The Oscars has found its “perfect host”—and he’ll be back next year.
Conan O’Brien has signed on to host the Academy Awards for the second year in a row, following his widely celebrated debut in the gig just weeks ago.
“Conan was the perfect host — skillfully guiding us through the evening with humor, warmth and reverence,” read a statement by Academy chief executive Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang.
O’Brien took the announcement as an opportunity to poke fun at one of this year’s ceremony’s most talked-about moments: “The only reason I’m hosting the Oscars next year is that I want to hear Adrien Brody finish his speech,” he said in a statement.
The re-selection of O’Brien marks a very early decision by the Academy. As the show has struggled to find hosts in recent years, announcements of who would emcee have typically not come until months prior. Even the show’s most frequent host of recent years, four-timer Jimmy Kimmel, has never signed on for a reprisal before May, with his last couple not coming until November.
Likewise, O’Brien’s turn as host this year wasn’t announced until November—just days after O’Brien was offered the job. Prior to O’Brien, the Academy had offers declined by Kimmel and John Mulaney. The long lead time for the 98th Oscars will (in theory) allow O’Brien and his team eight more months of prep time for a gig that O’Brien says wasn’t even “on our radar” last year.
O’Brien’s prep for this year’s ceremony was also complicated by a frenzied few months that found him cranking out a last-minute episode of his Max travel show (which then altered its release schedule), grieving the loss of his parents, and evacuating his home amid the Los Angeles wildfires.
Even so, he fronted a successful Oscars broadcast set that reached 19.7 million viewers all told—the highest Academy Awards telecast ratings in five years. The next morning, ABC publicly (but unofficially) invited O’Brien back to host again.
“Forget the pot of gold—this St. Patrick’s Day, we’re giving you something even better,” The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on social media. “Conan O’Brien is officially returning to host the 98th Oscars!”
The 98th Oscars is scheduled for Sunday, March 15, 2026. O’Brien’s longtime collaborators Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney will return as producers, as will Academy Awards executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan.
