Conan O’Brien will serve as the host of the 2025 Oscars, the Academy of Arts and Sciences announced Friday.
“America demanded it, and now it’s happening: Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme,” O’Brien quipped on social media. “In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars.”
The former Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show, and Conan host also posted a video on social media of him accepting an Oscar, only to be informed that he’s actually hosting the award show:
The 2025 Oscars, set for Sunday, March 2, 2025, at Hollywood’s Dolby Theater, marks O’Brien’s first time hosting the Academy Awards. However, he does have some experience hosting award shows, emceeing the Emmy Awards back in 2002 and 2006.
“We are thrilled and honored to have the incomparable Conan O’Brien host the Oscars this year,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang said in a joint statement. “He is the perfect person to help lead our global celebration of film with his brilliant humor, his love of movies and his live TV expertise. His remarkable ability to connect with audiences will bring viewers together to do what the Oscars do best — honor the spectacular films and filmmakers of this year.”
Following stints on the writing staffs of Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons, O’Brien began his late-night hosting career in 1993, taking over for David Letterman on NBC’s Late Night. After an ill-fated, year-long tenure at The Tonight Show after replacing Jay Leno in 2009, O’Brien later moved to TBS for Conan, which he hosted from 2011 to 2021.
While O’Brien stepped away from late-night in 2021, he remains on TV with his Conan O’Brien Must Go travel show, as well as his popular podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.
O’Brien’s recruitment assures that the Oscars will remain in the capable hands of a late-night host following two years of Jimmy Kimmel leading the show.
