You like him, you really like him!
The 2025 Oscars will take a fresh yet familiar comedic twist, with Conan O’Brien taking the stage to host the 97th Academy Awards. The Emmy-winning comedian and late-night legend directs Hollywood’s biggest night on Sunday, March 2, 2025 at 4:00 PM ET on ABC.
This marks O’Brien’s debut as host of the Oscars – after a two-year stint under Jimmy Kimmel, who has hosted the event four times – and he is already putting his comedic stamp on the role.
“America demanded it and now it has arrived: the new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme from Taco Bell. In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars,” O’Brien joked in a retweet of a playful announcement video shared by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In the clip, O’Brien holds an Oscar in his hand, but a producer takes the statue back.
In a joint statement, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang expressed their excitement about the selection, calling O’Brien “the perfect person to help lead our global celebration of film.”
The show’s executive producers, Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan, shared their excitement, saying: “Conan has all the qualities of a great Oscar presenter: he is incredibly witty, charismatic and funny and has proven to be a master of live event television. ”
O’Brien will bring new energy to Hollywood’s biggest night. Here’s what to expect from his turn as host of the Oscars.
Not his first gastrodeo
O’Brien has perfected his unique brand of sharp, self-deprecating humor with decades of late-night television experience, including his tenure on NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien (1993–2009), a short but memorable period The tonight show (2009–2010) and almost ten years of hosting Conan about TBS (2010–2021).
Even after late night, he has proven his talent as a host with standout performances at the Emmys in 2002 and 2006, and at the MTV Movie Awards in 2014.
O’Brien has seamlessly transitioned into the world of streaming and digital media, earning critical acclaim with two Emmy-winning shows: Max’s Conan O’Brien has to go and TBS patients Conan without limits. His podcast, Conan O’Brien needs a friend, has also been a huge success, reportedly with over 230 million downloads since its debut in 2018.
Big films ensure higher viewing figures
Despite his experience, O’Brien will certainly bring a fresh perspective to a show that has struggled to maintain cultural relevance and viewership in recent years.
In its heyday, the most watched Oscars in broadcast history was 1998, when more than 55 million viewers tuned in to watch Titanic win Best Film. In subsequent years, viewership hovered between 27 million and 44 million until 2020, when ratings dropped to 23.6 million, according to Deadline. That number dropped to 10.4 million the following year, a record low.
Since then, ratings have slowly grown, with 16.6 million viewers in 2022, 18.8 million in 2023 and 19.5 million in 2024.
With its relevance waning in the streaming age, the Oscars are relying on O’Brien’s unique ability to resonate with both live audiences and the digital sphere.
As Bruce Vilanch, who wrote 25 Oscar telecasts over the decades, told Yahoo Entertainment last year, “If the movies are popular, the ratings go up.”
By Bad And Gladiator IIboth premiere nationally on November 22 Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez And A complete stranger, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, the films that won many Oscars, will certainly provide O’Brien with more than enough material.
The host with the most
According to the Associated Press, Bob Hope has hosted the broadcast nineteen times, while Billy Crystal took the helm nine times. Johnny Carson shot five times, while Kimmel took the mantle four times.
Recurring hosts are usually a win-win for everyone involved, Vilanch explains, because they provide “a certain amount of exposure to the people doing the show, and to the advertisers, who feel like the show is in good hands.”
While hosting can often be a thankless job, given O’Brien’s experience, network executives don’t seem concerned that he can keep up with the pace.
“Conan is a premier comedic voice whose decades of success are defined by his signature humor and perspective,” Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, said in a statement. “He joins an iconic roster of comedy greats who have filled this role, and we are fortunate to have him take center stage at the Oscars.”
The 97th Academy Awards airs March 2, 2025 at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT on ABC, with a red carpet pre-show beginning at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT.
