Sunday night’s Oscars telecast ended with a “bonus scene”/pre-taped vignette in which two-time host Conan O’Brien was appointed “Host for Life.”
The truth of the matter may not be too far off.
“Oh, that is no joke, Conan is host for life,” Rob Mills, EVP of Unscripted & Alternative Entertainment for Walt Disney Television, told Variety today. “We’re assuming that was not a comedy bit. We’re going to treat that as if that was fact.”
Mills, who in his post at Disney oversees production of the Academy Awards broadcast, reiterated that stance in Deadline’s own Q&A with the exec.
When asked if there was any truth to O’Brien’s joke about this being the last Oscars to have a human host, Mills said, “Well, let’s put it this way. Conan has, obviously, a standing offer to host as long as he wants.
“One-hundred percent we’d love him back,” Mills continued. “If Conan doesn’t come back, I can’t promise that next year’s host will be human.”
Here it must be noted that ABC-Disney only has dibs/any say on the Oscars for another two years, before the well-watched kudocast relocates to YouTube starting in 2029.
One year ago, Mills expressed a similar enthusiasm for O’Brien’s first emceeing of Hollywood’s biggest night, saying of a possible encore, “That’s really up to Conan, but I know we would love to have him back.”
O’Brien told LateNighter that when he got that first call to host the 2025 Oscars, his thought process was, “I have to try this. I’m curious about it.” And when he was asked back: “Yeah, I’d like to try that again. I had such a good time the first time.”
Conan’s first foray as Oscars host played to a total audience of 19.7 million viewers—up just one percent from Jimmy Kimmel’s fourth turn in 2024, but marking a five-year high nonetheless.
Ratings for Sunday night’s telecast have yet to come in.
Conan MUST stay out of Politics for the sake of his wonderful, and often times silly Brand.