’s govt producers, Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan, shared their enthusiasm, stating, “Conan has all of the qualities of an excellent Oscars host — he’s extremely witty, charismatic and humorous and has confirmed himself to be a grasp of stay occasion tv.”

O’Brien is about to convey a contemporary power to Hollywood’s huge night time. Right here’s what you may count on from his flip as Oscars host.

Not his 1st internet hosting rodeo

O’Brien has perfected his distinctive model of sharp, self-deprecating humor with many years of late night time tv expertise, together with his tenure on NBC’s Late Night time With Conan O’Brien (1993–2009), a quick however memorable stint on The Tonight Present (2009–2010) and almost a decade internet hosting Conan on TBS (2010–2021).

Past late night time, he’s displayed his internet hosting chops with standout performances on the Emmys in 2002 and 2006, in addition to the MTV Film Awards in 2014.

O’Brien has seamlessly transitioned into the world of streaming and digital media, incomes acclaim with two Emmy-winning reveals: Max’s Conan O’Brien Should Go and TBS’s Conan With out Borders. His podcast, Conan O’Brien Wants a Buddy, has additionally been a runaway success, reportedly amassing over 230 million downloads since its 2018 debut.

Huge films convey larger rankings

Regardless of his expertise, O’Brien is bound to convey a contemporary take to a present that has struggled in recent times to keep up cultural relevancy and viewership.

In its heyday, the most-watched Oscars within the telecast’s historical past was 1998, when greater than 55 million viewers tuned in to look at Titanic win Greatest Image. Within the following years, viewership floated between 27 million and 44 million till 2020, when rankings dipped to 23.6 million, in keeping with Deadline. That quantity fell to 10.4 million the following yr, a file low.

Scores have been constructing slowly since, with 16.6 million viewers in 2022, 18.8 million in 2023 and 19.5 million in 2024.

With declining relevance within the streaming age, the Oscars are banking on O’Brien’s distinctive skill to resonate with each stay audiences and the digital sphere.

As Bruce Vilanch, who wrote 25 Oscars telecasts over the many years, instructed Yahoo Leisure final yr, “When the films are in style, the rankings go up.”

From Depraved and Gladiator II, each premiering nationally on Nov. 22, to Dune: Half Two, Emilia Pérez and A Full Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, the movies gaining Oscars buzz are doubtless to present O’Brien greater than sufficient materials.

The host with essentially the most

In keeping with the Related Press, Bob Hope hosted the telecast 19 occasions whereas Billy Crystal took the helm 9 occasions. Johnny Carson took his shot 5 occasions, and Kimmel took the stage 4 occasions.

Recurring hosts are usually a win-win for everybody concerned, Vilanch defined, as they supply a “sure familiarity for the people who find themselves doing the present, and the advertisers, they really feel it’s in good fingers.”

Although internet hosting can typically be a thankless job, given O’Brien’s expertise, community executives don’t appear to be apprehensive that he can deal with the tempo.

“Conan is a preeminent comedic voice, whose decades-long success is marked by his distinctive humor and perspective,” Craig Erwich, president of Disney Tv Group, mentioned in a press release. “He joins an iconic roster of comedy greats who’ve served on this position, and we’re so fortunate to have him heart stage for the Oscars.”

The 97th Academy Awards airs March 2, 2025, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC, with a purple carpet pre-show kicking off at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.