Conan O’Brien is aware of the tightrope walk ahead of him as Academy Awards host.
Sitting down with reporter Chris Connelly on Good Morning America today, the former late-night host addressed the precarious task ahead when he emcees the Oscars in March—his first time leading the prestigious ceremony. While the gig can be risky for any host, O’Brien’s stint comes as Los Angeles reels from the devastation of widespread wildfires and Trump’s inauguration has underscored political divides.
“It’s a tricky show. It’s a tricky time,” O’Brien admitted to GMA. “L.A. has just been through this traumatic experience. There’s a lot that’s happening nationally that people are very tense about.”
“It changes day to day,” he added, “and so my job right now with my writers is to create possibilities. We’re going to have to get very close to the actual air date to figure out what works, what doesn’t work.”
But while that description would seem to leave much of the Oscars telecast up in the air, O’Brien implied that viewers can expect many of the comedic trademarks he he’s come to be known for.
That includes remote pieces, for one—and possibly for two. “When I hosted the Emmys, I would always like to have a taped piece or two under my belt, where we could really craft something and make something special,” O’Brien said, calling remotes “one of [his] fortes.”
“You need to be careful,” he noted. “If you do too many of them, you lose… the people that are there in the room.”
Another element fans can expect? His signature self-deprecation. “I can let someone have it if I think in the moment they really need it,” he said when asked if he’d roast any celebs, “but I’m also very comfortable as a comedian putting the joke on me.”
That humor was on full display when O’Brien was asked if he’d incorporate song and dance into the gig. “I spent a lot of my own money polling Americans. Shocking response. People don’t want it,” O’Brien joked. “Which means I’ll probably try and do it.”
If the possibilities seem open, that may also be because O’Brien has been taking that approach for his whole career lately.
“I think it’s been three years since I stopped doing my late-night show, and I’ve been saying yes to things. It’s been this time of yes,” he reflected. “There’s all these things I’m doing now that I didn’t think I would ever do before.”
The 97th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. They air live on ABC at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast around the world.
