Conan O’Brien breaks Jimmy Kimmel’s streak; set to host Oscars 2025

The 97th annual Oscars will be held on March 2 in Los Angeles. In June, it was reported that Jimmy Kimmel had declined to return to emcee the ceremony.

Comedian Conan O'Brien is all set to bring his quirky humour and live TV experience to the Oscars. He will be hosting the 97th Oscars ceremony on March 2.

It will mark Conan’s first time hosting the Oscars.

Oscar host announced

On Friday as per Variety, the Emmy-winning talk show host and comedian was revealed as the host of the upcoming Oscar ceremony by the academy. It will mark Conan’s first time hosting the Oscars, coming after two consecutive years with Jimmy Kimmel as emcee, four in total.

The move seems to be a step by the academy to add a fresh vibe to the show amid its struggle with declining ratings in recent years.

“We are thrilled and honoured 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 humour, his love of movies and his live TV expertise,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang said in a joint statement.

Conan responded to the news with his trademark humour. He said, “America demanded it and now it’s happening: Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars”.

Conan is best known for his two-decade tenure as a late-night host, including shows such as Late Night With Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien and Conan. Before his rise in late-night television, he built a career as a writer for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons.

About Oscars 2025

The 97th annual Oscars will be held on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Back in June, it was reported that Jimmy Kimmel had declined to return to emcee the ceremony for a fifth time. Comedian John Mulaney also declined the gig.

In October, Deadline reported that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman were in the mix of choices to host. They also reported that Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler and Dwayne Johnson had also been approached as potential hosts.

Ryan recently sat down with Variety for the Awards Circuit podcast. At the end of the episode, the 48-year-old star denied that he is in conversations to host the awards ceremony when he was asked about reports that he and Hugh Jackman are top choices.

"No, I don't— historically speaking, that is a difficult job, you know. We've had people that have come before us that did it flawlessly, I think, and you've had people who are so talented and just based on what's happening out there in the zeitgeist you're like, 'Oh, that was hard. It's a very hard job’,” Ryan said. The actor added, “It would be a dream to do it one day. I'll say that. I'm really just spending the year writing a movie for myself, Hugh (Jackman) and Shawn (Levy) to do that is not Marvel, and that’s kind of it.”