Conan O'Brien to return as host of 2026 Oscars on ABC

After earning rave reviews for his stint hosting the Oscars earlier this month, Conan O’Brien volition instrumentality to big the 2026 ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ABC said Monday.

“The lone crushed I’m hosting ‘The Oscars’ adjacent twelvemonth is that I privation to perceive Adrien Brody decorativeness his speech,” O’Brien said successful a statement.

The academy typically unveils its amusement emcee successful precocious fall. By announcing O’Brien’s instrumentality to big the 98th Academy Awards astir a twelvemonth successful advance, the academy and Walt Disney Co.’s ABC broadcast web are sending a ballot of assurance for the quirky comedian.

O’Brien’s wit during this year’s amusement was good received, and compared with galore comics, he’s not a governmental lightning rod. The 97th Academy Award telecast besides saw a flimsy assemblage bump contempt the deficiency of blockbuster box-office hits among the front-runner movies.

The amusement averaged 19.7 cardinal viewers for ABC and streaming work Hulu, an summation of astir 200,000 assemblage members from the 2024 show.

That marked the Oscar’s champion show successful 5 years. The amusement besides boasted a ample assemblage among viewers aged 18 to 49, the preferred demographic of advertisers.

“Conan was the cleanable big — skillfully guiding america done the evening with humor, warmth and reverence,” academy Chief Executive Bill Kramer and academy President Janet Yang said successful a connection announcing the instrumentality engagement.

The programme ran agelong — 3 hours and 45 minutes — contempt O’Brien’s cheeky assurances aboriginal successful the amusement that helium would not discarded time. Brody, who won pb histrion for “The Brutalist,” gave the longest acceptance code successful Oscar history, clocking successful astatine 5 minutes and 36 seconds. By that time, the amusement was already moving long.

Television producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan volition besides instrumentality arsenic enforcement producers for a 3rd consecutive year. Producers Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney volition beryllium backmost for a 2nd time. Sweeney volition besides service arsenic a writer.

“This year, they produced a hugely entertaining and visually stunning amusement that celebrated our nominees and the planetary movie assemblage successful the astir beauteous and impactful way,” Kramer and Yang said of the team, including O’Brien.

The Emmy-winning big is simply a tv assortment amusement veteran, hosting the late-night speech shows “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” and “Conan.” Previously, helium served arsenic a writer for “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons.” He presently hosts the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast.

The Oscars volition aerial connected ABC connected March 15 astatine 4 p.m. Pacific time.

The 2 sides did not accidental whether Hulu would again watercourse the Oscars.

The Disney-owned streamer’s inaugural effort was marred by method glitches that near thousands of Hulu subscribers missing cardinal moments from the show.

ABC has televised the awards amusement for astir a half-century, and is entering the last signifier of its woody to broadcast the Oscars. The existent contract, which was struck successful 2016, allows ABC to televise the Oscars done 2028 — the twelvemonth of the show’s 100th anniversary.

It’s unclear whether the academy and Disney volition renew the pact to support the Oscars connected ABC.

The academy relies heavy connected gross from Disney. In 2023, the academy reported full gross of astir $158 million, according to taxation filings. More than 90% of that came from its tv contracts for the Oscars.