Hosting the Oscars is a tough gig. A number of great comedians have tried to host the show, and they are frequently met with mediocre or worse reviews once the show is over. Numerous comedians have turned down the gig in recognition of it as a no-win situation – and that’s just what Conan O’Brien’s friend and executive producer, Jeff Ross thought the comic would do last year.
Ross was the producer of all the iterations of Conan O’Brien’s talk show, so the two probably know each other as well as anybody. On the run up to O’Brien’s second stint hosting the Oscars in as many years, Ross told THR that he actually advised Conan against hosting in 2025. He said,
When the first offer came in, I told him, ‘You don’t need to do this, you’ve got nothing to prove. When we quit late night, the goal was to only do things that are fun, things that we want to do. Well, this is what Conan wants to do.
In recent years, there certainly has been a feeling that the Oscars hosting job isn’t exactly a coveted job. Jimmy Kimmel, who works for ABC (the network that broadcasts the ceremony), had been doing the job, but I certainly got the impression, especially during his last time around, that he was really done with it. A few years back, the Oscars actually went on without an official host, seemingly because the Academy could not find somebody to fill the position.
Article continues belowIt is somewhat hard to imagine Conan O’Brien taking the job. The guy hasn’t exactly had the easiest career, and he has continually had to prove himself, as Ross references. In recent years, however, between podcasts and hosting other shows, he’s certainly found success. One could imagine a bad Oscar performance only causing problems for him.
For this reason, it's hard to believe that Conan decided this was a thing he wanted to do. But we should all be very happy that he decided it was.
Not only was Conan O’Brien a great host, but he was so popular that the Academy wasted no time in signing him to return for 2026 – announcing the completed deal quickly so fans would look forward to the show.
Of course, now Conan O’Brien needs to top his previous performance, which means once again he’ll need to prove himself and demonstrate that the first show wasn't simply a fluke. It’s hard to imagine that the host will be the thing at the Oscars that most people are critical of. For the first time in a long time, it seems people are excited to see the Oscars host as much as they are the rest of the show, and everyone in the world will be able to watch the action this Sunday, March 15.
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