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One of the (if not the) best parts of the 2025 Academy Awards, host Conan O’Brien, will be back for round two in 2026. The Oscars announced the news on Monday morning, just over two weeks after O’Brien took on the gig for the first time. The longtime host was an undeniable crowd pleaser at this year’s ceremony, bringing his signature silliness with a bit of edge (see: jokes about Drake and Karla Sofía Gascón). In a press release, O’Brien shared, “The only reason I’m hosting the Oscars next year is that I want to hear Adrien Brody finish his speech.”
Alongside the O’Brien news, the Oscars confirmed that Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan will return as executive producers for the third consecutive year. “We are thrilled to bring back Conan, Raj, Katy, Jeff and Mike for the 98th Oscars!” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in a joint statement. “This year, they produced a hugely entertaining and visually stunning show that celebrated our nominees and the global film community in the most beautiful and impactful way. Conan was the perfect host—skillfully guiding us through the evening with humor, warmth and reverence. It is an honor to be working with them again.”
It’s not easy finding a good entertainer to helm the Oscars, a job three-time host Steve Martin has described as “thankless.” Conan O’Brien wasn’t even announced as this year’s host until November 2024, which is relatively late in the season. But in the post-game analysis, both viewers and Disney brass all seemed pretty pleased with how things turned out. After initially reporting a dip in viewership for the 2025 Oscars, Disney corrected the record by announcing this year’s ceremony actually drew an audience of 19.69 million viewers across ABC and Hulu (per Deadline). That’s actually a hair above the 2024 ceremony, which drew 19.5 million. It’s still below O’Brien’s showtime estimate of a billion people around the world, but if the Academy sticks with the beloved comedian for a few good years then who knows!
